“Hey, boss... Between a flush and a straight, which is better?”

“Uhh... a flush, I’m pretty sure.” Sylvie and Belle were both sitting at the poker table, learning the rules.

I had the girls from Moon Reader come over to help with tending to the guests, since the castle was short staffed. Sylvie, Belle, and Shea all came over to help out. Sylvie was the head waitress, Belle manned the reception desk, and Shea was a real wiz in the kitchen, so we covered all our bases.

I had Sylvie and the others play the games with the maids from our home, since I figured it was the fastest way for them to get a grasp on the rules.

“Siiir, please remove Cesca from the poool table. She won’t let me have the cueeee.”

“Silence! I’m calculating the angle of reflection, the incidence level, and meting out how much force I should apply. As I work those out, it should be a paltry task to win!” Cecile spoke up in a concerned tone, but Cesca simply replied to her matter-of-factly.

I might’ve sent her to the wrong game... If she keeps pocketing balls without missing, then it’ll become a break and run out situation, and Cecile will never get a go...

I left the game room for a bit and went to the dining room and kitchen. Crea and Shea were both working hard, while Renne was offering them assistance.

“Ah, good sir. Your timing is perfect as ever, please give this a try.” Crea passed me a freshly baked and piping hot dessert, so I bit into it. Ooh, that’s good!

“Ah, I’m glad that you figured out how to make a good waffle. It tastes really good. If you put whipped cream on it, you can make it even tastier, though.”

“I see... We’ll try and make that as well, then!” I held the waffle in my mouth, made my way over to the fridge, and leaned down and took something out. Good, it solidified well.

“What’s that, boss?” Shea tilted her head and expressed confusion at the item.

“It’s pudding. It’s another item you can add cream and fruits to. Tastes really good.” It’d be more accurate to call it ‘pudding a la mode’ if it had the stuff on it, though. I took out a plate and turned the pudding upside down, letting it slide out on to the surface.

The yellow caramel oozed out slowly, making my mouth water a bit. I grabbed a spoon and took a scoop of the tasty mass I’d created. Hm, a little thick, but it’s still yummy!

Shea took a spoon and put a scoop of her own into her mouth. She opened her eyes in amazement and her mouth flapped a little like a fish. Guess she likes it.

“Hey bruv, I cut the potatoes like you asked, but what am I supposed to do now?” There was a pile of neatly-cut potato sticks on the chopping board in front of Renne. I went over and washed them a bit in the sink, then added some oil to a frying pan. Then, I set the heat to medium and began to drop the potato sticks in one by one. Once they started to float, I took them out. After that, I upped the heat and deep fried them until they were a crispy brown.

I sprinkled some fresh salt on to them and garnished them with a side of homemade ketchup. After going so long without french fries I felt an unreasonable amount of joy toward something so mundane.

“These are bloody amazing, bruv! Can I have them all?!”

“...All of them? Well, you can take them all, but I wouldn’t recommend stuffing your face with them, you’ll get an upset tummy.” I gave Renne a soft smile and passed the french fries over to her. She wolfed down a handful before I could even react. Crea and Shea peeked their heads over and grabbed a bunch all of a sudden, chowing down like it was some kind of ambrosia. ...They’re gonna get fat. Oh geez.

With that, the indoor entertainment and the food were on track. Now all I had to check on was the defense system.

As I went out into the training grounds, I noticed my three soldiers sprawled out on the ground, panting heavily. Yae was laughing softly at them, for whatever reason.

Still, it wasn’t she who had driven them to this state, it was the grizzled old mustache-clad man, as well as the scarred beast of a man who were standing next to her.

Baba and Yamagata, two famed commanders from the Takeda-controlled territory of Eashen. They were two of the Takeda Elite Four, renowned for their martial prowess.

“Hey, squirt. Somethin’ up?”

“No, just coming by to see how things are going.” As usual, old man Baba decided to call me something annoying. Aren’t I the ruler of a country now?! Damn it...

“Hey, Touya. These three show great potential. They need a little polish, but I am quite sure they can shine brightly.” Yamagata grinned at me, his broadsword resting on his shoulders. And this guy’s just casually calling me Touya. I see how it is.

I had specifically called upon those two to train my three knights. I briefly considered asking Neil or Yae’s older brother, but the two of them seemed busy, so I opted not to. These two, on the other hand, had nothing but free time, apparently.

From what I had heard, Takeda’s son succeeded the clan and immediately pushed away all the close advisers that had ties to his father. He then embarked on a strange, selfish campaign where he just did whatever he wanted. Despite my advice, they had gotten into a quarrel with Oda as well for whatever reason.

I wondered if it was his young age that made him reckless, or if he was simply an incompetent person. It was possible that the downfall of Takeda was simply something that happened in many worlds...

“But still, a brat like you governing an entire country? Even if it’s small, that’s still somethin’ special. Well, I guess I’ve seen the magic you can come up with, so it’s not too surprisin’, but still...”

“Yes, I’m rather amazed and a little envious. When you compare Touya to our young lord... Hmph...” Yamagata sighed a bit wistfully and muttered as he looked at the exhausted trio. Seemed like they had a lot to worry about.

“So what’s the situation now? Is Oda being aggressive or what?”

“Nay, in this case the problems don’t stem from Oda, but our lord himself. He gives orders on a whim without considering the implications, and when the money coffers run low he simply raises the taxes. To be frank, he is not popular with the people at all. Rather than us destroying Oda with ease, it may be them that swoop in and wipe us out. With how things are going, we’re considerably weakened. We Elite Four have tried to advise him, but he bullheadedly ignores all we have to offer.” Sounded to me like things had gone from bad to terrible. Even if the founder of a nation was a tactical genius or a benevolent man, it wouldn’t be the first time a country has been driven to ruin by the foolish attitude of the next generation. Schingen probably wouldn’t be able to rest in peace, after all.

“If you’d like, you’re welcome to defect to my country. We’re just starting out, so we could really use the extra hands.”

“Hmph... I’ll admit, squirt... that’s quite the enticin’ offer ya got there. But we still got plenty obligations to Lord Takeda, so...”

“Come, Baba-dono, aren’t you being a little stiff? We’ve been invited here out of the kindness of the boy’s heart. I’d be quite happy to join this place, but the lack of an ongoing war is a little saddening.”

That was a dangerous thing you just said! Battle nuts like him were a real problem, though he’d probably get along with Mismede’s Beastking.

“Whatever our feelings are on the matter right now, we cannot give you an answer. We’d need to return home and discuss the issue with the other two. Even if Takeda is brought to ruin, I feel we should look upon it with our own eyes.”

“I understand, so don’t worry. I won’t press the issue for the time being.”

“That’s most appreciated.” Yamagata lowered his sword and shifted his attention to the three who were still on the ground.

“Alright, you little mites! Same as last time, I’ll charge the three of you at once!”

“Yes sir!” The three of them drew their weapons with renewed vigor as they let out that cry. Their fighting spirit was pretty impressive, but I wondered if it was enough to defend against his onslaught. Regardless of the outcome, it was something they had to do alone.

I turned back to the castle after checking out the training grounds, and the big double doors opened for me as I approached. Then, as I stepped into the entrance hall, they closed again. They weren’t automatic doors or anything. The person who had opened them was right in front of me. Or rather, hanging up in front of me.

It was a picture hanging up in the middle of the landing on the stairs just in front of me.

《The caaastle is raaaather lively today, Master.》 A girl in a white dress protruded her upper body out of the picture frame and made a casual comment. It was the picture frame artifact I had recovered during the ghost fiasco. When she realized that I was the man who controlled Babylon, she copied Cesca and started to call me master.

I sold the picture of the dead feudal lord’s wife a while ago, and placed a different picture in the frame using the proceeds. It was a nice picture, so I decided to decorate my castle with it.

As a result, she was reborn as a girl in her late teens, clad in a beautiful white dress and a pink ribbon in her hair. She called herself Ripple. Apparently the castle she inhabited beforehand was called Ripple Castle, so that was probably why.

“Everyone’s busy preparing to host the other countries’ leaders. You gonna help too, Ripple?”

《Yes! I’ll keep on the lookouuut for anything suspicious. My eyes are everywhere in this place, after all. Ahaaa, young Renne just smashed a plaate!》 I didn’t understand it too well myself, but Ripple managed to reproduce her frame using the workshop, and was now capable of moving around through the frames as she pleased. Apparently they couldn’t copy her soul, so there was still only one Ripple. She was basically a security camera network at this point.

I put pictures of landscapes and scenery in the new frames and placed them all over the castle. I took care not to put any in the private quarters, however. I guess she could be called a ghostly surveillance camera.

With that, I figured everything was in order. All that was left was to greet the incoming royals.

◇　◇　◇

“Ohoho! Amazing, I don’t know what it is, but it’s amazing!” The second he walked into the game room, the king of Belfast turned toward the pinball machine with a look of glee on his face. Following after him, but turning in the complete opposite direction, the beastking walked over to the bowling alley.

“Aha, there’s some weight to this, boy! A cannonball, perhaps? No, it has three holes...” Entering after those two, the two emperors looked around the room with cautious eyes.

“Is all of this for playing around? It isn’t especially gaudy here.” The emperor of Regulus murmured a bit, and from behind him came all the family members that the monarchs had brought with them.

Initially I had told them to only bring close family, but apparently their governmental members were concerned so they brought a small retainer of guardsmen as well.

From Belfast there was His Majesty the King, Queen Yuel, Duke Ortlinde, Duchess Ellen, and Sue.

From Regulus there was His Highness the Emperor, Crown Prince Lux, and Princess Sarah.

From Refreese, His Imperial Presence the Emperor, Empress Zelda, Princess Reliel, and Crown Prince Redis.

From Mismede, there was His Beastliness the Beastking, Queen Thillie, First Prince Remza, Second Prince Alba, and First Princess Thea.

There were seventeen people in total. They also each had a small entourage of armed guards.

From Belfast there was Neil and Lyon. From Regulus there was Commander Gaspar. From Mismede, there was Garm. And the guards from Refreese I knew nothing about at all. Around five people came from each country, so the count was closer to twenty guests in the end. Their weapons were confiscated in case of any shenanigans, and I had applied a [Paralyze] effect that would take hold if anything funny went down.

The guardsmen, upon seeing the room and its wonders for the first time, seemed quite taken aback. Our three soldiers were situated in the game room just in case anything happened. They looked extremely nervous, though... Still, that was only natural. The defense of the castle itself was being left to a Cerberus, a Griffin, and two Pegasi, so the exterior would be mostly fine.

“Welcome, dear guests, to our game room. The various devices and creations here are assembled for you all to use at your own leisure. If you wish to know how they function, simply ask a member of our household and we will be happy to assist.” Elze, Linze, Yae, Yumina, Lu, and the maids were all lined up for our guests. Lapis, Cecile, Renne, Cesca, and the girls from Moon Reader were here to assist as well. Rosetta had even taken a rare change of pace and gotten into a maid outfit rather than her regular overalls. And of course, supervising all of them was my esteemed and magnificent butler, Laim.

“Hot food, desserts, drinks and so forth are just over there. Feel free to eat at your own discretion.” I had prepared various tables and chairs, as well as the luxurious massage chairs, in the corner of the game room. On the tables were various samples of fine food.

Each of the rulers wandered off toward the games, their eyes full of curiosity and wonder. On the other hand, their wives and children seemed more interested in the various pieces of confectionery tucked away in the corner of the room.

“Haaah!” Without further ado, the beastking beelined straight for the bowling ball and gave it a firm toss. Despite his furious yelling, it was a gutterball. Prince Remza and Prince Alba did the same thing, too. Remza looked to be about nine, while Alba seemed to be about five. They both were snow leopard beastmen, like their father.

At the air hockey table, Duke Ortlinde and His Majesty the King were engaged in a high-stakes confrontation between brothers.

At the mahjong table, a showdown was ongoing between His Imperial Presence the Emperor and his son, Crown Prince Redis.

Crown Prince Redis was twelve years old, if I recalled correctly. He seemed extremely mature, but being the younger brother of that girl must’ve been extremely unpleasant. Just as I had thought during the coup incident, Prince Lux didn’t have much of a presence to him. I couldn’t believe this guy was going to get married and succeed his father. It was pretty surprising, really.

Lapis answered any and all questions about mahjong with relative ease. People picked up on it pretty easily because I had put up a visual aid for scoring combos next to the board.

It looked like the guards were enjoying themselves watching the games unfold, too.

At the dining table, the food was proving especially popular with the women. I was pretty pleased to see them all getting along.

Sue, Reliel, Thea, and Renne were at the cards table, playing what appeared to be Old Maid. Princess Thea seemed to be about the same age as Sue, ten or so.

“This is something amazing, isn’t it...” Neil stood nearby, muttering something. The one to respond to him was Gaspar.

“Quite so. Never thought I’d see the day that all the rulers of the western continent would band together like this. It’s rather relieving to see them let loose and have some fun.” Both of them smiled as they played pool and looked over their respective charges.

The rulers didn’t seem to mind who won or lost the games, so they were just going at all the ones they could fit in at a time.

“Touya, what’s this one?” The beastking turned to me and pointed at a small stand with six holes in it. He picked up the soft foam hammer attached to the side, then peeked into one of the holes.

Seeing him reminded me that my ability to use [Gate] was revealed to Mismede not too long ago. They doubted it at first, apparently, but Leen vouching for me was enough for them to believe it in the end. It didn’t matter too much at this point, since the Regulus Empire was also aware of what I could do.

The beastking didn’t really seem to care anyway. I decided to teach him how whack-a-mole worked.

“So, in this game you have to score points by smacking the little moles that pop out of the holes. It’d be best if you didn’t strike using full force, since even a little impact should register.” Yep, the game was whack-a-mole. The moment the game started, the beastking immediately struck the moles with astonishing precision. Just as one would expect of a species predisposed to war... his senses were sharp. But you’re naive, Beastking!

“I-It can’t be!” Halfway through the game, the moles picked up the pace and jumped up and down several times in quick succession. In the end, His Beastliness ended the game with ninety-two points.

“Ghaugh! One more time, I’ll defeat you!” Despite the fact that I told him not to smack them too hard, he went at it full-force. I had expected something like this, however, so I made sure to build an extremely sturdy frame for this particular game.

I looked back toward the dining table and found that the women were all giggling, chatting, and picking at various desserts. That was good. Cecile and Laim had the situation under control over there, so I turned my attention back to the games.

“Excuse me, Grand Duke? How do you play with this thing, sir?” The two young princes of Mismede approached me, asking about a certain thing I had placed in the corner of the room. It was a cube-shaped trampoline enclosure with transparent sides. Through magic means, you could jump around and bounce off all six sides.

“You go in through the entrance and can jump around inside. It should support up to two adults at a time, so you two will be just fine. Give it a go.” The two snow leopard boys bounded into the entrance and began to jump around. It didn’t take long for them to let loose entirely. After a while they began to do backflips and crazy parkour stuff. Beastmen truly were astonishingly talented...

“Oho, that seems rather fun. Perhaps a tad intense for me...” His Highness the Emperor watched the boys playing and laughed gently.

“I’ve placed some special chairs over here to relieve tension. It might feel a little strange at first, but I assure you it’ll have you feeling comfy and refreshed in no time.”

“Oho?” I guided the old emperor over to the massage chairs and helped him sit down on it. After that, I let the magic flow through it. The rollers in the back of the chair and the pumps around the legs and bottom of the chair began to function, slowly beginning a full-body massage. The emperor frowned a little at first, but he was smiling gently with his eyes closed before long.

“Ohooo... i-it’s so nice... It feels amazing... Th-Thank you...”

“If you want it to stop, just press this button.”

“Mm... yes...” Regardless of whether or not he heard me, I moved off away from the emperor to let him enjoy his relaxation time.

A short bit away, His Imperial Presence the emperor of Refreese and the beastking were having a bout of mini golf. Across from them, Prince Lux was playing table tennis with Duke Ortlinde. And a bit away from those guys, His Majesty the King of Belfast was playing pool with Gaspar. Wait, is it fine for the guardsmen to be playing too?!

“The king invited him, and the emperor permitted it. Sure must be nice to be Gaspar right now... I wish I could play too.” Lyon walked up to me and let out a small lament. He had a small point, but I imagine you probably weren’t allowed to win if you were playing against the king of another country. I guess it could count as work, too... entertaining the king with pool and all.

“Feel free to come here when you have a day off. We can play. Oh, actually. When you get married to Olga, you could come celebrate here.”

“Seriously?! That would be incredible! My fellow knights will be delighted!” I wondered if I should invite all the knights... I figured I should, it seemed standard fare. Everyone who knew them would be gathered here to have some fun. It’d be like the wedding dinner, really, just with more of a relaxed, party-style atmosphere.

After playing for a time, the men diverted their attention to the food and drink on display, which meant that the women were now more than ready to give the games a go. That being said, they didn’t opt for the physically exerting activities like trampolining or bowling. Instead, they decided to play cards, mahjong, pinball, and other lighter activities.

“Now then, if you would allow the nobility of the Duchy of Brunhild to grant you all a modest gift, please step this way.” Things were quieting down as the attendees ran out of games to play, so I called out to them. The maids then began to distribute small cards to everyone in the room. Each card had twenty-five random numbers written on them in a grid. I then directed everyone’s attention to a lottery machine, and told them to mark down on their cards the number that came out. To be blunt, we were playing bingo.

I removed a cloth sheet from a pile in the corner of the room to unveil the prizes.

There was a wide variety of goods on display, from weaponry to house decorations and ornaments. There were even some spellstone-imbued accessories for the ladies. Stuffed toys for the kids, too. The weapons were no mere lumps of material I had crafted, either. Each had a unique enchantment applied to it. That being said, I made sure the weapons weren’t especially overpowered or anything, just unique in their functions.

“Alrighty, let’s start with... Eight! The first number is eight! Mark on your cards where the number eight is, if it’s there at all. After you get a set of numbers, or a bingo, in a horizontal, diagonal, or vertical line, you win a prize!” In this instance, I had actually prepared enough gifts for everyone to get one. It was more about who won first.

After a few matches, there seemed to be some people close to winning prizes.

“Two... two... I need a two!”

“Come on, fourteen!”

“Fifty-oneeee, pleaaaase.” Everyone stared in anticipation as the machine whirred and clicked.

“Thirty-two! We got thirty-two!”

“Bingo!” The one to shout out was Gaspar, Commander of the Regulus Empire’s knights. After I checked his card, I showed him to the prizes.

“So, which one are you going for?”

“You mean to say I can choose from any of these?”

“That’s right, but you can only have one.” Gaspar chose his gift after some deliberation. He opted for the ornate red lance.

“I call this the Blaster Lance. If you recite a certain phrase, it’ll shoot a potent blast of fire from the tip.”

“What, really?!”

“Yeah, I’ll teach you the phrase later on. It’d be bad if you fired it here.” I chuckled a bit at my own joke and handed the lance to Gaspar. He happily held it in hand for a bit before returning to where he was before.

He showed it off to the emperor, who seemed quite keenly interested in how it worked. The man looked at it with a mixture of amazement and admiration, so I wasn’t quite sure what he was thinking.

It consumed a lot of mana, so an ordinary person would be fit to collapse after firing it off just three times. That was why I had designed this weapon as a special trump card, only to be used properly.

“Alright folks, let’s see what we’ve got next! Number... fifteen! Fifteen, folks!” The bingo game progressed without a hitch, and everyone was happy with their prizes. The ruler’s wives were especially happy with the accessories and interior decoration-related rewards they had chosen. Young Princess Thea of Mismede received a plush toy, as well. I had given it a [Program] that caused it to repeat anything that was said to it. It was just a shame that it happened to be voiced by that irritating robogirl.

“Now, it’s quite late and night has fallen. If you’d all please follow me for the last of today’s events.” I took everyone along with me to the castle balcony. The sky was black as pitch, and the moon was nowhere to be seen. There was nothing besides the castle in the area either, so the landscape was also as dark as could be.

Suddenly, an enormous blast occurred in the sky, sending out a colored flower spreading far across the sky. The guardsmen put themselves into defensive positions, but I raised my hand to put them at ease.

“Ah, these are fireworks. You simply sit back and appreciate them, you do. They are often launched during the summer in Eashen, they are.” Yae had confirmed to me that fireworks existed in Eashen, but it seemed like they didn’t have anything especially flashy, just basic rockets.

The fireworks bloomed out into the night sky, one after the other. To be honest, I didn’t actually fire them upward. I had Rosetta drop them from the Workshop of Babylon, which was hidden in stealth mode. I had written a [Program] to ensure that the fireworks would detonate before hitting the ground. It was much easier than creating pyrotechnic launchers.

From the balcony, we stood and watched beautiful flowers bloom in the air. Our maids passed out champagne to all the adults who were staring up at the display. The kids were extremely excited too, looking up to the firework with wonder in their eyes.

With that, the Duchy of Brunhild’s founding party came to a close. It was a huge success.

In the end, after I told each of the monarchs that they could take one thing from my game room back home with them, each of them chose to take a massage chair. Leading a nation must have been tiresome work after all...

“Aaaah, Master. Welcome baaaack!” Ripple was hanging halfway out of her picture frame in the middle of the landing. This kind of thing had pretty much become the norm for us at this point.

“Hey Ripple, thanks. Have I missed anything?”

“Uhm, you haaaave. We have a gueeest!”

A guest? Really? Wonder who it could be...

◇　◇　◇

“Huh, Tsubaki? What brings you here?”

“It has been some time indeed.” The girls said they wanted to wash up, so I parted from them and headed to the audience room alone. Waiting to greet me there was Tsubaki, a kunoichi from Eashen. She knelt down upon the red carpet and looked up at me. She wore a white coat with a black scarf. It looked like she was quite worn out in general, indicating she had traveled far to get here. Her hair was as long and black as ever, no real change there.

“What are you doing so far from home? Are you running an errand or something?” Tsubaki was a ninja that served under Kousaka Masanohbu, one of the Takeda Elite Four. It’d be normal to assume she’d be out on a mission, but this was a considerable amount of distance to come from Eashen.

“No. My allegiance to the Takeda Clan has been formally broken. I may be asking too much by coming here, but I made the decision to join your duchy.”

“What?” Tsubaki recounted her story to me. She said that once the new lord of Takeda took over, everything was a bit chaotic for a while. Even so, she dutifully served until one day Kousaka summoned her. He said to her, “If things continue as they are now, I have no hope for the Takeda Clan. You must leave with your compatriots and find another worthy house to serve.” Tsubaki initially protested, but Kousaka actually ended up kicking her out. He was that confident about how grave the situation was.

“When was this?”

“Close to two months ago, I believe. After that, I began a personal journey.” I was surprised by that. It seemed that Kousaka had some incredible foresight, to even predict this so far in advance... He must’ve been an incredible guy.

I mentioned to Tsubaki that Baba had been here recently and talked about his opinions on the matter, and she nodded in agreement.

“Indeed, because of the dire situation, Kousaka-sama had me removed...”

“But why me, of all people? Couldn’t you have defected to Tokugawa or Oda?”

“Tokugawa and Oda are only feudal lords in the end. But you, Touya-san... Er, Touya-sama... you are an exceptional individual who may well become the next king of Belfast. I headed toward you thinking that you were incomparably superior! And now I find out you’ve already become a head of state! A grand duke! You’re truly beyond mortal comprehension.” During her voyage to Belfast she had heard stories about the founding of my duchy. And so, once she realized that I was the one in charge and that I was now living here, she chartered a boat across the Great Gau River all to get an audience with me.

“Well, a lot of stuff went on here too, but, uh... You really wanna work here? This isn’t a big country like Belfast or anything. We’re pretty fresh.”

“Of course. If you’ll accept me, Touya-sama, I would proudly serve under you.” If Kousaka was fine with it, then I was fine with it too. Honestly, the recent increase of allies was making me a little happy. Kind of made me hopeful that the Takeda Elite Four would come and stay as well eventually.

“Very well, if you could please bring the remainder of my clansmen to your castle, I’d appreciate it...”

“Wait just a sec. Your clansmen?”

“Of course. It is my intention to have my entire ninja clan from Takeda’s territory come here.”

Is she serious?! Wait... sure, Kousaka said “leave with your compatriots,” but seriously, relocating an entire clan of ninjas just like that?!

“Uh... how many people are in your clan, exactly?”

“If we include the children, then there are almost seventy.”

“Gh...!” Isn’t that a bit much?! How’d you plan on moving that many people without me?! What if I was dead or missing or something?! I really didn’t mean to accept more than Tsubaki... but I can hardly take it back now.

“Uhh... well, about that... I don’t have any issue with accepting your people into my country, but I can only really take you into my castle, Tsubaki.”

“That would prove no issue. All proud ninja clansmen work standard jobs in the day-to-day. They have to make a living, after all.”

...I guess that’s fine, then? I remember reading something about ninjas from the olden days infiltrating other countries by getting standard jobs there and living out regular lives... Do they have the same kind of methods in this world?

My territory had a great body of water, as well as a large forest, so they could definitely get jobs as hunters or fishermen. Food wasn’t a concern, but I’d probably need to think about setting up other amenities.

I’m gonna need mercantile contacts or something... If people are gonna be producing goods, then I’ll need active traders. I should consult Zanac or Olba about it.

“It seems we’ve acquired many a new citizen today, sir.”

“Sure seems that way, Laim...” I smiled wryly at my butler. Without further ado, I called my three knights into the throne room and told them not to be concerned about the large influx of ninjas. I decided to simply let them stay in the barracks for the time being, as I didn’t have an army living there yet.

Just in case, I asked Lain to keep an eye out for people behaving suspiciously, not that I expected much in the way of trouble. I didn’t know if that was a racist assumption, but I felt that those rabbit ears of hers would surely be able to sound out trouble as it happened.

“Master, you have a letter.”

“Hm?” Just as Tsubaki left, Cesca came in with a small letter in hand. I had given most of my contacts a small Gate Mirror to immediately get in touch with me, so I wondered who had sent it...

I took the letter and skimmed it over. Wow, this timing sure is convenient to the plot.

“Who sent the letter, sir?” Laim inquired as I finished reading. I passed the letter over and told him to take a look.

“Goodness me...”

“Yup. Seems we’ll be getting even more residents soon.” The sender was none other than Kousaka Masanohbu himself. It had come through the Gate Mirror that I had handed to Baba recently.

It was a formal account detailing the fact that the lord of the Takeda Clan had royally messed up. He had neglected his people, failing to prevent many crimes. The people ended up making quite a ruckus, and it was a full-blown riot in some areas. Ultimately, the emperor of Eashen had to step in and formally disband the Takeda house. Its former territories were divided up between Oda and Tokugawa.

Well, that didn’t take long. And he had such promise after the situation with Kansukay, too... That sucks. He had a lot riding on his shoulders and a lot to live up to, but he really should’ve kept his head down and tried harder. Maybe he was just acting out because of the pressure of having such a famous father. Or maybe he was just an idiot... At any rate, he’s a nobody now. Apparently he had to report to the capital and face justice. He’ll probably be exiled.

The most important thing here was that the Elite Four had all talked with one another and decided their services would be better held in Brunhild.

I was more than happy to have such talented people on my side. I wondered if I should consult Kousaka about the mercantile issue I’d been wondering about earlier. I had yet to actually meet him, so I was curious about what kind of person he was.

Well then... I guess I should go meet him. With that thought, I opened up a [Gate] to Eashen.

◇　◇　◇

“Repair the roads first. A town cannot develop without a road.” Kousaka looked at the map of Brunhild, and only had that to say.

Kousaka was clearly younger than Baba, but he was still over sixty. He had a gentle face, but it was one clearly weathered by wisdom and age. He also wore his hair in a top-knot. The aura of experience and awareness emanating from him was just what I’d expect from a man who personally advised Takeda Schingen.

After I received the letter, I went straight to meet with Baba and the other Elite Four members, but they had a surprise for me.

Apparently several members of the Takeda Army who had now been displaced were willing to join my duchy. It was likely that they were troops who were extremely loyal to the Elite Four or something. There were only around fifty of them, but there was no way I could bring them in and hire them. We didn’t even have any way of generating revenue yet, so paying the salary of an army was out of the question.

I briefly considered using the workshop to mass produce products for sale, but quickly decided against it. If we ended up dependent on the exports and the workshop broke down or something, we’d be done for.

“If I use Earth Magic, I can probably create a road pretty fast...”

“A functional road that leads to both Regulus and Belfast is of the highest importance. Please make one immediately. But on the other hand, Touya-sama... Er, milord. Don’t involve yourself too directly in the affairs here. If you, as their lord, do too many things for the people, they may grow too dependent. It’s best to only interfere directly in situations where the people cannot do it on their own.”

Is that how it is...? I guess he has a point. People tend to sink into complacency pretty fast. It’d be bad for a country so young to start stagnating.

“Now, the eastern part of the nation will be set aside for agriculture. We can dig out canals to draw water from the river, then create various rice paddies. I do hope the soil there is as fertile as it is here in Eashen. With that we can begin trading with merchants and creating income for the country’s administrative procedures...”

So you’re saying we need to think about taxes, farmers, and sales of produce...

Honestly, I didn’t think I needed to tax the people. I made more than enough money to support my growing family through adventuring alone. Still, Kousaka told me that if I didn’t have taxes, the infrastructure of my government would falter. I decided that I would entrust the situation to him, but I did tell him to keep the taxes as low as possible.

“It would be good if we could export some kind of unique specialty. However, this land originally belonged to Regulus and Belfast, so it’s unlikely there’s anything of value around here. We may have to invest in technology to keep people drawn to us in trade.”

“For the time being, I can manufacture some bicycles. It should help us earn some income to begin with, at least... Then, after a while, other countries might reverse engineer and make their own.” Bikes were pretty handy and unique in this world, but they were still inferior to horse-drawn carts for carrying stuff, and regular horses still beat them in terms of speed. Still, there was an undeniable demand for bikes, so I figured they’d take off if they were mass produced. That being said, I didn’t think any other nation would be able to make bikes quite as nice as mine.

“Anyway, let’s try doing what we can for the time being. I’ll entrust you with agricultural and business administration for the time being, Kousaka. If it doesn’t work out, we can think of something else from there.” After my talk with Kousaka finished, I headed over to the training ground. My three knights were being put through the wringer by Baba and Yamagata, as usual.

Since we still hadn’t formally created a knight order or anything like that, I had asked the two of them to step in as instructors.

“Hey there, squirt. You done talkin’ with Kousaka?”

“You’re technically a vassal of mine now, Baba. Isn’t it about time you stopped calling me that?”

“Don’t be such a hardass. I’ll call ya ‘milord’ and such when the situation calls for it. I got enough social decorum to know when it’s needed.” Baba laughed loudly and slapped me on the shoulder.

Damn it... There’s just no winning with him, is there?

“Baba-dono might not change, but I’ll be sure to address you right, Chief!”

“Yamagata, all ya did was stop callin’ him Touya and start callin’ him chief.”

“Chief’s good, isn’t it? Sounds pretty important to me.”

Well, I guess they could’ve used worse terms. Good grief... I’m not really good at dealing with these two, but I guess that’s not so bad.

“I’m planning to go out and grab some supplies, since it’s already noon. I was thinking of having Lain and the others accompany me, since it could double as a training exercise.”

“A hunting trip? Sure, but do you think they’re in any state?” Yamagata pointed over at the trio. They looked exhausted. Only Nikola was standing. It seemed like he was a young guy with a pretty strong will. The other two were collapsed on the ground. Nikola’s fox-ears were still drooping, though.

“Come forth, Light. Breath of Vigor: [Refresh].” After the incantation, a soft light fell upon the three. Within a few moments, they hopped up, ran around a bit, did a few jumps, and swung their weapons with renewed energy.

“I’m not tired anymore...!”

“Was this your magic, milord?”

“G-Gah... I’m not worthy! I’m not worthy, milord!” It was my fatigue restoration spell, [Refresh]. It didn’t cure injuries or heal illnesses, but it got rid of physical fatigue and restored stamina. If used, it restored people to peak efficiency, as if they’d had a good rest. It didn’t change the fact that these guys had definitely overdone it today, though. I didn’t want to have to use the spell too often.

“Man, our chief’s really a crazy guy...” Yamagata called me crazy, but I think it was a compliment.

“Now then, let’s get lunch. What do you guys feel like hunting? We could go for fowl, boars, crab...”

Everyone suddenly yelled out crab in booming voices, so it was unanimous right away. That was easier than I had expected. Bloody Crab was on the menu that night. One was about the size of a truck, so I figured that hunting two was fine if I wanted to feed everyone.

“Oh, let’s be careful when we hunt the Bloody Crab, alright? It’s regarded as a Red Rank monster on the guild system.”

“What?!” The three of them seemed shocked, but that wasn’t too surprising. Red rank was the best most could hope to reach, so it was only natural for them to be shocked.

“But don’t worry too much. The two old timers here will be helping you hunt it, so you’ll be just fine.”

“We’re what?!” I smiled inwardly. You two didn’t think you’d be getting out of this, did you?

Once the hunt was over, I lamented over how easy it was. I defeated one of them solo using [Gravity]. It took me about one minute.

I left the second to the other five guys, just sitting back and watching, but I couldn’t just watch for too long, so I ended up supporting them with basic magic blasts and restoration spells.

They fought with all their might for a solid thirty minutes, and the Bloody Crab finally fell. It was pretty hard for them. I should’ve considered the fact that none of them knew magic. That carapace on the crab was pretty damn tough, after all. I should’ve gone for a monster that was more suited to their attack style.

“G-Good work...”

“Ch-Chief... you’re incredible... Goodness me... You’re actually a monster...” Yamagata looked toward me, his tired eyes flickering with... what looked like fear. Don’t be so rude!

The two ex-members of the Takeda Clan were still standing, but their breathing was ragged. Lain and the others, on the other hand, were almost completely worn out.

Just like before, I cast [Refresh] to bring them back from the brink of exhaustion.

The two old men were definitely the real deal, taking out a Red Rank monster was no small feat. The three warriors with them were also considerably tough, having held out so long.

I put both of the crab corpses in [Storage], then took us right back to the castle. From there, I went to the barracks and took the crabs out.

That reminds me... do we have enough condiments and seasoning? If I remembered right, we had a limited amount of miso, salt, soy, and other such things, so we’d be fine for the time being. Still, I made a mental note to hurry up with the mercantile access route.

I left the job of harvesting the crabs to the old folks and the other guys. Then, I headed off to build a highway that would stretch across to Belfast and Regulus.

Due to my territory originally being fraught with danger, the current road stretched around in a massive detour. It was down to me to build a new highway that passed through Brunhild.

It’d make the journey between Belfast and Regulus a much safer and shorter one. I decided to leave the original highway where it was, so people still had the option of bypassing my country if they felt like it.

“Maybe I should set up a checkpoint on the border or something. It’d be a whole heap of trouble if some bad guys tried coming through...” I decided to connect the checkpoint to the existing road as well. That meant I’d have to modify the existing road between Belfast and Regulus, just a little bit, but it’d be fine since I had permission to build a road from both countries anyway.

I used [Gate] to appear on Regulus’ side of the territory.

“Wonder if I can connect this side to Belfast in one go... It’d be better if I could make a single one-shot straight road instead of a twisty, winding mess...” I used Earth magic to flatten the ground and smooth it out from Regulus to Belfast. Honestly, it was already enough for it to pass as a road, but I decided that it would be a bit lazy to leave it at that, so I paved it with smooth stone so carriages could come across it with ease. That would also help it stay intact during rainstorms.

After that, I built two basic checkpoints at the Regulus border and the Belfast border. I’d have to come back later and make proper ones. I then applied the finishing touches, including signposts. The signs read “Duchy of Brunhild, this way!” I figured that was enough.

Even with that set up, there wasn’t exactly much that would make travelers want to head toward Brunhild. The castle could be seen from the road, but it wasn’t really enough to make the average wanderer say “Hey, I should go check that out!”

Still, it wasn’t like my castle was a tourist attraction or a revenue generator anyway, so I decided to put Tsubaki’s ninja clan to work. I liked the idea of them manning something like a rest area, with food and drink. That way it could become a hub of gossip and information in the middle of two major kingdoms. Ideal for ninjas to work at if you asked me.

That reminded me, I needed to make a road connected to my castle, too. I went and made a stone road that stopped at my castle gates. It was a simple repeat of the previous process, just on a much smaller scale.

As I reached the castle, a pleasant smell wafted through the air.

Smells like crab stew... Man, I’m hungry.

It was decided that our new recruits would be taught how to make bicycles in the afternoon.

I wasn’t going to be the teacher, though. That task fell to Rosetta. Mostly because she knew the details way better than me. It was better to leave it to her, after all. She began teaching everyone how to make them from scratch, without magic. That girl was definitely the terminal gynoid of the workshop for a reason. If she were an engineer in my world, she’d truly be of the highest tier.

I entrusted Rosetta with the manufacturing process, and then decided to teach people how to ride some. After all, if nobody could ride them, then nobody would buy them!

As I was teaching the ninja adults, their children mistook my bikes for toys, which wasn’t too unreasonable, so I ended up making a bunch of kid-sized bikes for them after they hounded me.

The grown-ups and children alike mastered the art of bike-riding in mere minutes. Their balancing skills were on point... The ninjas of Takeda were a terrifying force indeed.

◇　◇　◇

“Hoh, it’s really starting to take shape, huh?”

“I know, right?” As I admired the shops lining the highway, old man Naito nodded in appreciation.

Naito Masatoyoh, once one of the elite of Takeda, was in charge of everything in this area. Nothing about his appearance really stood out. He just looked like a regular old worn-out businessman.

Currently, there was nothing but a cafe, a bicycle shop, a weapon shop, an armor shop, and a general store, but it definitely had the look of a shopping district.

Further away from the highway, some houses were being built for the citizens. Actually, I had assumed the shops and houses would be built in an Eashen style, but that wasn’t the case. They were all brick buildings just like in Belfast or other western countries.

“If we emphasized our foreign culture, it’d make people feel a little cautious,” old man Naito said.

Travelers would drop in to visit every now and then, so the place was off to a pretty good start. The weapon shop stocked some rare and unusual swords for the area, as well as some shurikens. The cafe menu included some Eashen cuisine, as well as roll cakes, ice cream, pudding, and french fries.

Some rich customers would even buy bicycles on a whim, so business must’ve been booming. If business kept up at this rate, the place would be a huge success. That said, there weren’t that many citizens living here, so the place probably could’ve managed even without business being too prosperous. As I considered the place’s future, a former Takeda soldier rode up to us on a bicycle.

“My lord, a merchant claiming to be your acquaintance has arrived at the checkpoint.”

“A merchant? What was their name?”

“He identified himself as Zanac the clothing merchant.”

Zanac, huh? He must’ve come a long way to get here from Reflet.

“Okay. Let’s go.” I opened up a [Gate] and passed through to the checkpoint on the Belfast side along with the soldier.

There, I saw a horse-drawn wagon loaded with unfamiliar clothing, and Zanac, who was clad in that very same style.

“Yo, long time no see. Whoops, I guess that’s no way to talk to a grand duke, is it?”

“It’s fine. Welcome to the Duchy of Brunhild.” He was the first person to show me kindness in this world. The fact that I became a duke didn’t change that. I shook Zanac’s hand before speaking up.

“So, what brings you to this country? Business with the empire?”

“That too, but my primary goal is to establish trade with this country. I would like to set up a branch store here. ‘Fashion King Zanac: Brunhild,’ seems fitting.” Ah. That made sense. That’d be a pretty big investment, though. We weren’t even sure people would come, so his idea seemed odd.

“The way I see it... this is your country. If you built it, they will come. Meaning there’s no disadvantage for me if I secure an ideal location while the iron’s hot.” So that was his rationale. I had my doubts that a clothing store would do well at our current stage, but it would’ve been a problem not to have one. After all, clothes would get dirty and torn quickly and easily in the construction and agriculture rush, so honestly, it was a huge help to have a clothing store.

We returned through the [Gate] to the center of town and I introduced old man Naito to Zanac. The two of them worked out the land lot, the construction costs, the laborers and artisans, and other various business-related matters. I wasn’t an expert in those topics, so I let them handle it amongst themselves.

Anyway... a branch store. Zanac was a real go-getter. He managed to expand all the way from Reflet. Though he did have some of my help.

Speaking of Reflet, I wondered how Dolan and Micah were doing. Hold the phone. It took me a while to realize it, but this country doesn’t have an inn yet, huh? Honestly, I only really thought of this place as a passing point, but travelers and merchants will need a place to stay, right? Hmm... an inn sounds like a good idea. I’d prefer an inn that incorporates a restaurant and an information exchange area, too. Guess I’ll need professional help, after all. I decided that I might as well ask.

“So, I was thinking of requesting a Silver Moon branch be built in my country.”

“...Another request out of nowhere, eh.” Dolan crossed his arms and sighed. That made sense. I also realized it was a sudden request.

“We’ll handle the inn’s construction. I want you guys to be in charge of its management. By that, I guess I mean I want to hire you as a manager.”

“So that’s what you mean by a branch...?” Dolan tilted his head. Well, let’s not get too bogged down by the details.

“So, you saying you want Micah to come to that little branch then, huh?”

“Why not? I wanna go! It sounds fun!” Dolan covered up Micah’s mouth with an arm to the side as I sat across the table from them in the Silver Moon’s restaurant. It looked like Micah was ready to hop on board.

“Hmm... But it’ll be tough here without Micah, you know?”

“Oh, is that so? You can just ask Tania for help, can’t you? You have plenty of spare hands as it is already.”

“H-Hey, you know how that woman is...!” Dolan suddenly burst into a panic. Tania certainly was something. She was that widow who lived on the north side of town. She’d greeted me several times. But... was she really that close to Dolan? I had no idea.

“Wouldn’t it actually be better if I’m out of the way? Actually, can you even really refuse when the leader of an entire country asks you directly for help?”

“Gh...! Fine, I get it! Go already! Just don’t come crying back to me!” Micah pumped her fist upon getting Dolan’s reluctant consent.

I wanted to furnish the inn with a bathhouse, but there was a slight problem there... Getting the hot spring water from Belfast. It would’ve been improper to just take something from another country.

Brunhild had a waterway, so I just needed to find a way to heat the water from there. It wouldn’t have the same effect as a hot spring, but it should have been sufficient for a bathhouse. I could blend in some [Refresh] and [Recovery] into the water, after all.

For the time being, I took Micah back with me to where old man Naito was in Brunhild.

“Oh, if it isn’t Micah. Are you setting up a Silver Moon here, too?” Old man Naito had been talking to Zanac, but looked over this way with a smile.

“I decided to create a state-run inn, so I brought over a manager.”

“Oh, I’m a little envious. If you would like to have employee uniforms made, then kindly keep my store in mind.”

“You’re a good businessman.” Micah smiled as if she had thought Zanac was joking. I didn’t think it was a joke, though... Those were the eyes of a predator on the hunt.

I had old man Naito and Micah plan out the inn’s location. Since it was going to be state-run and all, I decided it’d be better to make it on the large side. We’d need enough space for a bathhouse too, anyway. I told Micah that I was going to prepare a room for her, so she should come to the castle later. Then, I left. As I strolled through the street on the way to the castle, children on tiny bicycles headed my way.

“Ah, milord! Hello!”

“Hello! Milord!”

“Yes, hello.” The kids greeted me as they zoomed past. They sure seemed energetic. It was a good thing they liked those bicycles. It was hard to believe that those innocent little kids came from a shinobi lineage.

I saw the kids off, and soon enough, I found a familiar girl running my way with something in hand.

“Touya!”

“Oh, Lu. What’s wrong?” Lu gasped for air as she handed me what she was holding. A two-tiered lunchbox and a thermos?

“Here’s your lunch. Since you weren’t back by lunchtime and all...”

“Ahh... I haven’t eaten yet, now that you mention it.” I took the lunchbox and headed to the shadow of a tree beside the road before pulling out a table and chairs out of [Storage].

I opened up the lunchbox to find rice and a variety of side dishes like a meat and vegetable stir-fry, sauteed burdock root, beef and potatoes, some layered omelets, and boiled fish in soy sauce. The food was a little misshapen, though.

“Huh? Did Crea not make this?”

“Ah, actually... Well... I made it. Crea said you liked Eashen cuisine, so I had Tsubaki teach me some of it... It’s my first attempt, so it might be somewhat awkwardly done, though...”

“Hoh.” It was pretty well done considering it was her first time. I used my chopsticks to try some of the beef and potatoes. Yup, it tasted just about right.

“It’s good. I can’t believe it’s your first attempt.”

“Really?! That’s great!” Lu was bursting with joy. She was kind of overdoing it, honestly. She had a pretty wide range of expressions, come to think of it. But that part of her was cute. Yumina and Lu were usually quite elegant and dignified, so it was charming to see them act like girls their age from time to time.

“...Is something wrong?”

“Hmm? Nah. Just thinking about how cute you are.”

“Hweh?!” Crap. I’d said it out loud. I kept eating, trying my best not to look at Lu’s blushing face. I was just kind of embarrassed, but the food was good. The fish and other dishes had quite a pleasant taste.

“U-Uhm, Touya, is there any food that you hate?”

“Hmm? Not particularly. Oh, but I’m not really good with really spicy things, I guess.” Elze’s super spicy chicken was hell to eat... I didn’t think anyone but Elze could stomach it.

“What about foods you like?”

“Hmm... It’s gotta be Japane... I mean, Eashen food, I guess. Anything that goes with rice, really... Ah, I really like the taste of this beef. It’s the best.”

“Th-Thanks...” Her face turned red again after I praised her cooking. Must be tough.

“I’ve had an interest in cooking ever since I was little, but the castle workers never let me try... Every day has been just so much fun ever since I met you, Touya.” Well yeah, I mean, she was a princess. There was no way they’d let her cook. That said, it was a shame to let such talent go to waste.

After I finished eating, I put the table and chairs back in [Storage] before we headed out back to the castle.

Lu kept glancing my way as she walked beside me. She’d reach her hand out and pull it back in, reach it out, and pull it back in. And so, I reached out and took her hand instead.

She twitched in surprise, but then clasped my hand back.

“Eheheh.” Lu smiled shyly as we returned to the castle, hand in hand. We probably looked just like siblings. Well, we weren’t in any hurry. I was sure that one day we’d look like lovers, or even husband and wife. Because I wanted to live with her in my country, forever.

Construction began on the Brunhild branches of Zanac’s clothing store and the Silver Moon inn, so the shopping district started looking more and more like a shopping district. Materials were running short, but I knew we’d find some way to cover it.

Fortunately, the dearth of citizens meant there wasn’t much to worry about concerning the food supply. The forest had edible plants like berries and mountain yams to be picked, as well as wild animals like boars and rabbits. There were plenty of fish in the river, too. Just as the Belfast and Regulus royals had said, this land appeared to be rather fertile. Though I guess that was why the place had a monster problem.

Well, you could say the place was, for the most part, suitable for establishing a new nation. Tsubaki suddenly came in with some new information.

“My lord, I have received word that something resembling those transporters you mentioned was found in the Elfrau Kingdom, which spreads north of the empire to the frigid tundra of the east.” That was interesting. Sounded like that information came from a merchant from Elfrau. There seemed to be a mysterious cylindrical object hidden in a cave blocked off by ice, just as it was with the desert ruins. Though, the shape was different this time.

If that doctor had only been consistent, it would’ve been simple to look for them using search magic. I mean, I did try using the search keyword “transporter.” Since the outer appearances changed each time, these things would only ever be recognized as “ancient ruins.” I was starting to think the doctor just hated me.

Well, it wasn’t as if the thing in the cave was guaranteed to be one of those teleporters.

Still, it must’ve been tough to have noticed it. Ninjas are really great. Information gathering was probably their specialty.

“Now you can obtain another doll for your collection, Master.”

“...It’s depressing to think that I might get more like you.” I wryly cracked back at Cesca’s utterance.

I had always thought this, but I got the feeling her personality was a slice of the doctor’s personality. After all, some of the ones like Rosetta seemed to have some pretty artificial attitudes. Cesca, on the other hand, liked to make dirty jokes.

For the time being, I had Tsubaki show me the object’s location on the map... It was pretty far. It was almost all the way up north. It’d probably be cold up there.

“Rosetta, Cesca, go on ahead with Babylon. If it gets cold, just go inside the house on the garden, okay?”

“No need to worry. Babylon deploys a barrier that maintains a moderate temperature, so heat and cold are no concern.” I thought about it, and it wasn’t that hot when we were in the desert, either. Seemed Babylon had multipurpose air conditioning. That sure was convenient.

Perhaps it was a vital function for the plants in the garden, actually. I mean, there could be seeds sensitive to the heat or cold.

After I sent out Cesca and Rosetta, I passed on the news about the transporter to Leen, who jumped for joy. I didn’t need to tell her about it directly, but if I didn’t, it would’ve surely proved to be scary later on.

Everyone went back to their rooms to prepare for a trip to an extremely cold area. I was fine since I had my coat. After all, my coat was imbued with anti-cold, anti-heat, anti-blade, anti-fist, and anti-magic attributes. It wasn’t really that hot in the desert either, so I figured I’d probably be fine.

We brought Kohaku with us this time, but Kokuyou and Sango requested to stay on house duty.

“We’re weak to the cold. It’s not that we freeze completely, but we’d rather pass.”

I see. It’s understandable since they’re a snake and a tortoise. Poor things. Good thing humans aren’t that frail.

...I was too naive. I underestimated the extreme cold. How could it even have been so cold? Had the coat’s anti-cold attribute worn off?! I started shivering as soon as I set foot on the snow-covered territory of Elfrau. Just how many degrees below zero was it? Meanwhile, everyone else calmly looked around. What was the meaning of this?!

“H-How are you all okay? A-Aren’t you cold?”

“I’m using warmth magic. We’re all at room temperature except for you.” Leen gave away the trick to her little prank. It was so unfair. Why would she single me out?

“Weren’t you the one who said you were perfectly shielded from the cold?”

I know, I did! I’m sorry I overestimated myself! So put your magic on me too, please!

“Come forth, Fire! A Cozy Cloak Scatters Down: [Warming]!” Leen’s magical light enveloped my body. The chill calmed down immediately.

To test the magic, I picked up some snow. It didn’t feel all that cold, but it didn’t rapidly melt, either. It seemed that the magic didn’t simply raise body temperature, but perhaps acted more like a defensive barrier against the cold instead.

Now that I was no longer distracted by the cold, I started to look around. Hidden by the pine trees was a large icy hole in the side of a mountain. The ice-covered cave continued endlessly underground. The ancient ruins we were looking for were apparently back there.

We stepped into the cave. Despite the effects of [Warming], I could almost swear I felt a chill run through my spine. We illuminated the cave with [Light Orb] and slowly made our way deeper.

“Watch your footing...”

“Take it nice and easy...” The very moment I reminded everyone to be careful, I slipped and fell on the ice. It hurt like hell. I guess it could be considered divine punishment. Perhaps I had slipped my enemies one too many times.

“What are you doing, Touya?”

“Are you okay, Touya-dono?” Elze and Yae reached out their hands and helped pull me up. If only I had shoes that would never slip. If I did the reverse of slip magic, would it let me stand on ice without slipping? Despite the slippery footing, Paula hastily descended into the icy hole. She tripped and tumbled along the way, so I couldn’t help but wonder what she was even trying to do.

Afterward, we paid even more careful attention to the cave. We almost slipped again and again, but eventually made it safely to the bottom without tumbling.

“...Sure is deep.” Linze muttered as she looked up. Inside the icy hole was a tall and wide cave, with icy stalagmites and stalactites clinging to the floor and ceiling. The cave was so dark that we couldn’t tell where anything was. Kohaku led the way, alongside the orb of light. I put the tiger up front to detect any sort of scent or sound ahead.

“My liege... Something is up ahead. I believe it is the ruins, but it looks like there’ll be some trouble...”

Huh? Found them already? Kohaku was pretty useful in the dark. I was surprised that big cat had such acute senses... But what sort of trouble did he mean? After a little cautious walking, I found out exactly what Kohaku was talking about. The black cylindrical object was covered in an enormous amount of ice. It seemed to be a wall of permafrost. A wall of ice inside a cave, and inside the ice was a black cylindrical artifact.

“It’s frozen solid... Can we even put a dent in this...?” I tried shooting one of Brunhild’s bullets into the ice, but it simply bounced right off. Typical. It figured it was going to be tough to crack this cold one open with the girls.

“Leen... Can you melt this with magic?”

“Hmm... I’ll try, but...” Flame spewed out of Leen’s finger like a flamethrower, but it was not enough to melt the ice. Why?

“Guess it’s really not going to work. This isn’t any ordinary ice. It’s magice.”

“Magice?”

“Ice that naturally accumulates magic. It can’t be broken without immense force, and not even magic can melt it easily.” Well, that was a pain. I was thinking of using [Gravity] to smash it, but it could’ve broken the artifact inside, too. Couldn’t use [Gate] to move just the ice, either, since it was stuck to other places.

So perhaps melting it really would be the best option? No, but melting it with heat could’ve made the cave itself collapse. The main question among us was what to do next.

“Hmm, is there no good way?” I tried putting my hand on the ice wall. It was cold. And that was even with the mitigating effects of [Warming]. Normally, it would’ve probably been enough to freeze my skin off.

“Man, and it’s right there, too.”

“We could reach it easily if we could dig a tunnel...”

“A tunnel...? Ah!” The word Yumina muttered sparked a flash of inspiration. I focused magic power into the palm of my hand. That was always an option, after all.

“[Modeling]!” The ice warped and caved in front of me. It spread out past my sides, forming a tunnel.

If we couldn’t melt it or smash it... then all we needed to do was reshape it. After all, our goal wasn’t to remove the ice. It was the same trick I used to bust the old guys out back in Eashen.

I reshaped more and more of the magice. Eventually, the cylindrical object appeared from within the ice.

“Now then, let’s take this back to Babylon and figure out if it can teleport...”

“It sure is big.” Lu was right. The cylindrical artifact was about six or seven meters in diameter and three meters tall. It was almost like a giant tuna can.

I tried circling the object by reshaping the ice with [Modeling], but I couldn’t find an entrance or anything. There was nothing that looked like a door, and unlike the desert artifact, it didn’t look like there was a way to slip into it by touching it.

I wondered what it could be... Since the shape reminded me of a tuna can, I recalled how tuna cans were opened. It’s from the top, right? I transformed the ice into the shape of stairs and carefully made my way to the top, telling everyone to wait at the bottom.

There was nothing on the top of the artifact except for a single cavity in the center that was about one meter in diameter. Is that it? I cautiously stretched my foot out to check, and sure enough, it slipped through. So that really was the entrance. That mysterious wall that only I, master of all six elements, could pass through.

“I found the entrance. I’m going in. Everyone stay on alert. If anything happens, contact me through Kohaku.” I instructed everyone down below before cautiously leaping in through the top. I pierced through the ceiling and landed inside. There I found a dim, pale light, and a magic circle with six stone pillars. It seemed this was indeed a remnant of Babylon.

I poured magic of each of the six elements into each of the six stone pillars. After all six elements had been poured, the circle began emitting a faint light. Finally, I stepped into the center and poured out some Null magic. A dazzling light engulfed me, and I vanished in a flash.

◇　◇　◇

Spread before me was the standard scene I’d grown accustomed to. A beautiful expanse of trees, a bright blue sky overhead, and luscious green grass as far as I could see, with a pure stream of water running through it. It seems that I had successfully warped to a new place.

I was hoping that it’d be either the hangar or the library. The storehouse would also be quite welcome, because I’d finally be able to punish whoever was responsible for all the trouble I’d been through so far.

I walked by the water, and eventually a building became visible through a clearing in the trees. The building was around three stories tall. It was fitted with stained glass windows, and had a regal air about it, somewhat like a church. It didn’t have any religious iconography on it or anything, though.

The building looked to be built with red brick, all the way to the roof. Alongside it, an octagonal building jutted upward. It looked a bit like a pagoda.

“Pretty sure this is a piece of Babylon, but...”

“You’re quite right, you see. A very warm welcome to you. Welcome to the alchemy lab.” I turned toward the sudden greeting and found myself face-to-face with a golden-eyed young girl. She was fairly tall, had pale white skin, and beautiful pink hair that flowed to the side in a ponytail. She looked older than Cesca, physically at least.

She wore a dark top, with a large pink ribbon about her chest. On her lower body there were black tights, and a fairly standard white skirt. Her outfit wasn’t really different from the ones worn by the other two when I’d met them. There was one thing setting her aside from the other two Gynoids, however. The size of the mounds beneath the ribbon on her outfit. She was on Cecile’s level at the very least...

“I’m the Terminal Gynoid of the Alchemy Lab of Babylon, you see. My name is Bell Flora. But please, call me Flora.” If her name was Bell Flora, then I thought it’d make more sense to call her Bell, but... it was her call. That reminded me, Cesca’s full name was actually Francesca. Maybe in their culture it was normal to call people by the latter part of their names or something.

But still, she had said we were in the lab. That meant it wasn’t any of the facilities we were looking for.

“You’ve arrived here, you see. That means you have the same attributes as the doctor. But only a person deemed worthy can become the administrator of the Alchemy Lab of Babylon.”

“I know all this already. I’ve already been recognized by the Terminal Gynoids from both the garden and workshop.”

“The garden and the workshop? That means you’ve met Cesca and Rosetta, you see? My, it’s almost been five thousand years... How nostalgic.” Flora smiled happily and put her hands to her chest. Jiggle, jiggle... They both jiggled...

My eyes darted downward, staring without my consent. In that moment, I knew what had happened. She’d used magic on me! That was it. That must’ve been it. She’d cast a wicked hex on me!

“For those two to have accepted you, you must have the required qualities, you see... But even so, you must pass my test!” Her test? Oh, that suddenly reminded me that Cesca and Rosetta both had tests for me as well... a thought that drove a cold sweat to my brow. But it was already too late. As I was lost in thought, my body was taken advantage of. Flora grasped me by the hand, forcing my digits and palm against her spongy orbs.

S-Soft... A soft sensation spread across my hand. The sponginess, the springiness... I couldn’t stop myself. Flora’s sudden action had scared me, so I instinctively flexed my fingers. I’d unintentionally groped her. It was inevitable, it was unavoidable! It wasn’t my fault, but even so, the deed was done. I had given her a firm squeeze.

“A-Ahh, y-you see...?” Flora’s lovely voice snapped me back to reality, so I quickly realized what was going on. She had violated me, somehow!

“Wh-Wh-What the hell?!” I was in a very compromising position, so I yelled out in a flurry, but... I had to be calm, I had to be composed.

“Ufufu... You’ve passed the test! If you had turned into a savage beast and bent my knees back here and now, you’d have been disqualified for sure, you see!”

Beast?! What the hell is wrong with you, lady?! You just sexually harassed me, in reverse? I guess? I don’t get it, but this doesn’t sit right with me! Flora suddenly began to undo her ribbon, then started unfastening the buttons on her blouse. I had no idea what I was even looking at.

“Now for level two, you see... Let’s see if you can hold back much longer...!”

Her breasts heaved and shuddered as they sprang forth from her blouse. My eyes couldn’t process what was in front of them. Fully nude, fully uncensored, up close and personal. My eyes instinctively darted away. Why the hell wasn’t she wearing a bra?

“H-Hey! Put them back in already! I’m not gonna jump you, quit it!”

“Are you sure? You could squeeze them, rub them, tweak them all you like, you see...”

“I’m quite fine, thank you! I’ve had my fill!” I didn’t even know what I meant by that. My mouth just moved on its own, so I was spewing confused garbage. I could almost hear the doctor laughing at my flustered panic... If I had a time machine, I was sure I’d have used it to go back and show her a thing or two...

“...Very well, would you like to shove them back into my blouse?”

“I said I’m quite fine, thanks!” I yelled at her, quite irritated. Seemed that this girl contained a twinge of the doctor’s personality, as well. It really ticked me off.

“I recognize you formally as a man suitable for the job. Therefore, I, Number Twenty-One, Bell Flora, hereby relinquish myself to you. Please treat me well, Master.” Flora adjusted her outfit and gave me a beaming smile.

Just as I’d expected, this girl was a whole heap of trouble. Before I could even process my thoughts, she violently grabbed me by the face and pulled my lips to hers. No, not again!

“Augh!” Just like with Cesca and Rosetta, she swirled her tongue around the inside of my mouth. Mmph, hey! Get off me... I— Help! After spending a short while violating my mouth with her tongue, Flora pulled back. Not before nibbling my lower lip, though.

“Mm, genetic registration confirmed. Your genetic information has entered my system, Master. From now on, the Alchemy Lab of Babylon is yours to command, you see.” I heard Flora talk to me, but I was too zoned out and exhausted to fully take in what she was saying. Come on, lady... If you were the guy and I was the girl, that definitely wouldn’t have been considered okay, would it?!

“This is a facility that specializes in the combination of materials through magic, you see. Though we primarily specialize in medication and food, we are able to do things with other materials, if need be.” I was listening to Flora explain the functions of the Alchemy Lab of Babylon to me. Functionally, it sounded kind of similar to my enchanting spell. From what I understood, it could do something similar to what I did when I enchanted the Silver Moon’s hot springs with [Recovery], just on a much grander scale.

“So, what kind of things can you make here?”

“We can create useful items, you see. Potions that cure you of injury, for example. But we can also imbue items with certain qualities, like making plants that bear disease-resistant fruits. Plants that would pass that quality on to whoever ate it, you see.” That was definitely interesting to hear. I had a feeling something like that would come in handy in Brunhild’s agricultural movements.

“We are also equipped with a state-of-the-art medical facility, you see. If you were to have an arm ripped from its socket, or a leg shredded into grisly, writhing strips of red paste, we would simply grow you a new one!” I wondered if that was something more along the lines of biotechnology or life-restoring magic. I guess it dealt with science in the same way that fermenting natto, soy sauce, miso, and yogurt did. Still, her mention of selective breeding made me think it was more related to genetic modification.

I wondered if we’d be able to use this place to clone people, or create homunculi... Given that Flora, the girl before me, was a gynoid with mostly biological parts... Well, it was entirely possible that she and the others were grown here.

I decided not to think about that too much.

“Could you crossbreed an apple with an orange to make a new fruit?”

“That is indeed possible, you see. I can create an orange with the taste of an apple, as well as the inverse! I can even create a crop that fuses the flavor of both into one fruit.” That was incredible, but I had no idea how it worked. I wondered if we could cross garlic seeds with rice grains, and produce the ability to grow garlic rice... One fact was clear, this piece of Babylon had some of the most bizarre potential out of the lot. Still, it was more apt to call this a kind of magical synthesis, rather than alchemy. There was nothing scientific about it at all.

“They’ve been modified by magic, but they’re still plants, you see. How they grow will depend on the hand of the one nurturing them. The taste will likely vary based on how well they’re taken care of.” Well, that made sense enough to me. We’d be introducing crops that had never before been seen in the world, though... So frankly, it was unknown whether or not they’d even turn out okay. The only way to know would be to try growing them. I made a mental note to set up an experimental farm for this very purpose.

As I listened to Flora’s explanation, I finally set foot in the lab itself. On one side, there was a row of glass cases of all different shapes and sizes, all lined up in a row. On the other, there were various tool cabinets and storage units. There was something that looked like a control panel in the middle of the room, and beyond that there were a ton of cylindrical cases made out of glass. They sort of looked like cryogenic pods from old sci-fi movies. I wondered if they were capsules people would enter to be treated.

“This is a gathering of the many amazing chemicals and potions the professor synthesized, you see. Most of these are medicinal, in fact.”

“Amazing... So she actually researched things for the betterment of humanity...”

“She certainly did, you see. Love potions, high-potency aphrodisiacs, erotic stimulants, energy tablets, libido enhancers, sensitivity agents, fertility-guaranteeing drugs... She was amazing, you see. All of these things are of the greatest potency, and with zero side effects.”

“Never mind, I take it all back!” That damn old doctor was too horny for her own good. The only kind of medication she whipped up here was for a very specific subset of people!

“The effect of this one is supposed to be beyond reason, you see. I’ve heard it’s so strong that you’ll feel as though you’ve died and gone to heaven...! I’ve never tried it myself, you see, but... i-if you’d like to indulge with me, master...!”

“For the sake of the sanctity of life, I outright refuse!” Was this some kind of sick joke? I wondered if this stuff was actually safe and without side-effects, though... Things were mighty suspicious in the lab. Well, it didn’t matter much. I wasn’t planning on using any of it either way... At least I probably wouldn’t use any of it, yet.

“Didn’t the doctor create anything, like... normal?”

“Not at all.” Damn, that was blunt. This facility really was useless to me, after all... It was like a complete manifestation of whimsical nonsense. I began to wonder whether or not bringing my precious brides-to-be near this place would be a good idea...

I left the lab and bared myself to the wind, deep in thought. Well, I have no choice but to bring the others...

“The Alchemy Lab of Babylon...? Is that even going to be of any use to us?” Leen let out a frustrated mutter. Seems she was disappointed it wasn’t the facility she was after.

I’d called everyone over to the new facility, then set a course for Brunhild. I was planning on linking up the new piece to our Babylon puzzle.

“Uhm... did I do something wrong, you see?”

“No, don’t mind it.” Flora looked over with a troubled expression. It wasn’t a problem that Leen was irritated, but if she was going to get like this every time until we found the library, I decided I’d stop bringing her along. That aside, everyone except Leen was staring over at Flora.

“Ah, are you the one in charge of the lab...?”

“Ah, I’m Flora, you see.”

“Th-They’re big...” Both Yumina and Lu had their eyes transfixed on Flora’s hefty melons.

“Wh-What’s with those things?”

“I-I can’t possibly win... Not against those... Th-They knock me out of the park...” The twins shuddered in misery for some reason... Yae and Leen, on the other hand, didn’t seem especially troubled. Yae’s bust was about the same size as Flora’s anyway, while Leen seemed to be deep in thought.

I wondered why they cared so much... Well, it wasn’t too hard to figure out. After all, a man tends to glance at larger things more often. In the end, I didn’t care. Big or small, the chest still held the heart. Big ones were eye-catching, but it didn’t matter much to me in the end.

“D-Do you prefer them big, Touya?!” Lu looked at me with wide eyes, seeming about ready to cry. That wasn’t the case at all! Flora’s big knockers had nothing to do with my tastes. Sure, my eyes might have occasionally darted down there, but my heart wasn’t dominated by her chest.

“You should not fret, you should not. Lu-dono and Yumina-dono will surely blossom at a later date, they will. When I was your age, my bust was around the same size, it was.” Yae’s words brought hope to the saddened eyes of Yumina and Lu, but Elze and Linze simply sank into a deeper despair.

“...Perhaps we could make them grow with a little massage?”

“What the hell?! Don’t say stupid crap like that!” I ended up overreacting to Leen’s casual comment. That irritating fairy really never knew when to shut up. Upon hearing the exchange, everyone except Flora averted their eyes and blushed beet red. Flora herself only smiled widely, then opened her mouth. What are you doing?

“Ehehe, my dear master already massaged mine a short time ago, you see...” Why in the world did you think that was a good thing to say right now?! Everyone, other than Leen, turned their gazes upon me in seconds flat. Flora opened her mouth with an innocent little smile, then... dealt the final blow to her enemies with her words.

“He planted a wonderful kiss upon my lips as well, you see.”

What?! You damned fiend, what the hell are you saying?! Are you taking a sick pleasure in all of this?! You’re the one who kissed me! I thought I could see Doctor Babylon’s wicked grin hiding behind Flora’s innocent beaming for a moment there.

“Touya, I believe we need to have a small chat...” Yumina turned to me, smiling, but there was no kindness in her eyes. All of the other girls wore the same terrifying expression.

Wait, no! This is a misunderstanding! I’m innocent here! I was made to bow down and listen to all of them yell at and lecture me for some time after that. It wasn’t fair... Once again, I was reminded of why hunting for the pieces of Babylon was a terrible idea.

Paula patted me gently on the shoulder, reassuring my dejected self. Only she was there to comfort my wounded heart.

◇　◇　◇

The alchemy lab docked with the workshop and the garden, way up in the skies of Brunhild. At this point, the structure was around the size of a castle. It didn’t really have that many buildings, though.

Cesca wore a maid uniform, Rosetta a workman’s overalls. Flora, on the other hand, changed into a nurse outfit. I guess they all had their preferences for casual attire. I wasn’t really sure why she made that choice of all things. But I did consider the fact that the alchemy lab doubled as a medical facility, so it wasn’t too far-fetched to call it a reasonable choice of clothing.

That being said, I thought her choice of a pink nurse outfit complete with matching white stockings-and-garter belt combo was pushing it a little far. It felt more like a sexy nurse outfit than an actual uniform. Not to mention the fact that the outfit really seemed to emphasize the bust. I had no idea where to look.

Flora’s medical knowledge was fairly extensive, so I decided to put a doctor’s office inside the castle for her to work out of. I could pretty much heal whatever with my magic, but having an actual medical facility in-house would be a very useful emergency backup.

In the meantime, I planned to have the alchemy lab produce rice hybrids. I had acquired many rice seeds from Eashen, and the plan was to imbue them with resistance to disease and general plant-destroying trouble. I had set aside a plot of land in the eastern part of my nation, it was my experimental agricultural zone. I hoped it would work out.

The street along the highway to Brunhild was also being well developed. Old man Naito was really giving it his best, so I was quite happy about that.

The Brunhild Branch of the Silver Moon had been opened successfully too, it would prove a good place for weary travelers to rest their heads. I had set up a bath house there, too. It was proving pretty popular, on account of its fatigue-restoring properties. Micah ended up hiring a whole fleet of employees, most of which were ex-Takeda ninjas. It felt like she was really stepping into the shoes of a managerial position.

“Seems Brunhild is coming along quite nicely... quite nicely indeed...”

Clink.

“Well, it’s Touya’s nation, after all. I wasn’t too concerned.”

Clink.

“Ah, sorry, Beastking. That’s Pon. Hoho...”

Clink.

“Heheheh. This is what you get for calling off me. Ron, Emperor. Tanyao, Pinfu, and Iipeikou. That’s 3900 points.” Ah, Refreese’s emperor just played into the emperor of Regulus’s hand. Wait, what were these guys doing here? This was Brunhild castle’s gaming center. And the rulers of the western nations were all gathered around its mahjong table. But not me. I wasn’t here to play mahjong.

“So, what exactly did you call us all here for?”

“Hm? No real reason. I simply wished to play mahjong with you all.”

The king of Belfast responded casually. That’s why they were here? I even went out of my way to use the Gate to check up on them. These guys really need to take their safety more seriously.

They pushed all their tiles into the depression in the center, and the automatic table provided them with a new fully shuffled set. They distributed the tiles with practiced movements and began their next game. They’ve really taken a liking to this game...

“Well, I also thought this would make for a good opportunity to exchange information.” The emperor smiled as he discarded a tile. I was glad they’re all getting along, but this was a little worrying. It would be a pretty big problem if all the heads of state neglected running their countries and spent all day playing mahjong instead.

“So you said you were swapping international gossip?”

“Indeed. Lately there’s been a bit of a stir within the Ramissh Theocracy.” The King of Belfast spoke up whilst sorting through his tiles. I had vaguely heard about the Ramissh Theocracy, it was a sovereign nation located to the southeast of Regulus. If I remembered right, it was close to Mismede, accessible by crossing the Great Gau River. You could also reach Belfast by going downstream further from there.

“What’s happening over there?”

“Well they say that there’s been a vampire running about Isla, their holy city.”

“A vampire?” That certainly sounded strange. But, on the other hand... I might’ve just been out of the loop. Vampires could just be another common species in this world. I tentatively looked over to the beastking. He was a demi-human, after all.

“According to what I’ve heard, there’s new victims every night. Each of the corpses found is a dry husk, drained of all its blood.” How terrifying. This murderer certainly had questionable hobbies.

“That’s why people think it’s the work of a vampire... a member of the Vampire Clan.” The emperor explained to me as he dropped a tile. The Vampire Clan, huh? So there was an actual race of people known as vampires, then. Well, seeing as there was an Aquatic Clan in Mismede, it stood to reason that there would be a lot of different races in this world.

“The truly troublesome thing about this incident is that it had to be in Ramissh. Its citizens are all devout followers of Lars, the god of light. They despise denizens of the dark, no matter who they are. Anyone who so much as has an affinity with dark magic is shunned.” The beastking grimaced as he discarded his tile. Seriously? That sounded more like a cult than a religion.

“Who’s this Lars guy?”

“Hm? Oh, you haven’t heard of him Touya? It’s an old legend about the founding of Ramissh. A thousand years ago, the land was overrun by demons and spirits. But then Lars descended from the heavens and cleansed the land of all that was evil. The people that lived there came to worship this god of light, and spread his gospel wherever they could. That was how the Theocracy of Ramissh came to be...or so the tale goes.” I tilted my head in confusion at the king of Belfast’s explanation. God of light, huh? I already knew two gods, so perhaps it wasn’t so farfetched a story after all. I doubt the god of love had anything to do with it, but there was always the other one. Though I couldn’t imagine it, really.

Besides, it seemed like he liked to avoid getting involved in worldly affairs. He had a bunch of other worlds to manage as well too, so he was probably too busy to deal with every little problem that popped up.

I could always call him up and ask, but it didn’t really seem important enough to warrant it. He’d probably get annoyed if I called him up for every little thing. He was God, after all.

“Dealing with Ramissh is always so irksome. They insist on making every decision based on their holy doctrine. Everything is done ‘in the name of justice and light.’ They’re all so stiff and uptight. Their pope especially.”

“Oh yes, I cannot deal with that pope either. Any time we meet I always get a lecture. All that old crone ever does is nag. Well, I suppose she does mean well.”

The emperor and the beastking exchanged wry smiles. Pope?

“Excuse me, but when you say pope, what do you mean?”

“Ramissh is a theocracy, not a monarchy. The ruler is elected from among the highest ranking bishops at the time, they don’t inherit their position. Once elected, the pope rules until they die, or chooses to retire. The current pope is Elias Altra. Or rather popess. This is the twentieth year of her reign so she must be past sixty by now... Ah ha.” The Refreese emperor dropped his tile onto the table.

“That’s a ron, Emperor. Pinfu with two dora. 3900 points.”

“Again?!” Once more, the Refreese emperor had played into the emperor of Regulus’ hand. The beastking looked up at the sky in defeat.

“Ahh, I almost had a chinitsu too...Why must you keep going for quick wins with cheap hands, Your Highness?”

“Strategy, my good man. Even if I never win big, as long as I’m the only one who wins, I’ll come out ahead.”

The king replied triumphantly. Luck was what made mahjong such a thrilling game after all. In a way, their playstyles reflected their personalities as well. You could learn a lot about someone by how they played. The Belfast king continued talking as they pushed all the tiles into the center.

“The Vampire Clan is actually one of the few clans that make up the demonkin. They’re not exactly a rare species, but they definitely know what Ramissh thinks of their kind, so it’s odd that one would show up there. There’s something fishy about this whole situation.” It did sound like suicide for a denizen of the dark to show up there. Though if the vampire hadn’t been caught yet, that meant he was doing a pretty good job of hiding. Hmm, this definitely struck me as odd...

“Well, as long as it’s not affecting us there’s no reason to worry about it. It’s not like the entire clan has started attacking people or anything. Though if Ramissh starts going after the whole clan because of this, I’d take the vampires’ side.” The beastking harrumphed loudly and crossed his arms over his chest. Beastmen were still discriminated against in a lot of places. He probably hated the idea of someone being persecuted just for their race or birthplace. Though I agree it’s a little fanatic to believe anyone that belongs to the dark is automatically evil.

The Ramissh Theocracy...

It didn’t sound like a place I’d want to go to. I did believe in Gods, and I probably had more reason to be grateful to them than most, but I couldn’t say I cared for religion.

In the end, the Refreese emperor kept losing to the emperor of Regulus, and the round ended with him in the lead. The four rulers agreed to meet again the next month and went home.

Seems they’d decided to make it a regular thing.

“Y-Yes...” Despite her words, Phyllis still only really seemed capable of raising her head. That was perfectly understandable, all things considered. Having been shown something like this? She’d have no choice but to admit the truth. I think her earlier question about the validity of my God had been promptly answered. God absolutely existed.

“We should change venues, I think. Is there another, more comfortable room in the area?”

“Hm? I mean, I have a meeting room...” I opened up a [Gate] and the three of us went through. Phyllis had trouble standing, so I had to lend her my arm until we reached the couch.

I went to prepare us all some tea, passing by a frozen Renne and Cecile, who were apparently laughing at something before being paused. I poured out the tea by myself into a big pot, then returned to the room with a few snacks and three teacups.

When I returned to the room, the two were much like they were when I’d left. God was swaying around a bit, looking about the room like an excited child, while Phyllis was sweating bullets and almost completely immobile. Her eyes, on the other hand, were darting all over the place.

I poured out the tea into the cups and lined the snacks up. God took the first sip, and I asked my question.

“I’ve got a question for you, old man.”

“Mhm? What is it?” God placed his teacup down on the table with a smile, and turned to face me.

“Do you know of any god of light named Lars?”

“That... does not ring a bell. I’ve never heard that name, no. In fact, amongst all journeyman-level gods, and even trainee gods... there is no such being as Lars, god of light.” I didn’t expect him to be that confident. Phyllis looked like she had been punched in the stomach. But that was only natural, the god she had been raised to believe in had just been completely outed as fictional.

“Well, maybe he isn’t called Lars. Is there a god of light?”

“No, there is no such thing as the god of light. Well, if I were forced to classify a god of light, that would probably fall under my jurisdiction. I’m the world god, after all. There’s a god of wind, a god of fire, a god of darkness, and so on. For the most part, deities with the ‘god of’ prefix are the most simple and lowest of the godly hierarchy.” Hm, I wondered if that meant the god of love was a lower level god, as well. That confused me, because she seemed very friendly with my god, who I figured was pretty much at the tippy-top. I didn’t really know much about the social affairs of the divine realm, nor did I care that much.

“B-But... if that’s the case, then what about the legendary incident, in which High Light Priest Ramirez called down Lars, god of light?” Ramirez, the High Light Priest, was the founder of the Ramissh Theocracy. The person who supposedly purified the land by borrowing the light of God.

“Hm? You say he called upon a God? Even if humans could summon Gods, which I sincerely doubt... it would still be rather rare. Then again, there are some Gods that act upon simple whims, so I could not rule it out entirely.” The irony here was palpable. This God was probably the most whimsical of the lot!

“Still, as the story goes... I do not believe it was a God. It is more likely that he summoned a spirit. To be more specific, a spirit of light.”

“That’s a little ambiguous... Is it possible to peep into the past and see what happened?”

“That is not impossible, but... it would be a bit of a bother. Let me explain in terms you may understand a little better. It is quite easy to pause an episode of something if you watch it on DVD, yes? But say you recorded television for an entire year, and suddenly needed to find the advertisements of a specific late-night talk show from a year and a half ago. Your recordings are numerous, and you have not indexed them... it would be quite hard to reach that certain point, would it not?” That was a needlessly complicated explanation, but I pretty much understood.

“But then... what of our teachings? Our doctrine...?” Phyllis looked completely depressed, which was only natural given that God had just shot down her entire life. It was understandable, but even so, I didn’t expect her to get that torn up over it.

“Do you people need the hand of God to hold yours? Can you not march forward for the sake of your own beliefs? Your own responsibilities? There’s no harm in taking God as a piece of emotional solace, but you must not use religion as a crutch. Your parents, siblings, lovers, friends, you must trust in them, as they trust in you. To be dependent upon us is the greatest mistake you could make. The Gods will do nothing to your world. I can assure you of that. Only you are capable of saving yourselves, or destroying yourselves. You are the ones with the power to change the world, to create miracles. We above will simply watch down upon you.” God was certainly being thorough, but he still interfered now and then, didn’t he?

I decided to keep my mouth shut. I didn’t think my commentary would have anything to add. Phyllis seemed pretty sad, anyway, so snarky commentary would just be insensitive.

“Well, even though I said that, I suppose it was not entirely the case... I typically leave you to your own devices without looking. If young Touya were not sent here, I may not have taken a look at affairs for another ten thousand years or so.” Just like that, he completely ruined the beauty of his message! Even though he had made a point to say the Gods were watching, it felt more like they were neglecting! He probably had a ton of different worlds to manage anyway, so keeping an eye on every one would be a pain. “Is that truly the case?”

“Indeed. It may sound somewhat cruel, but the world is not my responsibility. No world is. The inhabitants are the ones who decide what happens to their world. The Gods will do nothing, I promise you that. Well, we would interfere if the troubles in the world were caused by us, for example the rare incident of a God turning wicked and laying waste to the world below. We would step in then.” I certainly hoped nothing like that happened to us. Sounded like a bad time for everyone. The rules seemed a little flexible and contradictory there. Gods sure were whimsical.

“If I were to summarize, I’d say that I want the people of their respective worlds to deal with the problems of their respective worlds. Even if a great Demon Lord appeared and began to wage war upon the world, hoping to crush or dominate it, we gods would do nothing if the Demon Lord were a natural resident of the world to begin with. That being said, I would elect to grant divine weaponry to mankind and aid their struggle. I do not like worlds in which people suffer heavily, after all.” That made sense enough. I supposed that indirect intervention was also a fair option. It was enough to interfere, but also not be a massive boost. But then again, he said they wouldn’t intervene in the natural order of the world, but they’d still grant some kind of superweapon to use in the case of big events like a Demon Lord uprising? It all sounded a little half-assed to me.

“There will always be those who depend on their parents forever. But the humans of this world are children no longer, I ask that you walk by yourselves, talk by yourselves. If you do so, you should be able to walk with pride and strength, to clear all obstacles in your path. With that, we Gods will watch over you keenly. Sometimes.” That ‘sometimes’ was a little unnecessary. But I’m sure that someone was always being watched somewhere across all the universes, so it wasn’t like they were slacking.

“B-But what am I to do...? If Lars, god of light, doesn’t exist, then... All of his teachings were made by a man, rather than the divine. Does that make it all meaningless? Does that make all I’ve ever done completely meaningless?”

“It is not meaningless, far from it. I am certain that somewhere, at least once, those teachings have saved someone. It matters not who made them, so long as they do good. Simply look at it as ‘for your fellow man’ rather than ‘for the glory of God.’ Cast off the shackles of doctrine, and live by your own strengths.”

“...Y-Yes...” I didn’t think her mind would be able to change right away. After all, she had been born with a certain mindset, and raised in it. But, little by little, I felt she could be freed from the shackles she was born into.

“Well then, I believe it’s time for me to leave. It is not proper for time to be put on pause for so long...” We moved back to my throne room, because it would’ve been strange if we suddenly vanished in front of everyone else.

Kohaku and Kousaka were both as stiff as they had been before. If it weren’t for the unusual circumstances of the situation, I might’ve been inclined to pull a prank on them. It was a tad late for that, though.

“Well then, my dear. Live strong, live brave. Live in good health.” God bore a beautiful smile, and turned into particles of light.

After a few moments, Kohaku and the others began to move again. They looked in our general direction, somewhat confused. Since my location was a little bit different to when time had stopped, I think it looked like I had teleported from their perspective.

“...I-It feels like I just woke from a dream. Did... did that really just happen?”

“It really did. You met with God, the one and only. Do you believe, now?”

“...I do.” The girl wore a peaceful smile on her face, and the shine in her eyes seemed calmer, more serene. I hoped that she was able to reconcile things within herself.

Then, with a quick bow and an apology, she left my throne room.

So ended my first diplomatic meeting. I was immediately reprimanded by Kousaka. I couldn’t really complain about that, though. I was not exactly good when it came to negotiation.

In all honesty I was a little concerned, so I dispatched one of Tsubaki’s ninjas to the Theocracy. I summoned a tiny bird and asked him to take it along with him, so that I’d be able to know any news as soon as he got it.

A few days later, I learned that a priestess of the Ramissh Theocracy, one Phyllis Rugit, had been stripped of her position. She had been charged with high blasphemy, the penalty for which was death.

◇　◇　◇

How could something so foolish have come about? I couldn’t understand why Phyllis had been marked for execution. The world was too cruel a place, to allow this to happen to a girl who was finally able to act on her own thoughts.

《When is she to die?》

《Ah, yes... The execution is scheduled for three days from now, early in the morning. The only reason she wasn’t cut down on the spot was because of the presence of a group that protested the order, and they didn’t wish to create civil unrest.》 The agent I had sent to Ramissh was able to instantly report in through a telepathic link I had set up via a summoned bird familiar. From the sounds of things, Phyllis had some allies over there, so that was a small comfort to know. At the very least, I was glad she hadn’t been killed yet.

《Thank you. Please continue your investigation, and let us know if there are any new major developments.》

《Very well.》 I cut off the contact. I had to figure out what to do. It was obvious from the outset that I couldn’t leave her to die. I was the one responsible for Phyllis’ new outlook on life, so the execution order was also my responsibility by proxy.

“Ugh... this is why religion is such a bore, Touya. Religious people are always convinced they’re in the right, and never stop to consider other outlooks!” Elze, leaning her arms on the table at the balcony, failed to hide her irritation. I told everyone about the situation with Phyllis, though I took care to omit the part about us getting a visit from God. I just replaced that part by telling everyone that I had persuaded Phyllis to change her faith, or rather that she had left our meeting with a few things to reflect on and ponder.

“So, what will you do?”

“Well, I figured I’d go there. I have to stop the execution, right?” I gave Linze a simple enough answer. This was one of those situations where the fact that I was a head of state could come in handy. They couldn’t just brush me off, surely. I decided that the best course of action was to directly negotiate with the pope. After all, the life of one former priest wouldn’t be that difficult to negotiate sparing, right?

“And if they do not stop, if they do not, what will you do then?”

“Hm... it’ll have to be a prison break, right? I’ll bust in and save her.”

“A-Are you stupid, Touya?! That’ll cause an international incident!” Yumina didn’t seem to like my response to Yae’s question, but I decided to keep it as a last resort. I didn’t think we needed to rely on Ramissh or anything, so if we ended up souring relations with them it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

At first, I held back a little. I wasn’t sure if Lars, god of light, was a real entity, and I didn’t want to meddle in their religious affairs, but after God himself told me that Lars wasn’t real? That changed everything. Ultimately, their religion was irrelevant to me in this matter, what mattered was their diplomatic attitude. Part of me wouldn’t have even minded if diplomatic relations broke down between our two nations. They just sounded more like trouble than anything else to me.

I shifted my gaze to Kousaka, who was quietly standing nearby.

“Will there be any issues if I earn the ire of that country?”

“Currently, I see no major negative repercussions. But they may send their zealots to cause trouble in our country.” Well that sounded a bit irritating. It struck me as odd that a God with teachings of light and justice would have such petulant, hounding followers.

“They can justify anything if they say it’s in the name of justice... It’s just a convenient excuse for them...” Lu let out a quiet mutter, disgust painted on her face. That reminded me of a saying I’d once heard. So long as everyone tries to be the hero, wars will never end.

“Anyway, I can’t just abandon her like this. I’m off to go save her.”

“Then at least let us come, too.”

“No, if we all rush in at once it’ll only needlessly agitate them. I’ll take care of this one myself.” Having said that, I decided to take Kohaku with me just to be safe. My decision must have seemed somewhat irresponsible for a head of state, but since we didn’t know what to expect, I figured it’d be safest for me to handle it alone.

So long as everyone tries to be the hero, wars will never end.

“Oh, so you’re the grand duke of Brunhild, are you? Sorry, kid, but I don’t have time for your games right now. Go play royalty somewhere else.” I made use of Babylon to go all the way to the capital of Ramissh, only to be turned away at the front door of the Isla Temple.

It was only to be expected, really. I had no real evidence to support my claim, after all. If some kid turned up out of nowhere and introduced himself as a monarch, I’d probably look at them funny, too.

“Look, can you just like, go fetch the pope for me or something? There’s something important I need to talk to her about.”

“Fetch the pope...?! Insolent brat! How dare you talk of our pope like she’s some household pet!”

“Sorry? I don’t believe in your religion, and I’m not even a citizen of your country. I don’t see why you’re getting worked up over something like that.” I’d wanted to resolve things peacefully if possible, but the knight before me drew his sword in a fit of rage. Whoa, this guy was quick to snap. I nimbly dodged the knight’s attack, following up with a chop to knock the sword out of his hands. The metallic clang of the sword hitting the ground alerted the rest of the knights, who were swift to react as they poured out of the temple in droves.

“What happened?!”

“We’ve got an intruder! Some insolent brat calling himself the grand duke of Brunhild. He insulted the pope!”

“He did what?!” Two, four, six, eight... Around twenty knights in total. They had me surrounded before I could even react. They sure brought out a lot of people just to subdue one kid. For a group claiming to follow a god of light and justice, they sure didn’t seem averse to using cowardly tactics. Though, when I thought about it, a team of heroes fighting together to defeat a single monster was actually fairly common in superhero shows. I decided to just stick these guys in that category for now. “I’ll ask one more time. I, the grand duke of Brunhild, wish to meet with the Pope of Ramissh to discuss an important matter. Would anyone be kind enough to escort me to her?”

“We’re not playing along with your little game, kid!” I brandished my weapon, and without hesitation fired a paralysis bullet at the first knight to charge at me. Seeing him collapse on the spot, the other knights faltered for a brief moment, but quickly pulled themselves together and raised a war cry.

Mithril in my right hand, Black Dragon horn in my left, I shot my way through the throng of knights with my trusty twin Brunhilds.

I immobilized their entire force in an instant. That’s what you get for not listening to me.

“Truly a bothersome crowd, these people.”

“You can say that again.” I instinctively met Kohaku’s analysis with a complaint of my own. Still, what was I to do from here? My options were to just continue like this and force my way in, or...

Deciding that this was a better course of action, I cast [Recovery] on one of the knights to undo the paralysis.

“There’s a priest here called Nesto-what’s-his-face, right? I want you to bring him to me. If he refuses, tell him I’ll spill the secret about his head to everyone. That’ll make him understand.” I was already acquainted with that baldy priest, so I decided to seek him out first. He was more likely to hear me out than these guys were, at least.

The knight followed my instructions, taking off with a panicked dash into the temple. Before long, a group of what I could only call paladins came out of the temple fully clad in pure white armor, with Father Nesto leading the way. Oh hey, he got a new wig.

“Your Highness, the Grand Duke of Brunhild?! What brings you to this place?! No, before that, explain yourself! What is the meaning of this?!”

“I told the guard that I had important business with the pope. He refused to hear me out, and then a whole group of them attacked me without warning. I simply reacted in self-defense.” So I explained, pointing at the listless knights littered on the ground.

“Do you understand your position here? You’ve shot down soldiers of a foreign country, and are attempting illegal entry into our sacred temple. This is an international incident!”

“And raising your sword against the ruler of a foreign country isn’t? Nice double-standards you’ve got there.” I could almost see the sparks flying as I met my eyes with Nesto’s. What a pain. This guy clearly hated me. The feeling was mutual. Whatever, I just need him to take me to the pope.

“What is going on here?” This time it was a man wearing a gaudy robe who emerged from the temple. His hair was neatly swept-back, and he had a silly little mustache. He was the spitting image of a certain dictator. Ours would’ve been a little bit taller, though.

“Cardinal Zeon...?” Nesto turned his head and muttered. Cardinal? If I remember right, aren’t those like a few really important guys who work directly under the pope?

“Father Nesto, who is this man? It is most unpleasant to have him causing a commotion on our sacred temple grounds.” The cardinal clicked his tongue as he turned to face Father Nesto. Oh boy, we’ve got a live one here.

“He, he’s... Err, I mean, this esteemed gentleman is His Highness the Grand Duke of Brunhild. He says that he wishes to meet with Her Holiness the Pope.”

“This boy is...?!” The cardinal stared intently at me, looking me over as if appraising my worth. It made me realize something. When introducing myself as a leader, I should probably have been dressed the part. I made a mental note to ask Zanac to make me some kingly clothes next time I saw him. I honestly felt that too many people in the world judged others based on appearance alone.

“Your Majesty the Grand Duke of Brunhild, was it?”

“That’s me.”

“What manner of business could a foreign ruler have with Her Eminence the Pope? If you’d like, I could relay a message to her on your behalf.”

“Thank you, but I would much rather meet with Her Holiness in person. Could I trouble you to escort me to her, instead?” The cardinal and I clashed gazes with sly grins on our faces, each of us trying to sound the other out. I felt like I definitely couldn’t trust this guy. If my plea to rescind Phyllis’ execution were left in this guy’s hands, I didn’t think the pope would ever get to hear a thing about it.

“...Right this way.” The cardinal invited me into the temple. I was led to a room and asked to wait there, with several paladins left behind to keep an eye on me. I sat obediently in a chair, keeping to myself as the paladins’ gazes bored a hole in my back. I was neck-deep in unfamiliar territory.

They probably weren’t stupid enough to assault me while we were inside the temple, but doing as I was told seemed like the best course of action for the time being.

After a short wait, the cardinal returned to the room.

“Her Eminence the Pope will see you now. Please, right this way.” The cardinal led me around through several more corridors. The temple was unnecessarily huge. After climbing up a long staircase, we finally reached a fancy door with golden borders, beyond which was a large, spacious room.

Lined up by the left wall were several men in robes similar to the cardinal’s, and to the right stood a row of paladins standing at attention. An elderly woman in pure white robes and a big, long hat sat with a sharp look on her face atop her raised platform. This lady was the popess, Elias Altra.

“Welcome to my temple, Grand Duke of Brunhild. I must admit to being rather startled by your abrupt visit, but as the pope, I have agreed to meet your request at an audience.”

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Eminence. Please forgive my rudeness for barging in unannounced like this.” I lowered my head as I spoke. I wasn’t really at fault in the slightest, but I figured I should probably still apologize for beating up all their knights like that.

“...There is much I would like to say, but let us get straight to this business of yours. Whatever has brought you all this way to my temple?”

“Regarding the death sentence of one priest, Phyllis Rugit, I would request that the execution not be carried out.” The entire hall was filled with mumbled whispers the moment that name left my lips. The pope took note of this, and shot me an intense look.

“What a farce this is. To think that a foreign leader would interfere in the death sentence of a convicted criminal... I cannot help but worry for the state of your kingdom.”

“...A criminal, you say? Then tell me, what crime has she committed, exactly?”

“Her primary offense is her advocation that our God, Lars, is a figure of make-believe. This is an unforgivable sin for a priest to commit. In addition, she is suspected of being a vampire who has already attacked several people. A being of darkness with such an evil soul must be dealt with appropriately.”

What? Phyllis is a vampire? What’s that supposed to mean? Are they saying she hid that fact in order to become a priest and blend in?

《Master, do not let her mislead you. That girl was, without a doubt, an ordinary human being. I would be able to recognize a vampire by the smell alone.》 Kohaku supported me through telepathy. I knew I could count on Kohaku. But still, things were starting to look pretty suspicious. Almost as if the whole thing was one big, convenient set-up.

“That’s strange. Shouldn’t you be able to see through a vampire’s disguise like that with your god’s righteous powers?”

“...Lars will never allow evil to go unpunished. All who defy him shall meet with divine punishment. Much like in this case.” This wasn’t “divine punishment” at all, it was just conveniently silencing dissenters. I began to suspect that this old lady already knew that Lars was a big old fraud.

“So you claim, but haven’t there already been a number of victims? I feel that your god should have enacted his divine punishment before so many victims arose, don’t you think?”

“Any such victims must have been carrying sins of their own. The truly devout would never have fallen prey to such evils.” This was pointless. She was making baseless claims with that backward religious logic of hers.

“...Then I assume you have no intention of rescinding Phyllis’ death sentence?”

“No evil can be allowed to go unpunished. Worry not, for we shall purify the girl’s soul in the process. These very actions are naught but pure salvation for the girl.” I let out a heavy sigh. The whole thing was just so stupid. Non-believers are evil. When things go well, it’s all thanks to God’s guidance. When things aren’t going well, it’s because you don’t have enough faith. And when a system based on these beliefs allows legal murder of innocent people, it just leaves me dumbstruck and appalled.

“This is stupid. Every one of you here is truly beyond salvation.”

“Wha...?!” My words froze the room into total silence. Even the pope stared at me wide-eyed. I was done playing along with these jokers. Since it didn’t seem like words would be effective, I’d just do things my way instead.

“I’ll declare it loudly for all to hear. Lars, the god of light, does not exist. He’s a false idol, and Phyllis merely caught on to that fact. You’re free to have your own beliefs, but stop labeling anyone who disagrees with them as evil. Don’t think that being religious somehow automatically makes you better than everyone else.”

“Silence! You will insult our God no further!” The paladins to my right all instantly moved their hands to the hilts of their swords.

“I’m very sorry about that. So sorry, in fact, that I’d like to apologize to Him in person. Bring your god Lars before me, and I’d happily kiss his feet.” Not like they could, even if they wanted to.

“I reject the very notion of your god, and all that he stands for. I reject any teachings that could possibly allow one to enact false justice in the name of a false idol, dooming an innocent girl to an unjust death. I’ll say it again. You have no God.”

◇　◇　◇

Their religion was unusual to begin with. Despite having been around for a thousand years, it remained mostly contained within their own country. Even considering that the magic of this world made it nigh-impossible to determine an actual “divine miracle,” the fact that their religion had barely spread at all was plenty suspicious. If I were to use healing magic back in my own world, a new religion might spring up overnight. There would still be those who would call me a fraud, of course, but the fact would remain that I had healed a person’s wounds, leading at least that person to believe in me. However, in this world the most you’d get is a few thanks; it definitely wouldn’t be taken as a divine miracle. That was the nature of magic. That’s just how things were over here.

They called it a religion, but living in this country you would naturally be surrounded and outnumbered by the devout everywhere you looked, leaving you with no choice but to follow suit. It wasn’t about whether you really believed in the god or not; it looked more like a form of mind control in this case.

One important thing to note was that not a single country had formed an alliance with Ramissh. This country — or rather, the ground that the country rested on — might have been hiding something.

Taking Belfast as a comparison, the people there placed more faith in fairies than Gods. People who had met fairies could be found here and there, but nobody would claim to have met a God. According to the God that I knew, fairies were like the Gods’ servants’ servants or something.

At any rate, it was pointless to compare this religion to any of those from my old world. Heck, I still couldn’t even be sure if this planet was round like Earth was.

Compared to the religions I knew, this one felt obviously different and horribly warped. It didn’t seem like it was meant to lead people to salvation, or even just offer some peace of mind, at all. All I got from them was that they hated anyone who disagreed with them.

Coming to the country myself had only helped solidify that impression. There was clearly more to this country than it seemed.

“...And that’s why I let myself get caught on purpose.”

“I... see.” I explained my plot to Kohaku as we sat together in an underground prison cell. I swear I’m not just trying to save face. After my outburst, I was one-sidedly labeled a villain. Naturally I’d be able to gather evidence after being caught. ...That was definitely my plan, yeah.

“In that case... what do you intend to do now?”

“...Wh-What do you think I should do?” Kohaku leered at me, eyes filled with doubt. I’m joking, it’s a joke!

“For now, Phyllis’ safety comes first. After that, we’ll gather info. Let’s go.”

The underground prison wasn’t especially big, nor was it especially bright. It was sturdy, though. The stone walls surrounding us held firm. Is this the kind of hospitality you want to give a neighboring monarch?! I found it all a little bit excessive really. I wondered if they were going to just act like I was some miscreant who had pretended to be Brunhild’s grand duke.

If that was the case, they might end up seriously trying to execute me. If someone from my country came to investigate, they could always cover it up and lie about me ever being here, too.

Welp, better break out already.

“[Mirage].” I created an illusory image of Kohaku and myself, and set it in a dingy prison corner. I didn’t want them thinking we escaped, after all.

I considered using [Gate], but they’d placed down a barrier preventing that kind of magic. That stupid baldheaded priest probably tipped them off about it. But that was fine, there were other methods to escape, after all.

“Oh, right... better conceal ourselves...” I used [Invisible], a very convenient spell, to turn Kohaku and myself invisible. We could see one another, but nobody else could see us.

I then used [Modeling] to twist apart the bars of the prison and make my grand escape. Naturally I restored the bars to their original appearance after we got out, though.

I climbed up a tight stairway and found myself in a stone passage, lined with doors. At the other end, there were even more stairs going up. We were still in the underground section, so the guardsmen were still a bit ahead.

Each door was marked with a number, the one I had just exited was clearly cell number four.

“Map search. Phyllis Rugit.”

“Understood. Search completed.” My smartphone projected a small map and pointed out the location, it seemed to be cell number eight.

I closed my map. Even if my Smartphone was concealed by my magic, the projected image it shot out was definitely visible. It’d be bad if somebody noticed that just floating around.

I opened up cell number eight and slowly descended the stairs into the dank underground.

After a while, the stairs were no more, and I saw Phyllis across on the other side of the dingy room. Thank goodness, she’s still alive... Doesn’t look injured, either.

I quickly noticed another person in the room, lying on the ground. She wasn’t alone.

“Phyllis... Phyllis...” I didn’t want to be too loud, so I gently called out to her. After a few moments, Phyllis slowly raised her head.

“...Wh-Who’s there? Whose voice is that voice?” Phyllis began to look around, anxiety painted on her face. I had forgotten I was invisible.

I undid the spell, and revealed myself to her.

“Y-Your Highness the Grand Duke?!” I completely ignored her surprise and bent open the bars with my trusty spell. I turned to the side and slipped into the cell with her. Wait a second, this jail’s slightly larger than mine! Is this a form of discrimination? Am I being oppressed?

“Why are you here of all places...?!”

“I came to help you, of course! I felt pretty responsible about that execution order!”

“N-No, Grand Duke, please! This isn’t your doing, it’s all mine...!”

“Shh, you’re being too noisy!” I clamped a hand over Phyllis’ mouth.

...... I-Is it okay? Maybe the guards’ll just think she was talking to herself... I hope they don’t get suspicious... Well, I don’t hear anyone coming, at least...

“Phyllis, who’s that sleeping person over there? Is she a friend?”

“That person... or rather... that woman... is Her Holiness the Pope, Elias Altra...”

“Excuse me?!” I suddenly blurted out my surprise, and instinctively covered my own mouth.

The goddamn pope of all people?! But wait, that can’t be right... what about the old crone I met earlier with the piercing eyes?! This woman looked completely different. I took a closer peek at her face, and it was definitely not the same person. She was definitely about the same age, but this sleeping woman’s face was far gentler and softer.

“Wait, this is Elias Altra?! Then who did I meet earlier?!”

“It’s more likely that you met a different person entirely. Did she look similar age-wise, but with a more piercing gaze?”

“Yeah, kinda like that I guess.”

“That was probably Cardinal Kyurei, then... She’s Cardinal Zeon’s elder sister.” That would make her the sister of that annoying mustache guy. Hm, but that didn’t add up... It seemed as though they’d prepared a fake pope and given me a fake audience with her! Which meant to me that they were all working together. This was beginning to seem like a seriously foul conspiracy.

“Sorry, I’m finding it a little hard to follow here... Can you tell me everything from the top?” According to Phyllis, after she returned home and reported to the pope and the others, everything went wrong. The cardinals were furious at her for the denial of their God, and the opposition of their doctrine. Immediately, they demanded she be executed. However, the pope herself, along with a few other priests, stood up and objected to that.

Phyllis wasn’t entirely surprised by their reaction, but was amazed that the pope herself stood by her side. Regardless, she was arrested either way.

After a few days, the pope was also thrown into the dungeon, albeit in a severely weakened state.

“But why would they toss the pope of all people in prison...?”

“Th-That is because... the secret of this nation must be protected, at all costs.” The pope opened up her eyes, and stared right at me. She seemed to have awoken. The pope’s left eye was green, and her right eye was blue. Her eyes were heterochromatic, mismatched. It brought to mind Yumina’s Mystic Eyes... “You are the grand duke of Brunhild, are you not...? My name is Elias Altra, it’s a pleasure...” The pope herself slowly raised herself up and introduced herself. Despite her motions, however, she looked extremely weak. I decided she’d need to heal up.

I cast [Recovery] and [Refresh] on her, which brought her body back to relative strength. After that, I slapped on a [Cure Heal] for good measure.

As I healed her, I wondered why she hadn’t just healed herself... but that was stupid, just because she worshiped a god of light didn’t necessarily mean she’d have any talents with Light spells. I was pretty sure I remembered someone telling me Dark and Light were fairly rare attributes to have affinity for, anyway.

If it was similar to a fantasy RPG, then people who had healing magic would probably be priests who channeled the power of God through their spells. That kind of thing was a staple in videogames, but this was another world, not a game world. Even so, I couldn’t help but think if that’s how it worked, then the religion would’ve spread further and faster.

“Thank you so much for that... I feel considerably better.”

“I’m glad. But more importantly, why were you brought here? You said something about this country’s secret?”

“...... Hmh...”

She stayed quiet for a time, before looking right at me with a focused expression.

“It is a secret that would shake the very foundation of the country we stand in right now, but it seems there’d be no point in keeping it hidden from you. It is indeed as Phyllis said. Lars, god of light, does not exist.” What? I was completely taken aback. The pope of a religion had just denied her own God. I looked a Phyllis, who seemed equally shocked.

“Each of the cardinals know the truth as well. After I ascended to cardinalhood before I was pope, the previous pope told me the truth as well.” That means the higher-ups knew... but they still continue the farce of believing in this Light God... why? There was something more important than that, though. Sure, Phyllis and myself knew Lars didn’t exist because God himself had verified that information for us. But how did the cardinals themselves know for sure that the God they worshiped wasn’t real? “Long ago, this territory was the domain of monstrous beasts, demons, and wicked spirits. The one that appeared to purge these creatures was a man known as Ramirez. But Ramirez was not the priest our scriptures state he was.”

“He wasn’t...?” Isn’t Ramirez the founder of Ramissh? What’s going on here? “Ramirez was no priest, he was a mage. One that specialized in summoning. His greatest affinity was Dark Magic.”

“What...?!”

“The scriptures state that Ramirez summoned Lars, god of light, to purge the land of wickedness. But the truth is different entirely. What Ramirez called down were wicked spirits, servants of the darkness. After he used that power to purge the land of beasts, he came up with an idea, and began to set it into motion.” Hm, so God was right after all, he’d summoned powerful spirits. But they weren’t light, they were creatures of the dark... Still, Ramirez must’ve been a hell of a guy to call upon dark stuff like that... My attention turned back to Elias, who was explaining what the man’s idea was. “Ramirez thought he would build a kingdom upon his newly-conquered land, using the powers of dark spirits to manipulate the minds of the people who lived there. That’s how he began the Lars faith. The dark spirits he summoned merged into one great beast, and meddled with the minds of the people who were brought into the area. Through this method, their thoughts were twisted in line with Ramirez’s. All of the citizens accepted Ramirez’s doctrine without question, and the Ramissh Theocracy was formally founded.” What the hell...?! Isn’t that just brainwashing?! Or maybe it could be called something more akin to hypnosis... still, twisting people’s brains like that? That’s totally messed up.

“Was the dark spirit’s mental conditioning that strong?”

“The influence of the spirit made it easier for him to convince people of his ideals, but people who were resistant to magic ended up being less affected by it. That’s why Lars, god of light was created as a figurehead for the faith. He used mental conditioning, and an idol people could aspire to. Using that wicked combination, he captured both the hearts and the minds of his people.” Ramirez disgusted me. I wasn’t surprised that they were so desperate to keep the secret. Their entire religion would collapse if this leaked out. It was truly heinous that a religion built on the ideals of light was actually spawned by a monster from the dark...

“...I understand that this is a really important secret, but... Why does this mean the pope had to be locked up?”

“I protected Phyllis, so they believed I may have gone rogue and threatened to spill the truth. Not to mention the fact that both Kyurei and Zeon were originally in the running for popehood, and saw an opportunity to supplant me and my position. I was gradually fed a medication that poisoned my body and weakened my mind. They didn’t have to kill me to replace me, after all.” That made sense enough. They probably had no idea why I’d come to their country, and with the pope being absent they decided to trick me into a fake meeting... They were probably suspicious because of what had happened with Phyllis, too... They didn’t handle it very well, though.

“But, Your Holiness... why did you protect Phyllis? Aren’t you kind of meant to be the figurehead of the religion? Why would you stand by someone who would shake the faith so much?” I didn’t get it at all. If I were a pope, then someone like Phyllis would be seen as a pest.

“...I truly believed in Lars, god of light... it’s why I joined the priesthood. I worked hard, for the sake of my Lord. But when I became a cardinal... They told me there was no God. That my work was fruitless. After that, I simply worked to maintain the lie, a cog in the wheel like all the rest. Once you learn the truth, there’s no going back to normality.” That sounded pretty rough to me. I figured they’d probably set up methods to silence anyone that threatened to reveal the truth anyway. Dead men tell no tales, after all. And now I had learned this secret, so they’d probably end up after my head if I wasn’t careful.

“Before I knew it, I had ascended to the position of pope. But it was an empty position, my heart was already withered. I was trapped in a place that I couldn’t possibly abandon. Then, Phyllis came and told us what she had seen. She appeared, truly convinced that there was indeed a God out there.” After speaking, the pope turned to Phyllis. She turned to me, vigor in her voice, a beautiful smile painting her face.

“Can you imagine the euphoria I felt in that moment? It was indeed true that Lars, god of light, did not exist, but... there was in fact a god that did. And there was a person who had actually met Him! The words that she had heard from God, I was desperate to learn more. It was the first time in years that my heart truly began beating again.”

“But why did you believe Phyllis without question? You didn’t doubt her at all?” After I asked, the pope pointed to her left eye. Her pale green eye suddenly turned darker.

“I possess the Mystic Eyes of Sincerity. I’ve never been able to miss a lie. It was also one of the reasons I was elected as pope. When Phyllis told me her story, I knew she was no liar. I learned in that moment that God truly existed, and it made me so happy. In that moment, I was euphoric, because of God’s blessing. I was also envious, as I wished to meet God myself...” The pope let out a quiet, sad mutter. Oh. Oh no. Before I could stop it, I realized what was about to happen. I turned to look at Kohaku. The tiger was frozen stiff!

“Yoo-hoo! Did someone want to meet little old me?”

From the darkness, God himself descended, clad in dazzling light.

God, please! You’re way too whimsical!

◇　◇　◇

“Have you just been watching this whole time?”

“It had been weighing on my mind. The poor girl had been locked away because I had done something I shouldn’t have, and I felt rather guilty about it all. But then, as God, I couldn’t exactly come to her rescue myself...” I knew what he meant. The root cause of all that was going on could be narrowed down to carelessness on God’s part.

I stole a glance in Phyllis’ direction and noticed that she’d already fallen prostrate before His divine presence, while the pope stood, mouth slack, staring at us in confusion.

“Umm... Your Majesty, who might this be?”

“This is God.”

“G-G-God...?!” The pope’s eyes snapped wide open, and she gazed at both God and I in turn. She was certainly surprised, but it seemed she still had some doubts. I could feel her using her Mystic Eyes on me. She could tell that I wasn’t lying, but it seemed like she hadn’t quite fully grasped the reality of the situation yet.

“Oh, I know. God, do that flashy halo thing you did before.”

“Eh? I thought you told me not to use my divine aura anymore.”

“You have my permission this time.” God nodded and gradually begin to let out his divine aura. Welp, here it comes.

God’s majestic form lit up for all to behold. His halo of divinity was as impressive as ever. One glance would be enough to convince anyone that this person was, indeed, the one true God.

Bathed in His divine light, the pope also laid herself prostrate on the ground next to Phyllis.

“Can I turn it off now?”

“Yup, that’ll do.” The imposing light vanished as swiftly as it came. Just then, a certain doubt floated up from the back of my mind. Why was it that I could resist his divine aura which should easily have overwhelmed any normal human? Was that another one of the perks he gave me when I was sent to this world?

“Is there something the matter?”

“Hm? Oh, I was just wondering why your aura doesn’t completely overwhelm me like it seems to do to everyone else. I just figured maybe you’d done something that would give me some resistance to it.” God looked at the two girls at his feet and tilted his head.

“...Come to think of it, that is rather strange. Any ordinary — or even extraordinary — human being exposed to my divine presence in its true form should be left bowing before me in awe, like these two girls. None of my gifts to you included a resistance to Divinity itself, so I cannot think what would be... Ohh!”

“...God, what did you do to me?” What’s with that face?! Why do you look like you’re screaming “Oh, shit!” in your head?! Looking away is just making you look more suspicious! And why are you trying to play it off by whistling? These days not even cartoon characters do that!

“...You’re a poor liar, God.”

“Erm... Weeell... Could you wait for just one moment?” He raised his right arm aloft and unleashed some kind of power. I couldn’t tell what he’d done for a moment.

“I’ve stopped time for the girls, as well. It would be rather troublesome if anyone were to ever learn of this, you see.” The girls had already been paralyzed in their positions bowing before God’s feet anyway, so it didn’t really feel any different from a moment ago. Still, if God said so...

“Well? Out with it.”

“Hrmm... To summarize, you have already died once, back in your old world. I took responsibility for that and reincarnated you, but...”

“But?” I couldn’t see what he was getting at. Heck, I was actually pretty thankful to him for giving me a new life in this world.

“Normally when reviving someone, I would repair the damage done to their physical or spiritual body using the basic elements and energy of that specific world. In your case, though, I summoned you straight up to the Divine Realm before anything else. Physical body and all. Only after that did I revive you into a new world.”

“I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

“Well, I revived you using the materials I had at hand. And since your body and soul were both in the Divine Realm at the time, I ended up putting you back together with divine matter. To put it simply, your body is similar in composition to that of a God.” This was the first I’d heard any of this. I was dumbstruck.

“B-But I still get exhausted if I run for too long, and I can still get injured like anyone else. It doesn’t really feel like I’ve got a God’s body...”

“Well, it has only been one year since you were reincarnated, your powers might not have fully bloomed yet. Can you think of any similar situations where your strengths or resistances have felt rather abnormal for a human being?” ... More than I could count. My near-limitless mana pool, and my ability to use any Null spell I wanted, for example. I’d always chalked it up to being “God’s gift,” but... It turned out that it was actually “all God’s fault.”

“My mistake. Wahahaaah!”

“Don’t just laugh it off like that... Please tell me there aren’t going to be any adverse effects to this later on down the line.”

“None at all. Think of it as just having obtained a much sturdier body than the norm. Although, you may find yourself awakening to some strange new powers later on... if I’m right, your body is like that of an infant God’s right now. So please let me know if something like that does happen.” Whaddya mean by strange new powers?! I damn sure hope that I won’t randomly wake up one day with a halo of divinity radiating from my entire body...

... I decided not to worry about it. If it wasn’t gonna kill me or directly harm me in any way, then I figured I could live with it. Just so long as I could continue living out my life in this world, that was enough for me.

Just then, something came to mind that might’ve been able to destroy my peaceful life in this world.

“Hey, God, do you know anything about the Phrase?”

“Phrase? Nothing comes to mind, I am afraid to say.” I figured as much. I seemed to recall him saying that he hadn’t been checking in on this world much until after he sent me here. As God would say, if a world faced potential destruction, then it was up to that world’s inhabitants to find a solution to that which didn’t involve divine intervention.

But if God wasn’t the one who drove the Phrase away around five thousand years prior, that only made me question what caused them to leave...

His explanation finished, God raised his hand once more and let out that same power as before. I assumed the girls could now move again, but it was hard to tell since they were still bowing before God as they had been this whole time. Kohaku, however, was quite clearly still frozen in time. I felt kind of bad for Kohaku being the only one left out...

“You can stand up now. I’m very sorry that my carelessness has put you in this difficult situation, young lady.”

“N-Not at all! P-P-P-Please, think nothing of it!”

“It seems as though I’ve even managed to get the pope wrapped up in it... I’m truly sorry about all this.”

“Th-thank—... I am grateful for your words...” The two finally raised their heads. This was Phyllis’ second time meeting God, so although she was nervous, she could at least look him in the face. On the other hand, the pope had just exchanged words with God himself, and the encounter had left her with tears flowing down her face. Well, it was a pretty life-changing experience for her, to put it lightly.

“I overheard your conversation. It must have pained you greatly to have lived your whole life embracing a lie like that. Fret not, though. All will be fine now.”

“Such benevolence...!”

“Whaddya mean, everything’s gonna be fine? Are you gonna step in and resolve the whole situation for us?” For a moment I was worried that he planned to just walk out in front of everyone with his halo on full power and declare “Your god of light doesn’t exist. There, religion disproved,” and wrap it all up with a clap of his hands. I mean, that did seem like the quickest and easiest solution, but...

“Not me, Touya my boy, you are. After all, that’s what you’ve always done until now, is it not?” This irresponsible God was just planning on making me clean up after his mess! I couldn’t believe his audacity. I knew I wasn’t supposed to rely on divine intervention to solve my problems, but still!

“Uhm... taking the cardinals out of the picture wouldn’t work out so well. If the truth were exposed, then there’d be public outcry.” But really it was more likely that we’d just be branded as liars. After all, who would believe us?

“It is not as if the citizens are at fault, but... As things stand, they would only continue to believe in their god of light. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but their justification of anything under the banner of light and justice cannot be excused.”

“I don’t believe this country can continue to function if we simply outed God as fake... If only there were some way to maintain the charade, but change the teachings...” The pope let out a saddened mutter.

It certainly wasn’t a simple thing to change the foundation of a religion. It’s not like you could just toss half a bible out the window and call it a day. I had no idea how to deal with that...

Hm, maybe some kind of incident could change how things are seen around here... Maybe God could just show up, and... no, that’d be too much interference. Guess we’re on our own.

“Well, I will leave it to Touya. Now, that matter aside... Shouldn’t we deal with the fellow beneath us?” God tapped on the stone floor with his foot, smiling gently. Beneath us? What do you mean? I turned to the pope, whose expression had quickly turned grave.

“Y-You noticed it...? Th-The presence down there is the Dark Spirit that Ramirez summoned... it’s been beneath the temple since the inception of the Theocracy...”

“It what?!” Wait, that monster’s been lurking down there for the last thousand years?! Spirit or not, wasn’t it summoned?! I thought summoned creatures needed magic energy to stick around!! Wait no, more importantly, why is it still here?!

“It didn’t take long for Ramirez to found the Ramissh Theocracy with the Spirit’s aid, but... shortly afterward, his mind was completely eroded and the man’s mind was taken over by the beast. After all of that, the spirit fused with Ramirez’s body and the cardinals of the era sealed it beneath the temple grounds. It was better for them to keep it here, actually... Because the Spirit’s ability of mentally conditioning everyone in the area never wore off. The brainwashing ability still emanates from it even to this day. Undying, but no longer alive, you could say Ramirez still supports the religion even in this state now.” The pope spoke directly to God, as if confessing a grave sin.

That was a hell of a story. If that was true, it meant that such a horrible secret had been passed from cardinal to cardinal for the last thousand years. I finally understood how insidious this religion truly was. It also explained how the Spirit was still here. If it fused with the summoner and sustained his body, then it could live here indefinitely. Though, I doubted he was still conscious after so long.

“The magical power of the Dark Spirit cannot affect you, or this girl, on a count of your high magic resistances... but that does not apply to the regular folk here. Even now, they are being unconsciously influenced by Ramirez and his original doctrine.”

“So that means, if we can deal with the spirit...”

“Correct, my boy. The zealous faith will disappear from the hearts and minds of the people. From then on, it would depend on the true feelings of the individual.” That made sense. We had to kill it at the source. But I still had the feeling there’d be some rotten types who’d do anything under the banner of their own justice, even if we broke the mental interference.

“But I would suggest you two make haste. You said they sealed him, yes? I am quite sure that the seal is weaker than ever right now, and darkness is already emanating from its lair.”

“You’re right... In fact, there’s been a string of people losing their energy, and even their lives... We officially blamed that on the work of a vampire, but in truth... it was because the spirit seal is waning.” Well, that explained the vampire plot thread away quite nicely. Still, it was pretty bad if it was starting to drain people’s lives. It made me wonder if the Spirit was trying to build power or something...

“We need to deal with this Dark Spirit before it’s too late... Your Eminence, do you have anyone in this country that would side with you if it came to it?”

“There are a few amongst the clergy that hope for the same outcome as I. But our numbers are minute compared to those backing Cardinal Zeon.” It was better than nobody, at least. I wanted to avoid revealing the true origins of the country to the public, though, and everything about the Dark Spirit’s mind control. But, I also wanted the cruel and inconvenient justice that Lars, god of light’s doctrine spoke of to be stricken out entirely.

“Very well, I think I have seen enough. I will keep watching from my perch, so best of luck, Touya my boy! See you soon!”

“What?! Wait!! You can’t jus—!” Before I could voice my protests, God vanished into beams of light. You coward! Get back here!! You’re making me deal with these messes that aren’t even mine, augh!! But, as much as I didn’t want it to, time began to flow again. Kohaku eyed me with suspicion.

《My liege. I feel as though something very unusual just happened to you...》

《Don’t mind it. It’s no threat to us.》

《Very well...》 From Kohaku’s perspective, we must’ve instantly teleported from one position to another, so the tiger was having difficulty processing how our pose and location had shifted so suddenly. It would be a pain to explain though, so I decided not to bother.

“...I feel as though I’ve awakened from a dream.”

“Me too, Your Holiness...” I wondered if that was part of the exhilaration of meeting with God. As I watched the pope and Phyllis giggling together, something bit at my mind.

I felt it, an unpleasant crawling sensation up my spine. An electric shock that jolted right through me, making me feel ill. It... can’t be...

“...Don’t panic now, but... The Dark Spirit’s seal just broke.”

“Wh-What?!” Phyllis went pale in the face. Then, we heard the rumbling from below. It got louder, and louder. We need to get out, now! I twisted the iron bars with [Modeling] and carted Phyllis and the pope along with me up the stairs. The rumbling grew steadier, faster, louder. I had no doubts that the earth beneath us would crumble in seconds. We came out into the long passageway that led into other cells, and I quickly checked for other prisoners. Thankfully there were none, so we continued upward.

“Prisoners?! How did you escape from your cel— haghgh!!” We passed a guard, and I instinctively shot a paralysis bullet at him. Ah crap... I can’t leave him here, can I?! “Kohaku, return to your beast form!”

“As you wish!” The pope opened her eyes wide in surprise as Kohaku both spoke, and turned into an enormous White Tiger. But I had no time to explain, I simply put the knocked-out guard on Kohaku’s back, and continued running.

As we escaped from the prison, we came out into the temple’s halls. I continued to run, finally stopping in a courtyard. It was at this point that I realized it was no longer day time. The moon was high in the sky. I checked the time, and it was just past the stroke of midnight.

The barrier wasn’t set up across the entire temple, so I used [Gate] to take us to the middle of town.

The rumbling beneath the ground became more of a violent quake. Unsurprisingly, the streets were filled with bewildered people, apparently they assumed it was a simple earthquake scare. They didn’t seem extremely afraid, so I figured earthquakes weren’t uncommon in this region.

As I took the guardsman off Kohaku’s back, the people in the area quickly noticed I was with Her Eminence the Pope. That wasn’t especially surprising, she was the head of their state and seemed quite well-known. Everyone in the streets began swarming around her. They were probably uneasy, because the rumbling wasn’t getting any gentler.

“Y-Your Eminence! What is going on?!”

“Please, everyone! Be calm! For your own safety, you must vacate the—” Just as she began telling the people to take refuge, an enormous explosion blasted away part of the temple. From amidst the dust and debris, something began crawling out of the building. WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL IS THAT THING?! It was enormous. Its shape wasn’t even remotely human. Its skin was pitch, two black horns jutted from its head. On its side, countless grasping arms writhed from its body. On its back, six long tentacles squirmed. Its lower body was a mass of tendrils, without number. And its head had no eyes, only an enormous mouth, one that almost split across its entire face.

“GauUguguHGhh!! GooOoraaRaaAagGghH!!” It raised a monstrous roar, as if the depths of the earth were screaming for salvation.

The air itself trembled. The sound it released was enough to bring the townspeople to their knees with fear. The ground began to tremble, people everywhere dropped to the ground. Is it manipulating people’s minds? Making them afraid?!

This thing’s like... a god of evil... I couldn’t stop that cliche kind of term from floating up into my head. This was the Spirit of Darkness that was once called forth and manipulated by the summoner known as Ramirez. But now, it was in command. And after a thousand years... it was free.

I can’t stress enough how big this thing was. Its dark tendrils moved forward, and the creature began to rise up. It was enormous, and ominous enough to strike disgust into the hearts of anyone.

One of its back-tentacles came down, smashing apart some of the temple. It let out another scream as debris and dust scattered around the area. This thing was a serious threat.

“GoGOaghaAgGuU!!” Unintelligible nonsense leaked from its maw, which was now unhinged and wide open. Along with the sound, a tar-like black fluid began bubbling out of its mouth like vomit.

Droplets of the stuff began falling, but they didn’t hit the ground. Before they had a chance to, they transformed into winged, bat-like creatures. They had insectoid legs, but muscular human torsos. Their heads were elongated, but had no defined features like eyes, noses, or ears. Just mouths.

They flapped their wings and scattered across the city. The townsfolk began to shriek and scream, the entire city became a discordant tune of horror.

“GaAaAhgUGuhhRuuUugghahaAahahaAaA!!” The Spirit of Darkness screamed toward the heavens.

“I-It’s a monster!”

“G-God will... God will s-surely save us... y-yeah...!” All around me, I heard people lapse into desperate prayer. Sorry, but this monster... is your god.

It probably didn’t even remember Ramirez at this point. I could only assume that the spirit was operating on some base, destructive impulse.

“You said a thousand years ago that the cardinals teamed up to seal it away, right? Can’t we do that again?!”

“I don’t think we can... We simply can’t match up to the power of the church from back then. The majority of the appointed cardinals nowadays can’t even use magic!” That’s useless, then... Well, I guess what she says makes sense. If we were to compare the two eras, the difference is clear. In the olden days they probably prioritized strength or wisdom, but the current clergymen are just people in it for the faith, or political gain. Which makes them completely useless when the going actually gets tough.

Guess there’s nothing for it... But what can I... oh... there’s an idea.

A sudden flash of inspiration struck my mind.

To be blunt, I saw an opportunity to change their doctrine at its core. Obviously having the real God appear was a no-no, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t pretend to be him. If I did that, defeated the monster, gave the pope some kind of fake divine message, and said a few words... then she’d definitely have the upper hand against the cardinals, and I could quash the idea of Lars once and for all!

But wait... isn’t this just as dishonest as Ramirez? I am tricking everyone... But, hm... even if I am tricking everyone, I’m tricking everyone with the best intentions! I’m just going along with what the actual God wants, acting on his behalf, so it’s fine... right? I wasn’t able to decide by myself, so I quickly took the pope and Phyllis aside and asked them about it.

“...If I’m entirely honest, I do not wish to deceive my people. But, I think we could create a much better situation than we’ve ever had before. If we defeat this beast, then we at least stop it from influencing their minds. That way, the warped ideals of justice can be easily removed from our doctrine as well.” Her Holiness looked right at me, and asserted her belief. She had no hesitation.

“As pope, I have spread the gospel of a God I knew did not exist. I was crushed by guilt, restraining my true feelings and refusing to show them. I told myself it was for the sake of the Theocracy, but... If we were to change the doctrine, I would freely talk of God. The God you spoke of, Grand Duke, He would be the God I speak of. Even if the people don’t know it, I would carry His ideals in my heart, proudly puff out my chest, and be happy. Don’t you think such a thing would be wonderful?” I agreed. Though I felt a little awkward for using God’s name in vain like this... it was still necessary.

After all, I was sure the citizens would be happier if the monster threatening them was slain by their God, and not by the leader of a foreign nation. And, on an international level, this would definitely give Brunhild a more favorable position with the bigwigs of Ramissh. ... That being said, I wasn’t motivated by such things.

“B-But will you really be okay?! Can you win against such a huge beast?! It’s a Spirit of Darkness, understand?!”

“Mmm... I think I can handle it.” Phyllis had reasonable concerns, but I had an inkling that it wouldn’t be as tough as I expected.

This spirit’s specialty was likely its brainwashing ability. And, from what I understood, it was an area-of-effect skill rather than a direct target kind of thing. In short, it worked in a large area, which is probably why Ramirez thought to use it to govern a nation.

For someone like me, with my obscene magical resistance, it was no matter of concern. That being said, I didn’t want to hang around it for too long... I had a feeling I couldn’t resist it forever. In fact, it was pretty much a guarantee. Even Ramirez fell victim.

I think I’ll be fine, but I won’t know until I give it a go... The only issue now is making myself look like a God. I decided that the best way to handle it would be to cast [Mirage] on myself and call it a day.

As I headed toward it, the dark spirit cracked one of its tentacles across the ground, shattering streets and houses. It seemed to deal basic physical attacks, which definitely weren’t a matter of concern for me.

I should probably hurry, though... the entire Holy Capital is gonna go up in rubble if I don’t. I left the pope, Phyllis, and the townsfolk, and hid in a back alley. The two girls were leading a prayer circle. Typically I’d have told them to leave, but this was part of the plan. I would descend, as God, in response to their prayers.

I changed my appearance with my [Mirage] spell. Although it was more like I was masking myself than actually transforming. I decided to take the form of a traditional Greek-style God with long flowing blond hair, and blue eyes. I made myself pretty handsome, too.

“Well?”

“It looks good, but it feels like something’s missing...” Kohaku gave the tiger equivalent of a shrug. But I look just about as plain as the real God! It’s not my fault you haven’t met him! What kind of Heavenly Beast are you if you haven’t even met God, huh?!

Hm... what’s missing then... how about... I created another illusion that caused light to cloak my entire body. I briefly considered adding a halo and angel wings, but I didn’t want to look like an angel. If I ended up being a messenger from God, rather than God himself, that would defeat the point.

Just as I was putting the last parts of my disguise together, I realized something. Normally people would expect a God to actually fly in the sky, descending from the heavens. If I just appeared and walked amongst people, claiming to be God... that’d be a little weird. I really should’ve learned a flight spell. I made a mental note to pick one up later. Ugh, pretending to be God is a real pain in the ass, I hate this! Still, there was nothing I could do about it. I decided to project the image of God into the sky... Which completely defeated the point of cladding myself in it to begin with! Then again, I’m going to have to look like this when I fight the monster anyway, so I guess it’s fine.

As I projected the divine image of the one true God into the sky above the city, the people let out yell of wonder and surprise. God had descended, and He was basking them in His glow. First thing’s first, we’ve gotta take care of those minions.

“Come forth, Darkness! I Seek the Shining Warmaiden: [Valkyrie]!” ...Frankly, calling forth divine warriors to help me with a chant of “Come forth, Darkness” sounded super silly to me, but I had to roll with the punches.

Summoning circles appeared around the projected God illusion, and angelic warmaidens were called forth into the sky. I made a contract with Valkyries after the incident in the Regulus Empire. I liked the Griffins, but having them as my sole air support was troublesome.

《The Dark Spirit has created shadowy monsters, slay them, and protect the townspeople.》 I conveyed telepathic orders to the angelic maidens, and they scattered across the city.

It honestly would’ve been easier to use my smartphone to lock on to all of them and wipe them out at once with light magic, but they would’ve died too quickly. The citizens wouldn’t have even known what saved them, and that wouldn’t do. I was directing a scenario here!

Still, people’s lives were at stake. I didn’t think the Spirit’s minions were specifically targeting people, they seemed more like they were mindlessly rampaging, but that didn’t mean they were any less dangerous. If they continued roaming around and trashing whatever, then people could still die through collateral damage.

The townspeople began to cheer, which was only natural. God himself and a band of angels had just appeared to fight their enemy.

Alrighty, time to move. I made myself disappear with [Invisible], and dashed across the rooftops, making sure to keep an eye on the God illusion I had projected up into the sky.

Man, at times like this I could really use a flight spell... Wonder if it’s wind magic... or maybe it’s a Null spell? Yeah, if it was Wind then Leen would be able to use it easily... It’s gotta be a Null one.

I finally arrived before the temple, and got a real sense of how big the Dark Spirit was.

I erased the illusion of God in the sky, and, while maintaining the illusion of God on my own body, took out a two-meter-long sword from my storage.

I’d reduced the weight of the blade using [Gravity] so I could wield it in one hand, and it was created from a Phrase fragment. The material the blade was made of kind of made the surface sparkle and dance with light, like the surface of water. I decided it was sufficiently mystical enough to pass off as a Godly weapon.

The Spirit of Darkness turned and glared down at me. Well, I said glared, but it had no eyes. Sure felt like a glare, though. A few of its back-tentacles whipped toward me.

“Hup...!” I jumped to the side and made a horizontal swing of the sword. I cleanly cut the tentacle, and the dark mass fell to the ground. A foul black fog began leaking from the sliced-off tentacle. ...Gross.

But I didn’t have any time to react before the tentacle vanished, and a new one took its place on the monster’s body. Wait, this thing can regenerate as well? That’s irritating!

As a (fake) God, I couldn’t let anyone see it give me a hard time, so I needed to kill it fast. I briefly considered using [Slip], but it was so big that it’d definitely destroy a chunk of the city if it fell over. Maybe I should crush it!

“Target lock. Spirit of Darkness. Invoke [Gravity].”

“Acknowledged. Target acquired. Invoking [Gravity].” The Spirit of Darkness immediately began to fall, it couldn’t support its new, increased body weight. With a scream, it fell on to its side.

The area of the city beneath it was, naturally, completely leveled. Ah crap! I pretty much got the same result I would’ve if I’d used [Slip]! Welp. God did it, not me. At the very least, the people in the immediate area should’ve evacuated by that point, so nobody would get harmed.

This is pretty bad though. I think I may have overdone it with the flashiness...

There was nothing I could do, so I focused on wiping it out with an overwhelming show of force. I amplified the effects of [Gravity] on the creature, but couldn’t be sure if I’d even changed much. It didn’t have a face, so I couldn’t gauge how it was feeling, either. Regardless, it seemed that I had it pinned down. Now, for the finale!

“Strike true, Light! Sparkling Holy Lance: [Shining Javelin]!” The spears of light drilled their way through the beast’s body, and... The holes left in the creature didn’t regenerate. It stood to reason that a Dark Spirit would be weak to light magic.

“Target Lock. Launch an additional... one hundred... no, two hundred [Shining Javelin] strikes at the Dark Spirit!”

“Acknowledged. Target acquired.” It was time for this monster to get a taste of (fake) God’s (two-hundred-javelins of) wrath!

“Fire!”

“Acknowledged. Launching attack.”

BOOM, CRASH, RUMBLE, SHAKOOM, BADABOOM!!!

The ground began to shake, which was natural, those Shining Javelins were really doing a number on the thing. The Dark Spirit’s body split repeatedly, fragmenting as each new blade of light fell down upon it. As the volley ended, there was little left of the creature itself.

The fragmented pieces of the spirit spread across the area like a blackened fog. I figured that it was probably still alive, in some base form. I couldn’t have that, though, it’d be a real pain if it resurrected or something. Therefore, I decided to annihilate it entirely.

“Come forth, Light. Shining Exile: [Banish]!” I cast a purifying spell over a large radius, scattering light everywhere. The wicked fog quickly scattered and dissipated.

As the light faded and the darkness of the spirit swirled into nothingness, a single skeleton clattered to the ground. In an instant, it crumbled to dust and blew away in the breeze...

I wondered if that was Ramirez. After a thousand years, he was finally freed. I honestly felt a little pity, but he fell victim to his own misdeeds in the end.

Alright, now was the time... I had to work hard and deceive everyone.

◇　◇　◇

I looked across the streets as cheers resounded from every corner. Even amidst the dark of the night, I could hear people far and wide.

“Amazing! He did it!”

“Lars, thank you o Lars! The god of light has vanquished the wicked one!”

“Take that, you monster! Feel the wrath of our lord, you fiend!” The citizens cheered and jeered with enthusiasm, but I was just left feeling irritated.

I didn’t know if it was just due to the residual brainwashing, but they were yammering on about Lars. I decided I’d show them the wrath of God they were cheering so much.

It seemed a feat wouldn’t have been enough, so I had to preach to them directly.

“Target Lock. Effective range, within the city’s borders. Invoke [Lightning Javelin] in random locations, ensuring that there are no people within ten meters of the spell. Repeat three hundred times.”

“Understood. Target acquired. Invoking [Lightning Javelin].” All of a sudden, three hundred bolts fell from the sky and struck the city. Screams and shrieks broke out, and the townsfolk were sent into disarray.

I used my smartphone to project my image high into the sky, ensuring it could be seen at a distance.

“Do not speak so carelessly of justice, wrath, and indignation. It was the warped justice of your people that created this beast to begin with!” Then I decided to spice things up a bit. Using a [Gate], I brought the pope to my location. Her image too, was projected into the sky, and the citizens cheered in admiration. I gave the pope a knowing nod, and she kneeled before me, bowing her head.

“Is it you, Your Divinity? Lars, god of light?”

“I am not, my child. I am indeed god’s light, but I bear not the name of Lars. There is no such god named Lars.” The people watching broke out into confusion again. That was natural, though. I’d just denied their god through-and-through.

“Step forth, young one. I’ve a message for you all.” I placed my hand on the pope’s forehead, and a dazzling light engulfed us both. I was a little tired by the charade, and tried to speed it up a bit. It’s not like I had actually imbued a message into her mind, it was just dramatic effect.

After the light faded, the pope fully prostrated herself before me. Frankly I thought it was a little bit of overkill on her part.

Either way, I simply moved on to the next part.

“One final matter. I must bestow divine punishment upon those who accumulated sin, and allowed many crimes to be committed under the fraudulent guise of justice and light.” I used my portal once again in a similar fashion to bring forth the assholes who had shown themselves to me earlier on. Cardinal Zeon, his sister Kyurei, the other cardinals, and the Templars who had hassled me all bowed before my divine might.

“Confess your sins to me.”

“W-We’ve committed no crime, indulged in no sin! I-I’m a devout follower of your radiance, the light of God is my shepherd, I p-p-promise!!” Zeon began blabbering like an idiot, his face mashing into the ground in reverence. I couldn’t believe he’d even try to worm his way out of the situation in front of God. It didn’t matter that I was pretending, he didn’t know that! This guy really was an idiot if he thought he could fool the divine.

“You miserable whelp. Claiming an innocent girl to be a vampire, going so far as to plan her death... Confining your very pope to a dingy jail cell?! You thought such things would escape my omnipotent gaze?!”

“Th-That was just...!!” Both Zeon and his sister went pale. The citizens, who were still looking on, began murmuring amongst themselves. The cardinals, the Templars, and everyone else present couldn’t seem to contain their shock and horror.

“And you know as well as I that they were not your only crimes. Shall I disclose your other transgressions? One by one?!”

“N-Ngh...!” Zeon fell silent. I had asked the perfect leading question. I had no doubt in my mind that he had done all manner of terrible things under the banner of God, but I wasn’t entirely certain of what they were. But now I knew he and his sister were beyond salvation.

Even while knowing there was no god of light, the two of them still conveniently used the image for their own ends. I couldn’t afford to let them off the hook.

“Repent, mongrels!”

“Ughaah!!” I used my trusty paralyzing spell on everyone before me, except the pope of course. I then turned to Her Eminence, and spoke thus.

“I entrust their punishment to you, my child.”

“Of course.”

“Light and Dark are two sides of the same coin, forever indivisible. Justice, injustice, both are creations of human hands. If you commit to one side, you will ultimately tip into the other. Do not allow this.” I faced the citizens and made my final declaration. That being said, I don’t really think I made a very good speech. I decided to bail before I slipped up any more and got caught out.

I had the Valkyries come from behind me and scatter across the city.

“Farewell, children of man.” The Valkyries all shone in unison. I took my opportunity to get the heck out of dodge through a portal, and hid away from sight. After the light faded, I created another illusion of beautiful feathers falling from the sky. I felt like I was directing a movie.

The pope then rose to her feet.

“God has left! From now on, we will take full responsibility for our actions! We will repent as one, for betraying God’s will! As He spoke, we should all have taken in a message of accountability! We will work hard and seize what is right with our own hands! Pray to Him in gratitude and peace!”

The voices of the people roared across the night, they were elated. That’s about what I expected, but... She definitely had more charisma than me, that much was for certain.

I figured that would be enough to let everything work out. As I watched the excited townsfolk and the pope’s speech, my smartphone began to vibrate. I seemed to have an incoming call.

“Hello! Is this God?”

“That it is, my boy. Ahaha... it seems you have put the situation to rest! I am quite relieved, thank you.”

“Yup, seems like we’ll be fine now. Any weird stuff that was interfering with their minds should die down soon enough, if not already. Now the people should be able to make rational decisions for themselves.” In a sense, you could say that I had driven a divide in the people’s minds about the concept of God itself. The influence of Ramissh was likely to decrease after this, but... In turn, the people oppressed by their wicked justice would go down as well.

There would surely still be those who believed in Lars, god of light, but that was fine by me. Believing or not was ultimately their choice, and that just meant they were human. All I had done was prevent people from abusing that belief and imposing it upon others through force or trickery.

“I do apologize for leaving the matter to you... Do apologize to the young priestess and that charming young popess for me, would you?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just pay me back by looking in on their country now and then, just in case things get weird again.”

“Very well, then! I’ll be sure to pay attention.” I hung up on God, and moved back to Phyllis and Kohaku through one of my portals.

“Thank you, Your Majesty... Thank you so much.” Phyllis was moved to tears the moment she saw me, and respectfully bowed her head. I didn’t really do much to deserve that level of appreciation though, if you’d have asked me, I’d say I was the one responsible for the mess to begin with!

“God told me to apologize to you and the pope on his behalf. I think there’ll be tough times ahead, do you think you’ll be okay?”

“I do. After all, God is always watching.” Phyllis nodded, there was no hesitation in her eyes. It seemed I had nothing to worry about.

Since it was through my own magic that various buildings and the grand temple were annihilated, I quickly decided to rebuild them with another of my trusty spells. However, the pope appeared and stopped me in my tracks. She said that showing my power like that in public, especially after everything that had just happened, would be a terrible idea. She had a point, I didn’t want to expose the truth behind that God.

I watched over the pope beginning her new type of sermon, and I smiled. I had decided that my work here was done. Though, just in case, I gave Phyllis a Gate Mirror for quick and easy communication. Then, after a short goodbye, Kohaku and I portalled our way home to Brunhild.

Some days later, rumors finally began flowing through various countries that a God had descended in the Ramissh Theocracy, slaying a wicked Dark God in the process. Irreligious countries laughed off the story as propaganda. That aside, the Ramissh Theocracy officially changed their following from Lars, god of light, to simply preaching the word of “god’s light.” Their motto of it all being in the name of light and justice was also stricken from the record.

Officially, the founder of Ramissh was still Ramirez, and the one that aided him was the god of light. That part of the story remained consistent. All I and the pope had done together was remove any mention of Lars, and his twisted justice.

“Geez, I never expected you to pretend to be a God, Touya... you’re gonna get punished from above!” Elze nudged me in the side, laughing at my tale. I had, naturally, explained to my family what had happened in the Theocracy. I just cut out the parts about the real God.

Cardinal Zeon, Cardinal Kyurei, the Templars, and the others who had actively abused the pope were stripped of land, position, and property. They were excommunicated from the church and jailed. The confiscated wealth ended up being vast, it seemed that all their fearmongering and donation-begging had paid off well for them. The pope kindly returned that money to the people, compensating the victims of years of oppression.

All of those imprisoned also happened to be those that knew the truth behind the Ramissh religion, but it was unlikely they’d be believed even if they did blab. After all, they were all personally judged by God himself before a great crowd.

And, after a short time, an envoy from Ramissh came to greet me in my castle. My halls were graced by the presence of the youngest cardinal in history, Phyllis.

“You seem well.”

“As do you, Grand Duke.” I took a look at the letter she had brought with her. To be blunt, the letter stated that they were sorry about the previous envoy, and wished to establish good terms with Brunhild.

There was no outlandish demand like forcing me to adopt a state religion, or baptize myself. It was simply a letter of good faith, asking that my duchy maintain a friendship with the Theocracy going forward.

Naturally, I accepted. In order for my country to grow, good diplomacy was necessary and welcome. I had no desire to connect with bad nations, but I had made good friends within the Theocracy.

“Hm, I was somewhat worried just now, but it seems to have ended well... I wonder if the God who appeared in Ramissh intended for this to happen...” After Phyllis left, old man Kousaka let out a small sigh of relief and gave me that comment, along with a sidelong glance.

I didn’t tell him the exact details of what went down that day, but I did tell him I was there when it happened. As far as he knew I was visiting the Theocracy, then God happened to descend. It was mighty convenient, but that was the story I stuck to.

“Do you believe in God, Kousaka?”

“Who can say... He exists within the hearts of those who believe, and does not within the hearts of those who do not. That is what I believe, at least.” James Barrie, an English writer, wrote in “Peter Pan” that whenever a child says “I don’t believe in fairies,” a single fairy dies somewhere.

Kousaka had a point. To believe in something, was to give it life. I don’t think anyone could get in the way of that.

“And what of you, Grand Duke? Do you believe in God?”

“I do. I do.” Somewhere, off on the breeze outside, I thought I heard the gentle chuckling of the divine old man himself.

“[Fly].” I used my flying spell after that. As I rose, Elze rose with me. I’d figured it out. I’d be able to raise people up and down based on my own location in the air. So long as I paid attention, I could use [Levitation] to make people fly alongside me.

I took care to maintain everything, and flew up to the castle balcony. Yup, no problem! Elze staggered around and put her hand to her chest, letting out a sigh of relief.

“That was scary! I-I’m still not used to it. M-Maybe I don’t need to fly after all...” Heh, that was amusing. But I could understand. Her movements were beyond her control, and if she fell from that height she’d definitely die.

That aside, my mission was complete. This new spell changed the game for me. Creatures like the Manta Phrase no longer had air superiority over me.

“I’m gonna go fly again.”

“Okay, don’t get sick this time.” Elze waved me off, and I circled the castle a few times. After that, I flew across the highway. Looking down on the town from above, it was easy to see it’d been expanded considerably. It was quite an emotional sight, if I’m honest.

Still, it did look more like a shopping district than a full town... I touched down in a back alley, where I’d noticed a few children playing with spinning tops.

“Uwaaah?! M-Milord?! Wh-What a surprise!”

“Did you just come out of the sky?!”

“Th-That’s amazing!” It was a little heart-warming to see the kids look up to me. I didn’t want them to revere me too hard, though.

“What?! Do you dare think a goddamn sorry is enough? After treating a customer like this?!” A crude male voice echoed from across the street. I looked over from where it came from, and there seemed to be a commotion going on in a coffee shop.

Two large men stood on the shop patio. They looked like military-types. More importantly, they were hassling a waitress.

“Lookie here! There’s a goddamn cigarette butt in my food! How can you expect me ta pay for that?!”

“You better compensate us, bitch! What if we ate it?! What if we got a tummy ache?! Good thing we’re so goddamn attentive, understand?!” Those guys were assholes. They totally looked like crooks. I had no doubt they were lying.

I walked over to the shop and spoke to the waitress.

“Something wrong here?”

“A-Ah, these two gents say there’s a cigarette butt in their food, but... Nobody who works here actually smokes, so I don’t understand!”

“Hear that, boys? Sounds like you’re mistaken. Sure neither of you dropped it in the food by mistake?” The waitress stood behind me, and I puffed out my chest. The two men glared daggers at me.

“Huh? What’s it ta you, fuckface? You looking down on us, brat? Who the hell’re you?”

“Yeah, you little shitbird. Want a first-class ticket to paintown? Step right up, bitch.” The two men loomed in closer as they cracked their knuckles. Well. Let’s have a little fun, then.

I touched the men on their arms, pushed them, and they fell back easily. They flew away from the shop and landed in the middle of the road.

“Ghuh!!”

“Aghagh!!” They flew pretty easily, but that was because I’d reduced their weight with [Gravity]. Neither of them seemed to understand what had just happened, but they charged at me regardless. One brandished an axe, the other held a broadsword.

“[Slip].”

“Augh!”

“Eek!” The two men went tumbling down. Then, I used [Gravity] to keep them down. They were completely immobilized by their own increased body weight, so I strolled over, grinned, and squatted down near them.

“A-Augh... h-how...!”

“I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t cause trouble in my country. I can’t really overlook things like this, given that I kind of run the show around here. Understand?”

The two men looked at each other in shock, their expressions shifting in fear. The surprise coating their faces acted as proof that they understood who I was. Bah, these guys are a real pain in the ass. What should I do with them?

Actually, we don’t have a prison or anything yet, do we... Guess I should take this opportunity to set one up.

I took out several iron pieces from [Storage] and created a decently-sized prison room. After that, I applied a few enchantments, and a [Program]. Then, after stripping them of their gear, I tossed the two men inside.

I called it a prison, but it was just an iron box with one see-through wall. There were no bars, either. I wasn’t a monster, though. I’d put airholes in the ceiling!

Now, let’s begin the punishment! The moment the door closed, the two of them began to scream and yell. At least, it looked like that’s what they were doing. I’d soundproofed the cell. The two of them were running around the interior of the prison, clutching at their ears and roaring in what looked like extreme discomfort. Despite the commotion going on in there, not a single sound leaked out. I’d enchanted the cell with [Silence] after all.

“M-Milord... what’s going on in there?”

“Mm, just a little crash course in white noise.”

“Err, noise?”

“There’s a sound blaring in there at a similar frequency to nails coming down a chalkboard, and a fork scratching against a plate. Over, and over, and over again.”

“O-Oh goodness me...” The waitress slinked back a little, a dash of fear clouding her eyes as she looked at me, and then the floor. What’s her problem?

Eventually the guardsmen came running over. I set it so the sound would stop when the door was opened, so I handed the key over to them, placed the jail in a good position, and told them to let the guys out whenever they felt it appropriate.

Seeing that commotion made me realize that there was a lot more to work on in my country. I definitely need to improve defenses and public order infrastructure... Maybe I should finally get around to establishing my knight order.

I flew off toward the castle, pondering my next course of action.

◇　◇　◇

“...And that’s why I think we need to establish our knight order.” Everyone sat around the conference table, but only Kousaka stood up after I made my case.

“Given our current national interests, I believe I have a reasonable plan set out, then. For our knights, we shall start with thirty ex-Takeda troops. They were originally our subordinates, so we’ve already vetted them extensively. Fifteen of Baba’s men, fifteen of Yamagata’s. On top of that, we will integrate ten former Takeda ninjas, commanded by Tsubaki, to create our intelligence corps. In addition, we should take sixty new recruits, giving us a nice round one hundred. What are your thoughts?” Sixty new recruits sounded good to me. The town wasn’t especially large, so it sounded like a good start.

Aside from myself, the conference room was occupied by Baba, Yamagata, Naito, and our chief ninja Tsubaki. Lain, Nikola, and Norn were also present. Kousaka, Naito, and Tsubaki weren’t really knights, but it made sense to include them on military matters.

“So what are the qualifying traits we want in a recruit?” Old man Baba spoke up with a question, to which I replied immediately.

“Well, let’s see... I’ll reject anyone with a criminal background right off the bat. Sex doesn’t matter. Race doesn’t matter. Neither social standing nor age matter, either.”

“Isn’t that a tad broad? Won’t we get a swarm of candidates in that case?” Yamagata had a point, but I decided that taking a ton of applications gave us a better chance of finding talented people.

The mission here was to separate the wheat from the chaff, and find the diamonds in the rough.

“Who’s going to be the commander, anyway?” Naito raised his hand and let out an innocent enough question. Oh, I never thought about that. I cast a cursory glance over at Yamagata and Baba. “I’m sorry, my boy, but... I won’t be taking that role. Squad captain’s more than enough for me.”

“Same here. It ain’t in my nature to take such a demanding job.” Welp, it was worth a shot. I had hoped that one of them would accept, since they had served as generals for Takeda and all, but... I guess they’d had enough of that life. Well, that just leaves...

“I’ll have to pick one of you three, then.”

“Wait, us?!” Lain’s rabbit ears perked up rapidly. Norn and Nikola just stared, dumbfounded. I didn’t know what they were so surprised about. The wolf, rabbit, and fox trio were formal knights of my kingdom, after all.

“Well, there’s nobody else.”

“B-But we can’t be commanders, that’s impossible!” Lain waved her hands in a fluster all of a sudden. The two behind her nodded in unified agreement.

“Well, I mean, in the case of emergencies you three band up with me anyway, right? I just think it’s necessary to have a commander while I’m absent. Plus, it’s only a company of one hundred.”

“That’s true, but...” Having a commander was necessary. Even if it didn’t have that many members, I needed to maintain a hierarchy. But the issue was which of them to choose. They were all talented, but all had their drawbacks too.

Nikola was stoic and serious, but generally inflexible. Norn was a people person, but very reckless. Lain was an exemplary all-rounder, but she was dangerously reserved.

“Look, for now let’s have one of you be the commander, and the other two can be the vice-commanders. Alright?” Nikola immediately raised his hand.

“Lain should be the commander, then.”

“Y-Yeah, I agree! Lain’ll do great!”

“Wh-Wh-What?!” Lain was betrayed by her closest comrades! She glared right at them. But she was outvoted two-to-one, so I was completely fine to go ahead with it.

“U-Um, please, you two...! Isn’t Nikola more suited for the role than I?!”

“Nah, you’re much better for this. Norn’s careless, so she’d make a sloppy commander. She likes to slack off, too. I’m kind of a strict person, so I don’t think I’d treat people especially fairly. Inflexibility is not a trait you want at the head of an organization. They say a carrot and a stick is needed to drive something forward, but I’m just a stick. I’d say that you’re the carrot we need, Lain.” Hm, lemme look at this objectively here... This case kind of reminded me of the Hijikata Toshizo, vice-commander of the Shinsengumi. He was known as the Demon Vice-Commander because of his attitude. So while Kondo Isami took the role as the Shinsengumi’s commander, Toshizo simply stood by the wayside and sternly enforced the rules. A guy like that was definitely best at the side-lines, growling and staring.

“Very well, then. Lain’s the new commander.”

“Sounds good to us!”

“Wh-What?! Please wait a moment!” All three of them had grown considerably stronger over the last few months. Yamagata and Baba had really put them through the wringer, and the results were showing. They’d even trained often with veterans from both Regulus and Belfast. They all had valiant personalities, and they were naturally talented in the physical arts just by virtue of being beastmen.

That aside, putting Lain at the top of my knight order was a convenient social move, as well. She was a beastwoman, so that was two birds with one stone. With Lain as the commander, everyone would know at a glance that Brunhild was a progressive country that did not discriminate based on sex or race.

“Please don’t worry so much. Even if the title is commander, right now it’s only comparable to leading a small platoon. Don’t get worked up, you’ll be fine. Your two vice-commanders will be supporting you fully as well.”

“Yessir.”

“You got it!” Nikola stood stoic and serious, while Norn gave a bubbly response. Lain just sat down on her chair, staring blankly and quietly babbling. Her rabbit ears were drooped down in resignation.

It felt a little awkward, but I’m sure she’d do her best. I also decided to support her in every way possible.

All that was left was to create leaflets and fliers, then distribute them. I was sure that putting them in places like the guild in Regulus and Belfast would be more than enough.

We all decided to host the interview itself after a month.

And then, one month later...

“Huh?”

“Allow me to repeat myself. Over a thousand candidates are here to fill up the sixty available positions. It is both unexpected and unprecedented.” Kousaka repeated himself, but I still couldn’t wrap my head around what he said. How had we attracted that many people? Sure, we’d thrown out fliers all over the place, but over a thousand, really? There were more applicants than citizens!

“How did this happen?”

“Your Majesty... you are the sole Silver-ranked adventurer in Belfast. You squashed a military coup in Regulus. You slayed a Dragon in Mismede! These people were naturally drawn here due to your great deeds. Word of mouth is powerful. But of course there are likely spies from other nations mixed in amongst the candidates as well.” That made sense enough. It was still better to have a ton of candidates than no candidates, though. “How do you plan on processing them, then? And what about the criteria you’re looking for in a knight?”

“Hrmm, I’m not actually sure about the best course of action. I still haven’t got that figured out.” I didn’t know the first thing about interviewing this many people.

“Well, Your Majesty... it depends on the kind of individual you want to prioritize within the ranks of Brunhild. Frankly, if you think strength is all that matters, why not have them all brawl until there are only sixty left? Hohoh...” Easy for you to say. Well, if they’re thuggish or crude I don’t want them working here. I guess the ideal I’m looking for in a knight is someone who looks at the citizens and sees them as the priority. Good-hearted people with dutiful attitudes. I’m sure a lot of people will have come along with different expectations, but I’m not gonna budge there.

Still, interviewing each candidate one after the other is gonna be a pain. What should I do...

◇　◇　◇

“Applicants for the Brunhild knight order, please come over here. Line up in an orderly fashion.” The desk was at the castle gates. I had the applicants come one by one to write down their full name, their sex, their age, birthplace, race, and personal statements on a document. After that, Lapis would give them a numbered badge. Then, that same number was stamped on the back of their hand. The actual interview was scheduled for two days afterward.

The badges were to be worn on the chest, or anywhere where it was easily visible. Wearing them was mandatory.

The badges were secretly the first part of the test. I’d informed every citizen of the town to record the badge number of anyone that gives them a tough time or a poor impression. I asked them to put down the reason for the concern, and the nature of the harassment.

A smart applicant would probably realize the meaning behind the badge to begin with.

This wasn’t a test to find those with the right qualities, but more of a test to root out those with the wrong qualities. Those who were inconsiderate, those who didn’t think about the badge’s meaning, or the people they were going to be protecting? I didn’t want those people anywhere near my country.

I used [Mirage] on Tsubaki’s subordinates to make them look like demonkin and beastmen, then I had them wander around the town. I wanted to see if anyone would actively discriminate against them. Because those were the kind of people I wanted to kick out.

About a third of the candidates were demi-human, so naturally if I employed them I wanted them working alongside people who wouldn’t discriminate or look down on them. It’d be a pain in the ass if I had people who were like, “Wow, you’re okay for a beastman,” as well. Friendly discrimination was still racist.

I summoned one hundred cats and sent them into town. Their mission was to report in to me about the situation.

“Meow... there’s a certain fellow hassling a merchant! He’s badge number six hundred and eighty-five.”

“Meow, there’s a group of drunkards making a hassle in a restaurant. The barkeep’s trying to keep the situation under control, meow! They’re badges number eighty-two through eighty-five!”

“S-Some rude son of a meow threw a rock at me... He’s badge number two hundred and fifty-eight!” I was surprised that so many reports were coming in so soon. It was pretty hard for me to take note of all of that alone. I decided to ask Kohaku for help. Kohaku was the Monarch that governed land beasts, so that tiger would have no issue receiving telepathic messages from the cats either. Renne and Laim came to help me record everything.

Over a thousand applicants had shown up, so Micah’s inn was beyond its limit. In the end, most of the applicants had to camp in the plains outside town. Thankfully there was no dangerous wildlife in the region.

A huge variety of people had shown up, though. I disguised myself with [Mirage] and went to check out the town. There were a lot of female adventurers, probably because I’d mentioned that sex didn’t matter. A lot of beastmen and demonkin showed up as well, mostly gathering in groups of their own.

I decided to reject humans that were racist against beastmen and demonkin, but I also decided to reject beastmen and intelligent monsters that were racist toward humans as well. It was true that they might’ve all had personal circumstances that made them feel that way, but my country had no room for discriminatory people, bleeding hearts or not.

With that initial wave over, the worst of them would probably be singled out and removed. But the screening still had to occur.

My idea of using [Paralysis] on all of the candidates and letting those with high magical resistance pass to the next round was vetoed. I guess it didn’t have much to do with knighthood. It didn’t really let me know if the person was good or bad, either.

I decided to rely on Yumina’s Mystic Eyes for that little detail, but resolved only to include her after I’d narrowed down the candidates considerably.

Things were definitely about to get busier.

◇　◇　◇

It was screening day. The people whose ticket numbers had been recorded by Tsubaki’s subordinates and the cats were not allowed passage through the castle’s gate. Of course, some people were hanging around, but most had gone home in low spirits, grumbling to themselves about what they could do to help their country. Thus about fifty people had been rejected, which left about nine hundred and fifty people. But only about a twentieth had left. That wasn’t enough.

Applicants gathered within the training ground in the castle. I stood on the hastily constructed stage alongside Lain, Norn, Nikola, Baba, and Yamagata. Elze, Linze, Yae, Yumina, Lu, and Tsubaki all waited in the wings beside the stage.

I used my Null spell [Speaker], which caused the sides of the stages to shine as magic formations headed toward the galleries.

These two magic formations, about thirty centimeters in diameter, floated up into the sky as another smaller formation appeared by my mouth. Anything I’d say into this one would stream out of the larger formations at a magnified volume.

“First, allow me to welcome you all to the Duchy of Brunhild. I am Mochizuki Touya, the grand duke. We are about to proceed with the screening to see who will join my royal knight order. But let me be frank with you all, we do not pay much. As knights you will not only defend this duchy, but you will have numerous other roles to fill as well. As you can see from the beastmen behind me, your race or social position will do you no favors here. I would ask only those who agree with what I’ve said to remain here.” I declared as such, and the applicants began to mutter amongst themselves. Eventually several of them left through the castle gate. Well, I didn’t expect everyone to stay after that. If they didn’t agree with what I’d said, then I’d much rather have had them leave immediately.

“In that case, I will now have you all show me your strength. Please head out through the gate, and do a lap around the castle moat.” A puzzled expression came over the crowd’s faces at my latest declaration. The distance around the castle was about two kilometers. They were likely thinking it was too small a distance to test strength.

“It also matters not if you come first or last. I wish you to take this at your own pace. Those who find this too hard and wish to give up are to remove the badges they’re wearing. You’ll be teleported back here and allowed to leave. With that said, let’s begin!” As the applicants began to file off, I cast my magic.

“[Gravity].”

“Argh?!” Everyone collapsed to the ground under their newfound weight.

“I used weight magic on you all. Please complete the course under these conditions. If you wish to give up, simply do as I said earlier and remove your badge. You will then be teleported here.” The applicants began to stand up one by one, and then walked slowly out of the gate. They weren’t quite going at a snail’s pace, but it was far slower than standard walking speed.

I hadn’t made them so heavy that they couldn’t move, so they should still be able to walk fine. It’d take an incredibly amount of strength though. I’d also sent the ninjas to keep an eye on everyone, in case anyone tried to get sneaky, or accidentally fell into the moat.

“So their position doesn’t matter?”

“Hmm... Well I’ll take it into consideration, but this isn’t a test to simply see their physical strength.” I answered Laim’s question. I’ll certainly be able to work out how strong they are from this. But that isn’t what I want to know.

“If this isn’t a test of physical strength, then what is it?”

“A test of will.”

“Their will?” How serious they can be, in other words. Anyone who gives up immediately wouldn’t be any use to us. Those would be the first people to give up when the going gets tough. And that could put us all in danger.

After a certain amount of time had passed, I intended to send relief to those who haven’t returned. But anyone who gives up before that would be instantly disqualified. Anyone still striving for the goal at that point would be considered a successful applicant, and move on to the next stage.

I explain all this to Laim as people start teleporting in, having given up. That’s way too soon! At least put some effort into it!

I removed [Gravity] from them, and used [Refresh] to restore their strength before quickly sending them home. Hm, how many are left...

Wow, we started with nine hundred and fifty, but we’re already down to four hundred and fifty?! That means half of them have given up already!

The people in first place were all beastmen and demonkin who had naturally enhanced strength, but that wasn’t too important here. As long as a person had the mental strength to continue without giving up, they’d pass. Whatever their reason for giving up, be it that they were merely window-shopping for a job, or just realized their own lack of strength, that was irrelevant to me as well. I appreciated their efforts, regardless.

After a certain amount of time elapsed, I used recovery magic on everyone who was still struggling. I also cast it on anyone that managed to make it through the goal.

Now, for the next test.

“Next we’ll move onto the practical skills examination. You may use whatever weapons you prefer. Any who manages to land a hit on me within thirty minutes will have passed. I shall be using this wooden sword. You may begin.” I declared the start and picked up my wooden sword, but not a single person charged toward me. I was thinking about how weird it was that they weren’t doing anything, when eventually someone timidly spoke up.

“U-Uh, what order are we meant to attack you in?” Ahh, so that’s it.

“That doesn’t matter. You can all come at me at once. Give it everything you’ve got, by all means.” They might’ve thought I was mocking them, because they all begin to charge me at once, specialized weapons in hand.

“[Accel].” I used my acceleration magic to slip between them, and start hitting the unprotected applicants with my sword. Given the huge number of people, they kept on surging toward me. But I just kept on dodging, hitting out when I got the chance.

I made a point not to attack anyone who held a firm guard. During this test, Baba, Yamagata, Elze and Yae were judging the participants’ skills. If they were determined to be above a certain level, then their number would be recorded. I felt bad for the people who I could clearly see weren’t at that level, but I hit them anyway. That meant they’d failed.

Occasionally an attack would come my way, but [Accel] made it a trifling matter to deal with. Eventually, half of the people had fallen, with the rest still standing raggedly around the field.

“That’s enough. Time!” Laim announced the test’s end. And with that, everyone collapsed to the ground. That also reminded me, I happened to see a few people I recognized during the brawl.

I glanced over to the two of them, collapsed on the ground. Ha! Wow, it’s Rebecca and Logan.

They were the two adventurers I’d met in the Rabbi Desert. Last I heard they were still guarding the reading cafe back in Belfast. I wondered what had brought them here. The two of them noticed my staring and gave me a small wave. I wanted to talk to them, but there were a lot of people around. I wouldn’t want them knowing that I knew any of the applicants. They might start thinking I was giving people special treatment.

I cast recovery magic on everyone, and took the notes from Baba and the others.

“I’ll now read out the results. Those whose numbers I read out will come this way. If I do not read out your number, I apologize, but you have failed. Please leave through the castle gates. I will now begin. Numbers three, fourteen, twenty-one...” Now only one hundred people remained. The people I attacked obviously failed, but so did the ones who didn’t try to attack me. This was their chance to show off their own abilities, so that only makes sense.

In addition, both Rebecca and Logan ended up passing. And, since I wasn’t the one who decided that, it wasn’t like I gave them special treatment or anything.

We sure have narrowed it down... Now there should be few enough for the interview phase.

We took the successful applicants into the castle, and headed toward the knights’ barracks. Leaving the applicants in one room, we began preparing the adjacent one for the interviews. The ones leading these interviews were to be myself, Laim, Yumina, and one more person. I’d called them to the duchy, because their aid was imperative.

“Sorry for making you come here. Your help is much appreciated.”

“Oh no, this is nothing. I already owe you far more than I could ever repay.” Her Eminence the Pope smiled as she answered me. I’d contacted the Ramissh Theocracy beforehand to ask for help. Her guards, several holy paladins, were waiting at the back of the room too. We were going to perform these interviews using the pope’s ability to see through lies, and Yumina’s ability to see one’s true nature.

Her Holiness was a bit of a celebrity, so I used [Mirage] to disguise her appearance. When I did so, she asked me to make her look young. Since she’d look like a different person I didn’t think it really mattered... But a woman’s heart could be complicated and fickle, I guess.

“Very well, call them five at a time.” Nikola left the room, and came back with five applicants. Two beastmen, and three humans. I advised that they sit in the chairs in the center of the room.

“If you could all state your names, age, and birthplace, from left to right please.” Laim and I began to ask rather inoffensive questions as Yumina checked out their true natures.

Every time we asked a question, Her Holiness either clenched or opened her left hand. This was a signal we set up in advance. If she opened her hand flat, it meant they were telling the truth. But if she clenched her hand into a fist, then they were lying. I continued to ask questions as I observe this.

It’s not that telling a lie will get you immediately disqualified. There are things people don’t want to talk about, and things that could be dangerous if revealed. But I cannot place my trust in someone who would lie about everything and anything.

Nor did it mean that people who truthfully answered question such as “What’s more important, you or your country?”, “What would you do if you were rich?”, and “Could you calmly dispose of a traitor?”, would immediately pass.

When the interview was done we allowed the five applicants to leave the room before Yumina started to speak.

“We should reject the people third and fifth from the left. I believe they had malicious intent in their minds.”

“They did indeed tell many lies. They had wonderful poker faces, however.”

“Poker faces...? Ahh, you mean the technique where you stop your opponent from reading your expression during card games.” For now we decided to cross those two people off the list, and had Nikola call in the next five. We’re gonna have to do this twenty times? What a pain in the ass...

“Ahh, I’m exhausted...!” We were finally done with the interviews, which meant my head could come crashing down on the desk. Fighting against a lot of people was far easier, if you asked me.

We ended up dealing with a few people who casually lied with smiles on their faces like it was nothing. It kinda freaked me out. Still, it seemed that the ability to discern lies from truth was actually a bit of a burden.

“I try my best not to invoke it too often. Sometimes it’s best not to know.” Her Eminence certainly had a point. If you went through life seeing through everyone completely, you could end up mistrusting people in general. I hoped I hadn’t made her overdo it a bit. I decided to treat her to dinner later as an apology.

After we rounded off the disqualified candidates, there were sixty-four applicants remaining. It was just a little bit more than expected, but I was fine to accept all of them.

Thirty-seven men, and twenty-seven women. It was actually more women than I had anticipated. Though, it was probably because the knight orders in other countries didn’t allow females to join. My poster had specified that sex, creed, or race was irrelevant, so naturally a few talented ladies made their way to my duchy.

As it happened, Rebecca’s reason for coming to Brunhild was precisely that. Logan also came along, stating he was looking for steady work. I asked if they were planning on getting married or something, but they both yelled at me in surprised unison. Apparently he was seeing someone else. Talk about awkward...

Twenty-two of the candidates were beastmen and demonkin. I could understand so many beastmen coming in, because my commanding trio were also beastmen, but the number of demonkin definitely threw me off.

Demonkin were a species that were typically bipedal and similar to humans in appearance. But even if they were generally considered demi-human, they were much closer to conventional monsters for the most part. Members of their race included vampires, lamias, ogres, and alraunes. They’re fully capable of communication, and are just as intelligent as humans, though they tend to keep their distance from mankind.

As you’d expect, there’s a lot of prejudice and discrimination against demonkin across the world. Several countries even actively oppress members of the species, including the Ramissh Theocracy before their reforms.

The interviews with the demonkin were especially strict and thorough due to the potential distrust or ill will toward humanity. But the five of them that passed all were approved wholly by Yumina’s Mystic Eyes. Her Holiness the Pope also determined they were all honest and true individuals. They all genuinely wished to live amongst humans, so I passed them. They were a vampire, an ogre, an alraune, and two lamias.

As an aside, the vampire candidate looked like a stereotypical vampire, but he seemed to be fine without drinking blood. Apparently, amongst vampires at least, blood was seen as something similar to how humans see booze or cigarettes. Some enjoyed partaking, but others just had no interest or even actively disliked it. The vampire who joined our ranks stated that he was quite uncomfortable around blood, actually. It was pretty jarring, given my image of vampirism as an insatiable hunger.

I began wondering just how my royal knights were going to end up looking. There were a few details like squad arrangement to go over, but we certainly had quite the diverse cast of characters making up my ranks. I didn’t mind, though, it seemed like things would be more fun that way anyhow.

◇　◇　◇

I created a second barrack due to our sudden increase in troops. Men and women didn’t need to share accommodation, either. Though I provided the barracks for them to live in, I’d also be fine with them staying in the town if they paid for it themselves.

I also took some advice from old man Baba and built an underground training facility.

“For the time bein’, these three’re the commander and vice-commanders, right? How’s it gonna look to the newbies if they see Yamagata and me beatin’ them around?” He had a point. The three of them were definitely strong, but they still weren’t tough enough to hold a candle to the old men. If the new recruits saw them getting roughed up by Yamagata and company, they might lose confidence in Lain and consider the old men more suited to lead. That’d be bad!

Therefore we decided to create an elite-members only exclusive training facility, deep underground. As they poured into the place, which was basically just a gym with a training field attached to it, they all looked around in glee at the inventions I had placed within. Like children, they ran over and used the exercise bike, the treadmill, the barbell weights, and so on. They’d end up suffering extreme muscle fatigue if they overdid it. They weren’t toys!

Now, I had a few things to do that day. The duchy was being well-managed, so I decided to finally address a few things in my personal life.

Even though it was long overdue, I decided that today was the day... To tell the parents of the girls I’d proposed to that we were engaged.

It was already settled in the case of Yumina and Lu, but I hadn’t told Yae’s family, or Elze and Linze’s, either.

I was already acquainted with Yae’s mother and father, but Elze and Linze’s biological parents were dead. I knew that their uncle and aunt were living in Refreese though, they lived in a farming village and had raised the twins there.

I decided to meet with Yae’s parents first. I whipped up a portal, and the two of us found ourselves in Oedo.

“Been a while since I’ve been to Eashen.” It felt a little funny to me, since roughly half of Brunhild’s citizens were Eashen natives. We passed through the gate of the Kokonoe dojo, and Ayane, their maid, came to greet us.

I was brought through to see her parents, Jubei and Nanae. I told them straight-up about my engagement. To my surprise, they didn’t respond with much other than a silent glance between the two.

“See? It is as I said it would be.”

“I suppose you were correct. Very well, and thank you. Please take care of our Yae as you would your other brides, Touya-dono.” They bowed their heads to us, and we returned the gesture. I was kind of pleased it went so seamlessly. I half expected it to turn into a “If you want my daughter, then best me in battle!” kind of a situation.

“But, I must confess... I did not expect you to become nobility, Touya-dono. Nor did I expect my Yae to marry into a monarch’s house... life certainly is full of surprises!” Jubei let out his honest feelings. I felt mostly the same as he did. I couldn’t have foreseen this happening a year ago.

“Excuse me, Touya-san. Would you perhaps take us to this Brunhild? I wish to see where my daughter will be spending her life.”

“Hm? I don’t see why not, but bear in mind we aren’t very well-developed just yet.” I didn’t mind if Yae’s mother was interested in her daughter’s home, so I obliged. We waited for Yae’s brother to return home, and I took them all with me. Ayane came along as well, as she’d never seen any place outside of Eashen before.

“Welcome hooome, your Hiiighness.”

“Welcome home!” Cecile and Renne came to greet us at the castle entry. Yae’s family began to look around at the castle’s interior, their heads craning to stare at everything.

“This is Yae’s family. They’ll be looking around for a while, so please take good care of them.”

“Oh myyy, Lady Yae’s familyy... This waay, please. I’ll shooow you to your quarteeers.” Cecile guided them off to their rooms, one-by-one. I decided that we’d stop to have lunch in the dining room, and then take them for a tour around the town. Then again, there wasn’t really much to see there. Yae’s brother, and her father, would probably prefer to check out our training grounds.

As I expected, they did! I went with the two of them, while Yae went to the castle town with Ayane and Nanae.

The fresh recruits of my knight order were practicing with deadly zeal. I was kind of pleased to see it, because the only thing I’d seen on the training field previously was Lain and the others being beaten to a pulp by old men.

After a short while of observing, Jubei and Jutaro said they wanted to participate in the training as well. That was only natural; they were the direct family of Yae, after all, and she was a sword nut.

I flagged down Yamagata and called him over for a mock battle with Jubei. I thought that a showdown between a former member of the Takeda Elite Four, and the swordsmanship instructor of the Tokugawa house would be something to behold indeed.

As soon as the battle began, everyone was captured by the stunning display of swordplay. Even Jutaro, who was standing right next to me, stood enraptured by the dancing blades.

I watched the two clash for a while, before calling it prematurely. It’d be better for the pride of both men to call it a draw, anyway.

After the battle ended, the knights all clamored around Jubei and begged him to teach them swordplay. I was pleased they were all so eager to improve.

Yamagata then caught the attention of Jutaro, who challenged him immediately. The boy couldn’t resist the opportunity to face off against a former member of the Takeda Clan’s Elite Four, after all.

He wasn’t on his father’s level, but Yae’s brother certainly put up an incredible fight against old man Yamagata. He was definitely stronger than Lain and the vice-commanders. But he’d been raised with a blade in his hand, and had experienced war as well. If that wasn’t natural talent honed through experience, then what was?

The two of them joined the knight recruits and began to practice, which left me with some time to kill. I thought about leaving them in Yamagata’s care and heading back to take care of some other stuff, but I had some apprehensions about abandoning what were effectively my brother and father-in-law. I decided it’d be too cold to leave immediately, so I waited around a bit.

As I sat down on the bench and watched them clash, Rebecca walked over to say hello.

“Got some free time, Touya? Oh, er... I mean, my liege, right?” She spoke with a grin plastered on her face. I didn’t really mind what she called me, but she should definitely try to act formal with me around other people.

“I didn’t expect you to come here at all, Rebecca. Why was it that you came, again?”

“I had aspirations to join an order of Royal Knights. But a woman has little to no chance of joining an order without noble blood, or friends in high places. I started adventuring to hone my skills, then jumped at the chance when I saw the notice about indiscriminate hiring here.” That made sense enough to me. There were a lot of women amongst the applicants I’d had. Apparently Logan tagged along after Rebecca invited him. But they had no idea that I was the one at the head of the country.

“Will didn’t come, then?”

“He’s stuck in Belfast’s knight order, I think. Vice-Commander Neil has taken a real liking to him. Plus, Wendy lives over there, so there’s no way he’d leave.” According to Rebecca, Wendy was still working in Moon Reader, so Will would frequently take guard jobs there.

It was a little late to consider, but I had no idea what was going to happen with that cafe. Would it being owned by the leader of a foreign country be a problem? Well, I had no doubts the King of Belfast would be fine with it either way.

I had them send over reports on revenue, expenditures, and monthly proceeds through a Gate Mirror. I also delivered them new books every month. It was all being managed very well, and seemed to be quite popular. It made me wonder if I’d have to consider setting up a second branch in Brunhild.

“A-Also... I have a request of you, Your Highness...”

“A request?”

“Yeah, see... there should be some equipment that allows one to recognize us as members of the Royal Knights, right? Like a distinctive armor, shield, or blade. Don’t you think we should have something like that? Something iconic?” Rebecca blurted out her proposal, blushing slightly. She raised a point I hadn’t considered, we definitely didn’t have anything unified or distinct. Brunhild’s knights would be easier to recognize if they had a piece of gear that made them stand out.

“Hmm... you’ve got a point, Rebecca! It’d be super convenient if citizens could recognize you as a member of the knight order at a glance.”

“For reals, right?!” Rebecca grinned, clapping her hands together. Seems I’d hit it right on the head. She looked way too excited, though. I guess she had always dreamed of joining a knight order, though. Plus a stereotypical knight looked very cool and distinct, I figured she wanted to have that kind of image.

“Hmm... then let’s give it a try.”

“Wait, right now?” I took a lump of mithril out of my magic storage, completely ignoring the bewildered Rebecca as I did so.

I used another of my trusty spells to start shaping it properly. I made an armor plating typical of fantasy anime and games, since I wanted it to have a bit of a different feeling to the armors commonly found in this world.

I made a breastplate, set of shoulder pauldrons, greaves, and neckbrace. I had Rebecca put it on, and then adjusted the size to fit her form. I formed it in such a way that let her have free movement, but also gave the outfit a feminine feeling. Lastly, I made a helmet with a transparent visor and a wide field of view.

I had to make sure it didn’t hinder movement, so I had Rebecca go through various motions while wearing it. It was mithril, so it shouldn’t have had much weight to it.

“This is amazing! It’s like I’m wearing a sheet!” As Rebecca bounded around in the armor a little more, I took a Phrase shard from storage and shaped it into a blade, a shield, and a scabbard. I then charged the items with a small amount of my magic. I also made sure part of the sword’s core structure was made of mithril.

The amount of magic I poured into the sword and shield made them harder than mithril itself. I made sure it wasn’t as sharp as Yae’s Touka, though. Didn’t want anyone stealing it and causing absolute chaos with an impossibly sharp blade.

I finished it up by using another nifty spell to reduce the gear’s weight. And, just like that, I had created a crystal sword and shield.

It was possible to make armor using the Phrase fragments too, but then it’d be see-through, so I decided against it. I added straps so the shield would be worn on the back, and the sword at the waist, and then it was done.

“So, how is it?”

“Amazing, really!” Rebecca triumphantly held up her shield and thrust out her blade. The glimmering quickly caught the attention of just about everyone else, and soon we were surrounded.

I caught Logan amongst the onlookers, and called him over. Then I used him as a base and took feedback from the other knights to create a male variant of the armor. After that, I went to the workshop and mass-produced the armor for everyone to wear.

Only the base shape was mass-produced, though. I had to apply the enchanted effects myself. Luckily, I had [Multiple] to do it all at once.

I set it so the armor intelligently adapted to fit the size of the person wearing it. I also added a crest in the image of Brynhildr, the Germanic shieldmaiden my gun and country were named for, on to the shields.

I made special, unique-looking armors for the commander, vice-commanders, and squad captains. Then I had to create custom-fit armors for the demonkin members of my army. The vampire guy was fine to wear the regular model, though.

It was their on-duty gear, so it would be best if they didn’t use it for practice. Their blades were made of Phrase shards, so their magic power would end up depleting if they used it wastefully, and that wouldn’t be good...

I returned to the training grounds with the armor in tow. Everyone rushed ahead, desperate to be the first to get their hands on the stuff. They all smiled and began touching at the metal. When they were all fitted in their matching armor, they definitely gave off the feel of a proper group of royal knights.

In later years, due to their swords and shields, Brunhild’s knights would come to be known as the “Order of the Crystal Blade.” But that’s a story for another day.

◇　◇　◇

Ultimately, I was relieved to have the full support of Yae’s family, but now I had to go and visit Linze and Elze’s family.

“H-Honestly there’s no need...” Elze was hesitant for some reason. It seemed that Elze and Linze had sent a letter off that roughly explained the situation. They said they were engaged to the same man, that the man was the ruler of a country, and so on.

Their uncle, who was the younger brother of their mother, owned a farm in a small village called Colette. The village was in the Refreese Imperium, close to Belfast’s borders. Elze and Linze lived there until they were twelve years old, when they left in pursuit of independence. Apparently they didn’t want to burden their aunt and uncle with too many mouths to feed.

The people of this world sure are independent... In my old world, there are people who leech off their parents well into their twenties... and some that would act as though that was normal.

In any case, if they’d already explained the circumstances, I wanted to at least go and greet the family. I asked them if they’d like to use [Fly] with me and blast off, but they said it was too frightening. Geez, after all the trouble I went through to learn this spell, too...

In the end, I just bit the bullet and used [Recall] on Linze to see Colette village, and then we all went there through a [Gate].

I could see what looked to be an orchard off in the distance. There were red fruits dangling from the trees.

The area very much felt like the countryside. There was a big fence erected around the perimeter, though.

I wondered if wild boars came along and ruined crops or something... There was a large house with a red roof in the distance. It was very big, and had a well-aged, rustic feel to it.

“Been a long time since we’ve been here...”

“It hasn’t changed a bit.” We wandered over toward the red-roofed house, while the two girls stared at the scenery. There was nostalgia clouding their eyes, so I figured this must be the place.

Two people were tending the field in front of the house. One of them, a man, raised his head and peered over at us. He was wearing a stereotypical farmer’s straw hat.

“What...? Elze? Linze?!”

“Yo, long time no see, Uncle Joseph!”

“It’s been a while, uncle.” Elze and Linze raised their hands to wave at him. The other person who was tending the field, a young woman, raised her head as well.

“Elze, Linze?! Well butter my biscuit, you’re home?!” Her face blossomed into a beaming smile. She charged across the field and pulled the twins into a big hug. Her hair was long and brown, all tied up into a braid. She only seemed to be about twenty... Is this seriously their aunt?! “Heya sis. We’re home!”

“We’re home, Emma. It’s nice to see you again.”

“Geez Louise, you two never came back even once. Even after ya promised to!” Elze must’ve realized that I was very much left out here, because she parted from the embrace.

“Touya, this is sis. Her name’s Emma, though. She’s uncle’s daughter, and our cousin.” Cousin? Hm, I see... She does kinda look similar to them... I wonder if Elze and Linze’ll grow up to look similar to her.

As I got lost in thought, Elze and Linze’s uncle removed his straw hat and strode over. He had beady eyes and white hair, he looked to be around fifty years old as well. He gave off the vibe of a simple country bumpkin, but not in a bad way.

“Ah, I’m happy y’both decided ta come back a bit. Everyone’s gonna be real happy. Who’s this nice lookin’ fella with you, anyhow?” Their uncle looked at me, then Linze, then Elze. He crooked a brow.

“We sent that letter, didn’t we? This is Mochizuki Touya. H-He’s uhm... ah... h-haha... h-he’s our uh... f-f-future hu... huh...!!”

“He’s our fiance.” The two turned beet red as they gave my introduction to their uncle. Geez, you two... if you start going on like that you’re gonna make me blush as well!

“...Oh. The letter... right. So this feller’s from that Duchy of Brunhild that everyone’s been gabbin’ on about these days?”

“Indeed. I am the grand duke of the Duchy of Brunhild. My name is Mochizuki Touya. Touya is my given name. I’m indebted to Elze and Linze for their kindn—”

“Wh-Whaaaat?!! Oh my goodness me...!” Their uncle suddenly dropped to the ground and prostrated before me. What the hell? I only reached out for a handshake.

“Ahhh, damn it. This is exactly what I thought was gonna happen...!”

“...Typical.” Elze and Linze looked at each other with wry smiles. They let out little sighs. Their uncle refused to budge from his prostrated position, he looked like he was quivering, even. I didn’t really know what to do, when suddenly Emma started to speak.

“Pops here is pretty uncomfortable and weak-willed when it comes to nobility an’ such. Apparently somethin’ happened when he was a kid so he gets like this whenever there’s someone of a higher status nearby.” What, wait... don’t just brush it off! This is beyond “uncomfortable!” He’s clearly concealing some kind of traumatic event! Seriously! I’m concerned about what happened to this guy when he was little!

“Y-Your Most Esteemed Highness, Sir Mochizuki Touya. I am so privileged and emboldened by your presence in my humble home. I am so sorry, I don’t have anything to amuse you with, but I respectfully ask that you keep calm... please don’t punish us for our transgressions.” This is... weird. Really goddamn weird. Does he think I’m some kind of ticking time bomb? I turned my head to Linze and Elze, raising a brow at them. They just kind of shrugged and did nothing. Little help, guys?

“Oi, dad. You’re offending him. Get up already.”

“O-Offending him?! I-I’m so sorry, milord! Please forgive me, have mercy!” He rocketed to his feet with a boundless energy and began to talk in a fluster. Now I understood why Elze was so reluctant to bring me here. This guy was something else. I decided not to torment him any further, and moved aside to talk with Emma.

“Sorry... I came here to introduce myself to the family, but is he going to be alright?”

“Don’t sweat it. Pop’s just like that. Everyone’ll be real happy to meet you, honest. Come meet momma an’ the others, too.” The others? I was caught off-guard by what she said, and before I could process the meaning...

“They were telling the truth! Elze and Linze’re home!”

“Welcome baaack!”

“Hurray!! The sisters’re back! It’s Linze an’ Elze!” Whoa... The rambunctious little tykes came flooding over and embraced the twins. One... Two... three... six little kids! Two boys and four girls, it looks like.

I stared on, dumbfounded, while Emma gave a little laugh.

“These are my brothers and sisters. Going from oldest to youngest, there’s Sheena, Allen, Kurara and Kirara, Allan, and Reno. They all have an older brother, who’s just a bit younger than me, his name’s Aaron. But he left for the big city a while back.” Eight kids, for reals? That poor uncle... It now made sense why Elze and Linze decided to leave so young, they must’ve felt like they were further burdening an already bustling household. Just thinking of the food expenses this place must’ve had made my head spin.

Aside from Allen and Allan, they were all girls. Kirara and Kurara looked like they were twins, too. Back in my world they’d say that a family with twins typically had a lot of twins in it. I wondered if the same was said in this one.

I looked over toward the house, and a stout, chubby woman came sauntering out.

“Well I’ll be damned... is that Elze and Linze?! Get over here, you rapscallions!”

“Auntie Lana!”

“Yes, it’s us. We’re home, Aunt Lana.” Elze and Linze both ran up to the woman and gave her a big hug. It was their aunt, apparently. She was a chubby, portly woman. But she exuded a lot of character.

Lana patted the two on the head with a warm smile, then she turned to me.

“You must be Touya, then. You’re exactly as the two described you in their letter... you certainly seem quite a good man! Ohoho, the two of them certainly described their beloved fiance quite well.”

“A-Auntie Lana!”

“...Keep that secret, we mentioned so in the letter.” The two of them turned beet red as they voiced their irritation to their aunt. I was curious about what it was they’d written, but opted not to pursue it. I had a feeling it’d just get me in trouble.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Mochizuki Touya. Touya’s my given name.”

“My name’s Lana. I’m the twins’ aunt. You’re rather humble for royalty, aren’t you?”

“Ahaha... well, I can’t really afford not to be. I haven’t exactly been noble for long, anyway.” Unlike her husband, Lana seemed a bit more confident. She was really friendly and quite the chatterbox. I wondered if this was a case of polar opposites attracting.

“I was nervous when I heard that the two of them would be marrying into royalty, but it seems my fears were unfounded. I can see it in their eyes that you’re a good man.”

“Thank you for your kindness.” Lana’s words put me at ease a little. Just then, a little boy who looked to be about seven years old (I think his name was... Allen, or something.), tottered over and tugged at his mother’s apron.

“Mommy... is that man royalty?”

“Sort of, sweetheart. He’s the grand duke of Brunhild. A country far away from here.”

“Wow... is he strong? Can he beat up the Thunderbears?”

“...Thunderbears?” I recalled them as being magical beasts that fired lightning from their bodies. They were a monster usually assigned to Blue Rank guild members, so they were two tiers lower than my Silver Rank.

“Are there Thunderbears around here?”

“Ah, there’ve been some alleged sightings lately. They say that lightning strikes have been firing out in the dead of night lately, up in the mountains. The crops have been damaged by the occasional fire, so the villagers in the area pooled their money and put out a quest in the guild.” I didn’t even consider that there’d be problems like farms being collaterally damaged. That sounded like an issue that could become pretty dire if it went unchecked. Not only that, but if the monsters were close enough to damage the fields, then it’d only be a matter of time before people started getting hurt, or worse. I wondered how many monsters there were. I remembered hearing that they were solitary animals and didn’t group up much. It was likely there’d just be a couple of them, and maybe some cubs.

However, I’d heard about a special type of Thunderbear that had a strange set of spines running along its back from head to tail. It somehow used this to command other Thunderbears.

If one of those things was involved, it could easily create a large group of Thunderbears. In that case, the quest would immediately jump to a Red Rank, which is a far cry from blue.

“When exactly did you submit the quest to the guild?”

“Three days ago. We don’t have a guild here, so we forwarded the request to the nearest large town, Senka. We’re fairly sure the quest should be available in the guild by this time tomorrow.” Assuming the quest was received and accepted the following day, it’d still be another three or four days until the adventurer who took it actually arrived in the village. I decided to strike while the iron was hot, and prevent further calamity. Contacting the guild afterward would be fine, surely.

“I’ll take care of your Thunderbear problem.”

“Your Highness, really? Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“I’ll be fine. Despite my appearance, I’m a Silver Rank adventurer, after all.” I took out a small silver card from my pocket and showed it to Lana, who looked positively dumbfounded. Naturally, I wasn’t going to take the reward money from the village, either. I decided to defeat it quickly and get outta there.

“Do you want us to come, too?”

“No. You and Elze have a lot to discuss with your uncle and the others, so I’ll tackle this one solo.” I declined Linze’s offer and floated up into the air with my flight magic. The children looked up at me, gasping in amazement and putting their hands over their mouths. With their wonder backing me, I turned toward the mountains and flew away.

After landing up on the mountains, I pulled out my smartphone and ran a search for Thunderbears. There were more than I was expecting. Too many. More than you’d expect for a regular gathering, anyway. It made me believe without question that a specialized Thunderbear should be around there.

Though, despite the likelihood, there was no way to be certain. With the number of bears up here, the village was actually pretty lucky to only be slightly damaged. The damage to the farmer’s fields wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, that was for sure. Plus, nobody had actually been attacked by a bear, either. The surrounding wilderness was probably full of small animals, berries, and nuts, so the Thunderbears didn’t need to forage in civilized lands.

“Alrighty, let’s get this over with...” I ran a target lock on all the Thunderbears in the area. But then I paused. The resources from the Thunderbears would go to waste if I killed them all with a mass spell.

Thunderbear pelt was quite valuable, as I recalled. Their liver was also an ingredient in a fast-acting and potent medication. Their meat was a little tough, but wasn’t entirely awful either. If I burned them all up with a spell, I’d probably lose their pelts entirely. That wouldn’t be economically intelligent of me.

I decided that the best way to kill them was with a bladed weapon, because stabbing them would damage the fur the least. Then I changed my mind, and decided it might be smarter to poison them, or perhaps suffocate them, or cause them to go into cardiac arrest. I didn’t think my paralysis spell was strong enough to induce heart attacks, though.

“Confirm the number of Thunderbears in the region.”

“Calculating... Twenty-three bears. Cubs included.” Cubs or not, I couldn’t afford mercy. Didn’t want to run the risk of the little guys growing up and causing havoc. I felt slightly uncomfortable, but... that’s life.

It’d probably be best to shoot them right in the hearts, one by one, huh... I figured it’d only take about an hour to end all of their lives. As I pondered the best way to effectively take them out, I popped open a portal to the first bear.

“Hrmph... That was quite the hassle...” The specialized Thunderbear was a lot tougher than I expected, and didn’t really give me much room to attack it. I couldn’t aim anywhere except for the heart, so I had to dodge a bunch of lightning bolts that fired at me from all angles. It was really tough to avoid, but I ended up defeating it in the end. I put it in [Storage] with the rest of the bear corpses.

And, just like that, the mountain was free of Thunderbears. Now all I had to do was head to the guild. Firstly, I needed to exchange the raw bear parts for money. And secondly, I had to inform them that the quest set by the town needed to be cancelled. Though, it probably wouldn’t be a cancellation, since the quest likely hadn’t even reached the guild board yet.

“Uhh... what was it called, again? Uhh... Right, Senka. The town of Senka.” I looked it up on my map. It was due west.

I triggered my flight magic and began heading there immediately. Truly, it was among my most convenient of spells. If I was on the ground, I could probably reach the same speed with [Accel Boost], but this method was easier. That being said, [Fly] was slightly slower and didn’t increase my thought processing in the way [Accel] did. Both spells had their pros and cons, it was just up to me to employ them at the right times.

As such idle thoughts rolled around my head, I eventually saw a town through a clearing of clouds. It was Senka.

I’d cause a fuss if I ended up landing in the middle of town, so I landed just a bit outside of the place. Then, after confirming the location of the guild on the map, I headed right into the bustling streets.

The guildhouse in Senka was considerably smaller than the one in Belfast’s capital, but the interior was actually quite nice. The quest board, as usual, was up on a far wall with several jobs posted. I gave it a sidelong glance before heading to the reception desk.

“Welcome! How may I help you?”

“I’d like to sell some materials I’ve harvested from some monsters. Also, there’ll be a quest coming in from Colette village tomorrow. I’d like to cancel it.”

“I don’t quite understand.” The receptionist eyed me suspiciously, so I presented her my guild card and explained the situation. She was surprised to see a Silver Rank, but believed my story.

After that was dealt with, I lined up the Thunderbears outside and had them check the quality. I set aside two Thunderbear corpses to bring back to the village as evidence, as well.

“Th-This will take us a little while, is that alright?” I didn’t mind, there were a lot. It was just one of those things, it’d be unreasonable to complain. I decided to kill time by looking around the guild. Making my way over to the quest board, I browsed a few requests.

“Hm... A Mega Slime... in a cave to the east, huh.” All the girls in my party loathed any species even remotely similar to Slimes. I’d fought many a monster and demon since I came to the new world, but slippery slimy monsters like Ropers and Slimes were ones we rarely encountered.

As I idly browsed through jobs, someone came through the guild entrance. Many adventurers were coming and going, so I didn’t think much of it, but... then I did a double-take.

“Well then, if it isn’t Touya. What brings you here?”

“Ende...?!” It was him. The monochrome boy. With his pale complexion, his snow-white hair, his signature white scarf and his dark outfit...

“What are you doing here, Ende?”

“I should ask you the same, shouldn’t I? I just got back from wiping out a King Ape that was rampaging in the area.” Ende smiled wryly at me, and gave his answer. I knew what he was talking about. They were a large, monkey-like monster. They weren’t very intelligent, that was for sure. At least the ones I’d fought hadn’t been.

“No, those details aren’t important. There’s a lot I need to ask of you, Ende.”

“You have something to ask me? I mean, go right ahead, but please give me a moment. I need to turn in the quest, after all.” I watched Ende go to the reception desk and hand his guild card over. It was red. After pocketing his reward, we went to a corner area in the guild and sat down.

“What did you want from me, Touya?”

“The Phrase. I want to know what they are.” Ende looked like he was deep in thought, but eventually started to talk.

“Regarding the Phrase... there are things I can tell you, and things I cannot tell you. Are you still fine with that?”

“...That’s fine. Just tell me what you can.” Ende leaned forward in his seat and began to talk to me.

“You may find this hard to believe, Touya. But the Phrase are not entities native to this world. It would be more appropriate to call them visitors that came to this world from another.”

“Visitors? They’re a little hostile for that, aren’t they? Seem more like invaders to me.”

“I don’t think calling them invaders is quite apt. They have no invasive intentions. The only reason they’re in this world is to find their leader.”

The Sovereign Phrase. That’s what Ende told me last time. That it was the goal of the Phrase to locate their leader.

“Then why are they killing people?!”

“...Please understand that from this point, there are details I’ll have to exclude. The thing that keeps a Phrase alive is the core. So long as the Phrase Core is intact, the creature will not die, and it will slowly absorb residual magic from the atmosphere until it can eventually regenerate its body. The Phrase are here to find the Sovereign Core. Because that core is somewhere in this world. They’re killing humans in an attempt to find and reclaim it.”

“But that doesn’t make sense. What does finding the Sovereign Core have to do with killing people?”

“The search is precisely why they’re killing people. Because the Sovereign Core is inside the body of someone living in this world.”

That sounded insane to me. The Sovereign Core was actually inside a person?

“It’s not only limited to humans, either. It could dwell within a beastman, one of the demonkin, any creature with a reasonable degree of intelligence could be housing the Sovereign Core. It’s currently in a dormant state. For all intents and purposes, it’s in a state of near-death. While the Sovereign Core is dormant, it latches on to a lifeform’s body and gestates within it, waiting for the next stage of its life cycle. The Phrase noticed the ‘waves’ being pulsed out by the dormant core, and that’s why they know it’s in this world. But they can’t discern the exact position, because there are too many noises drowning the signal out. They can’t hear the noise of the Sovereign properly over the sound of the beating of its host’s heart. Therefore, they slaughter humans with reckless abandon, all in the name of clearing the obstructive noise.”

If what he was saying was true, that was insane! The Phrase would just keep killing until they eventually plucked their leader from a corpse.

“Just what the hell are the Phrase?”

“Originally, they were beings that evolved and lived on another world. But, after some time, their leader disappeared. Since then, they’ve been traveling across worlds in pursuit of the Sovereign Core, in order to regain their leader. The Sovereign has its own intentions and agenda, as well. They’re coarse, and unrefined creatures. Their methods are brutal, I know. But you have to understand, they aren’t acting out of malice, but raw instinct.”

The situation reminded me of bee and ant hives, and how the colony moved according to the Queen. They were definitely gathering here like something was attracting them. But I wondered what Ende meant when he said that the Sovereign had an agenda. “When the Sovereign Core crosses to a new world, it will infest the body of someone who lives there. Little by little, it will absorb the life force and magic from that person, and then warp into a new host when its previous one reaches the end of their life. This process repeats until the Sovereign Core has absorbed enough power to travel to another world.”

“...So that’s it? The Phrase come here seeking the Sovereign Core, killing indiscriminately in the process, and then they’ll follow the core to the next world along after it leaves?”

“That’s about the gist of it, yes.” That was absolutely insane. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. They were like locusts moving from crop field to crop field, draining it of life. They recklessly traversed worlds, harvesting the people within and moving on. To make matters worse, they didn’t even seem aware of their destruction. They were just doing it because it was their job. It wasn’t even a case of good or evil to them. They were just running on instinct.

“...Ende, you said you were hunting for the Sovereign Core as well. Does that mean you’ve killed humans?”

“Don’t be silly, now. I wouldn’t want you to get the wrong impression. I’m simply waiting for the core to finish its cycle and transition to the next world, and then I’ll follow. Don’t lump me in with the monsters.” Ende’s intentions were completely confusing to me, I couldn’t get a read on him at all. I wondered if he was perhaps some kind of guardian assigned to the Sovereign Core... That didn’t change the fact that the Sovereign Core being here was the reason why everything was going wrong, though.

“What was that thing about the boundary of the world?”

“Hm... that’s a bit of a stickler to explain. Let’s try to think of it like a staircase. Each step is connected to the step immediately above and below it, right? You can take one step no problem, but going ten steps at a time isn’t possible, right? You can consider the height between steps to be the gaps between worlds. In order to get ten steps higher, you have to go up all the steps between the one you’re on and that ten-step goal... though you might be able to skip a step or two along the way. Worlds right next to each other have common features, but worlds far apart are vastly different. But that aside, usually there’s a barrier in place that prevents beings from crossing to other worlds. So you shouldn’t even be able to make a single step.” I felt like I understood his explanation for the most part. There were common features between my world and the world I now lived in, so they probably weren’t too many steps apart.

“I might’ve mentioned something like this, I don’t remember... but the boundary is not like a wall. It’s more of a translucent membrane. Small and harmless things generally go unregistered and can pass through freely. That is the reason why the Sovereign Core expends all of its reserved power to travel, letting it float through in its death-like dormant state. It’s an ability only the Sovereign can make use of.” That made sense enough to me, at least with the information I had. I wondered what it physically felt like, to pass through to another world in your own body...

“It shouldn’t normally be possible to break through the boundary line, but... making a rip is possible, and an individual creature could force its way through. If that happens several times, eventually the rip will get bigger and bigger, until the boundary falls and can no longer do its job, allowing anything to spill out. That’s what happened five thousand years ago.” That was the Phrase Invasion that Doctor Babylon had told me about. She said the world was on the verge of destruction... Now it all made sense.

“Back then, the boundary line was somehow repaired, and the threat of the Phrase vanished. The remaining Phrase were all vanquished, and this world was spared the fate of many others. I also aided in hunting the remnants.” It was then that I knew Ende was not human. He was absolutely not an ordinary person, and he spoke so lightly and familiarly of events that transpired five thousand years ago.

But his words made me wonder just what it was that had restored the boundary line, it seemed Ende wasn’t sure either, and that made me all the more curious.

“I thought I’d be able to take it easy a while, but things started getting noisy again. The boundary line barrier is starting to come unfurled again. It’s barely holding, but it’ll only be a matter of time before the high-tier Phrase break through it. I can’t tell you if that’ll happen in a year or fifty years, though...”

“Ende... are you an ally or an enemy of humanity?”

“Hm... I wonder about that one. I’ve been hunting the Phrase, but it’s been more of a way to kill time than anything else. If the boundary breaks down, I might sit it out and let nature take its course. That being said, I don’t much feel like being an ally of the Phrase.” I couldn’t understand Ende’s intentions at all, much less his motivations. I decided to let it go, because at the very least he wasn’t sleeping with the enemy.

“I have something I need to take care of, now. Can we consider our chat concluded?” Ende stood up and made for the exit.

“...Just one last question. Ende, who or what are you?”

“Me? You can just call me a ‘drifter.’ See you around, Touya.” Ende walked out of the guild, leaving me only with those words.

The Phrase’s mission, the Sovereign Core... the Boundary Line...

I learned a lot of crazy stuff from Ende that day. When the reality of the situation set in, I realized that things were actually pretty dire. Five thousand years ago, the crisis was averted because the boundary barrier was repaired... But what about this time? Could the Phrase even be stopped? They were clearly going to kill humans indiscriminately in their search for the Sovereign Core. It’s not like this world had much in the way of opposition for them, either. We didn’t have any of the advanced technology that the world had back then, so if they appeared in waves we’d be completely screwed.

As these uncertain, uncomfortable truths milled around in my head, I received my money from the receptionist and left the guild.

◇　◇　◇

“And that’s the situation. Do you know much about it?”

“No, I cannot say that I do. As I said earlier, I am not always keeping an eye on all places. But there are indeed races that travel across worlds. Naturally I do not interfere with those species, either. Though, it would be another story entirely if another God was causing trouble or something...” On my way back from talking to Ende, I tried calling up God to ask about what I’d discovered. But, as I’d expected, he didn’t really know anything at all. As usual, the people of this world would have to solve their own issues.

The situation was by no means dire just yet, but I knew that I’d have to start making preparations should the worst come to pass.

I reasoned that the most efficient way to deal with the issue would be using the power of Babylon. Doctor Babylon had prepared a final weapon, the Frame Gear, for the final clash against the Phrase. I had a feeling that the weapon would be necessary if I wanted to repel their resurgence.

That course of action left me with two methods. I had to either procure the blueprints from the storehouse, or the product itself from the hangar.

As I recalled, the parts of Babylon remaining were the hangar, the library, the storehouse, the rampart, the tower, and the research laboratory. I had a one in three chance of getting the one I wanted if I found them at random.

“I should probably start picking up the pace of my search, huh...” I flew back to Colette village as I pondered my next course.

“A Frame Gear, sir?” After returning from the village, I immediately went up to the workshop to talk with Rosetta. The Doctor had created the Frame Gear, so I was certain that Rosetta had to at least be slightly familiar with it.

“Yeah, how do they work exactly?”

“Just about anyone can operate it, sir! The proficiency is determined by both the pilot’s magical affinity, and their personal affinity for the Frame Gear model, sir! That being said, it’d be a challenge to get it to move very well without any training, yessir!”

Makes sense... That means if I can mass-produce them, we’d definitely be looking good. I mean, she raises a fair point about the individual skill of the pilots, but... we’d definitely be able to repel the Phrase if we had a giant robot army to oppose them.

“Mass production of the Frame Gears would prove difficult, sir!”

“Huh? Why’s that? Can’t we just copy it in the workshop?”

“The amount of materials needed is pretty crazy, I won’t lie. On top of that, creating a single, very basic model Frame Gear in the workshop would take an entire day at least.”

That sucks... A whole day for one robot? That’s only thirty Frame Gears in a month. I mean, thirty giant robots is definitely a lot, don’t get me wrong, but... According to the Doctor, there were like tens of thousands of Phrase during the attack back then! I don’t feel so good all of a sudden...

“How many robots were in the hangar when you lost contact?”

“Let me think... I must confess, sir. I was not involved with the other Babylons as much as my own. But, as far as I understand it, there should be seven completed Frame Gear models within the hangar.”

“Seven, seriously? How did they plan on taking out the Phrase with so few...?”

“We were about to begin mass production of the Frame Gears, sir... but the Phrase vanished just as soon as we had drawn up plans to build a second and third workshop.” Rosetta spoke up, disappointment evident in her voice.

Huh, so there were plans to make the workshop bigger? Well, that at least explains why there aren’t many Frame Gears. The crisis resolved itself entirely before they even had a chance to start responding properly.

All I could do in the meantime was gather the necessary materials. As I exited the workshop, Cesca and Flora came walking over from the alchemy lab. The two of them carried a basket that held several medicine bottles.

“What’s that, medicine?”

“Uhuhu... these are some general-use medicines for colds, headaches, stomach aches, and other common ailments, see? There wasn’t much in the way of medication in the castle, so I whipped up a batch, you see?” Flora, still clad in her nurse outfit, answered cheerily.

I’m still not used to seeing this kinda thing outside of a hospital...

So she was making medicine. Even with my restorative magic and utilities like [Recovery], there was still stuff I couldn’t quite relieve.

Wait a second...

“Flora, do you need the alchemy lab to make medicine?”

“Heavens no. This is just regular medicine, you see? I don’t need such complex facilities for this. I used the facilities here to refine them and increase their potency, see? I can still make them the regular way, but they’d be less effective and it would just take me a little longer.” That meant other people should be able to make use of the alchemy lab facilities too... If we could produce medicine, then that was another export we’d be able to use for trade.

Headaches, digestive problems, sinus blockages... these kinds of issues affected people the world over. Selling remedies probably wouldn’t make us obscenely rich, but it would definitely help us race in some extra income. I decided that we should dedicate some resources to harvesting the raw materials for the medicine, so that they could be refined within Babylon.

I told Flora my idea, and then instructed her to teach some of Tsubaki’s subordinates about how to refine the ingredients and make the superior medicine. They were ninjas, so they obviously would’ve had a basic medicinal knowledge already, so I picked out the most medically inclined of them and assigned them to the alchemy lab. With that, we were ready to begin mass production of refined medicines.

I headed back to the castle with Cesca and Flora, and immediately went to see Leen so I could consult with her about what Ende had told me.

If we wanted to get technical, Leen was only the ambassador to my country from Mismede, but I considered the Phrase to be an issue that transcended national borders.

“...So there’s a Sovereign Phrase... an invasion from another world... and a world boundary, you say?” Leen sat back in her chair, letting a heavy sigh escape her mouth. She was clearly surprised. Paula stood next to her, arms folded.

“I’ve lived a very long time indeed, but this is the first I’ve heard of such things... Usually I would ask you to stop joking around, but... the evidence here is overwhelming, so I’ll unhappily concede that you’re telling the truth.”

“Well, there’s always the possibility that Ende fed me a bunch of lies. I’m still trying to figure out if that’s the case.”

“Regardless, there’ll be people that won’t believe it even if it is true... Right up until the Phrase begin tearing their families apart, that is.”

She was right. There’d definitely be some who, even if they acknowledged that the Phrase existed, would only view them as a new species of monster. We’d only met three types, after all. The Cricket Phrase in the ancient ruins, the Manta Phrase in the Rabbi Desert, and the Spider Phrase in the Sea of Trees... Ah, there was also the snake one that Leen and the soldiers had encountered in Mismede.

It was possible that there were more Phrase in the world that Ende had killed already, though.

If we sat around twiddling our thumbs then we’d be dead the moment the boundary failed. We’d need to make preparations before it was too late.

Those preparations currently hinged on searching for the remaining Babylon pieces, and collecting the raw materials required to build a Frame Gear.

“We’ve been trying to find information on ancient ruins, that much is sure. Please allocate more resources to the hunt. I’ve found many structures, but most of them are just abandoned buildings without anything of note within them. It’s somewhat disheartening to constantly fail, understand?” Whoops... right... in the end, only Leen’s subordinates had been sent out to look. I should probably actually send some guys out to do that too.

After bidding goodbye to Leen, I went to visit Kohaku and the other beasts to ask if there’d be a creature suited to summon for scouting operations.

“If you assk me, it ssshould be the oness that fly up in the sssky, no? They’re very fassst, and can go to a great many placess.” Kokuyou made an interesting proposal. I hadn’t considered summoning birds for the hunt, but they were definitely versatile enough.

“Master, it would take quite some time to contract with each and every bird individually. Might I recommend forging a pact with the one that governs the entire race instead?”

“Hm. Sango... You’re proposing our liege summon that one?” Kohaku cut in on Sango’s speech. I wondered just what they were referring to. “The Flame Monarch. The same as us, a monarch with wings. One that controls fire. If you summoned and successfully contracted with the Flame Monarch, you’d have thousands of birds immediately at your disposal.”

I see... Kohaku’s the leader of the beasts, Kokuyou and Sango collectively lead reptilian creatures... They can summon and control monsters of this type without any real problem, and generally make use of them. That power is mine by extension. Though the control doesn’t stretch to magical beasts like Thunderbears or King Apes.

So basically, it’s the bird version of that.

“What kind of person is the Flame Monarch?”

“Despite their moniker of roaring fires, the Flame Monarch is kind and calm. Of us, they are the one with the noblest character.” Kohaku began to speak well of the bird, but Kokuyou suddenly butted in with a sly grin.

“Are you ssssure? I’m fairly certain that I’m the one with the bessst perssonality here, sweetie.”

“Be silent. You’re quicker to boil than a pot.”

“You take that back, bitch!” Just like that, Kokuyou was brought to boil. What an apt comparison.

After the two of them calmed down, I decided to call upon the Flame Emperor.

I drew up the summoning circle in the courtyard and began to focus my dark magic. Eventually, a black mist began to form in the air around us. Kohaku and the others began to channel their own magic into the fog. I focused my magic even further, and the misty fog became thicker.

“Thee who governs the scalding summers, and the roaring flames. Thee who governs the shores of lakes, and the southern winds. I implore you, present yourself before me.” The fog began to swell with tremendous magical power, and a cylinder of roaring fire emerged from the magic circle. The vortex blew all the fog away, and eventually dispersed to reveal a huge, red bird.

It was about the size of a horse. It looked almost identical to what I could only describe as a Phoenix. This was the Flame Emperor.

“Ah, it’s you fellows. How nostalgic, it has been some time.”

“Indeed it has, Flame Emperor.”

“Long time no sssee, flamey baby.”

“A flashy entrance as ever, Flame Emperor.” The Flame Emperor’s voice sounded a bit like a gentle young woman’s. She definitely seemed calm and regal, without being aloof. Kohaku might’ve been right about her.

“Was it you that summoned me, boy?”

“That’s right.”

“This man is our lord, Mochizuki Touya.” The Flame Emperor made an expression that I assumed was bird for ‘surprised.’ But, after some time spent gazing at me, she closed her eyes.

“So be it. As the master of the White Monarch, and the master of the Black Monarch, I know now that you will likely qualify for any challenge I give you. Let us make a contract. I will become subordinate to you, there is no need to test you, for you have already passed. Mochizuki Touya, my liege... grant unto me a name.”

What...? That sure went smooth. She doesn’t want anything from me? That’s a first. But I’m definitely not gonna complain about it. Kohaku was right about you, lady... you’re the best of the lot as far as character goes.

I still had to think of an name, though. I had Kohaku, Sango, and Kokuyou, and they were all named after precious stones, so... I knew what I had to do.

“Kougyoku. That’s the name I’ve chosen for you. It means Ruby, a crimson stone. How about it?”

“Kougyoku... I’ll readily accept it, then. From hereon, that is my name.” With a poof, the Flame Emperor transformed herself into a small bird, around the size of a parrot, and landed on my shoulder. That size was much more agreeable to me. She wasn’t likely to cause chaos as a tiny bird.

At any rate, I decided to actually do what I had set out to do to begin with.

I loaned Kougyoku’s power and summoned about a thousand birds at the same time. They were all different size and species, but I sent them all off to the four corners of the sky regardless.

I telepathically ordered them all to inform me if they came across any suspicious-looking ruins, monuments, or facilities. I hoped from the bottom of my heart that they’d find something, and fast.

It was all up to them at that point, all I had left was my hope.

◇　◇　◇

Some time had passed since I’d sent out my avian scouts, but none had reported back with anything of note. The boundary of the world was on the verge of tearing, and there was nothing I could do...

Even though God managed the worlds, he definitely had it rough. I hated that some people had the audacity to blame him for being inattentive. If you have a big collection of books and a bug starts eating through one of the pages of one of them, how would you know until you checked again? It’s not like he could keep an eye on a specific page just in case there might’ve been a bug nibbling at it.

“Can’t you use your search magic to look for that Sovereign Core, Touya?” Once again I sighed toward Elze.

“How many times do I have to tell you? I can’t find something that I haven’t seen, especially not if I only have a vague grasp on what it actually is. If I even knew its shape or size or something it might help me form a mental image, but it’s inside a human to begin with, so there’s no way of me working that out.” My search spell definitely wasn’t accurate. It depended on my subjective criteria, after all. Let’s say there were two people in front of me. If one was a woman, and the other was a man who had used magic to disguise himself perfectly as a woman, the search spell would still list him as a woman.

If it was a guy who had poorly disguised himself as a woman, it would judge him as a man, though, because that’s what I’d see him as. That being said, it would sometimes slip up and judge a woman as a man if she had a particularly strong jawline or mannish features...

In other words, it only searched by my own standards. Also, a strong enough magical barrier could negate it. I could search for things that were “similar,” but... How would I even know what was similar to the Sovereign Core to begin with if I have no initial frame of reference? If I walked over to a rock and asserted to myself, “This is the Sovereign Core,” then I’d probably get results for that term all over the world wherever there were rocks like that one.

“At any rate, it’s not like I can take care of it that easily.” I muttered quietly as I used my reshaping spell in the middle of the training grounds. It’s not like I could do anything, so there was no point moping. Instead, I focused on reshaping the leather in my hands.

“Milord, what’s this?” Before I’d noticed him there, Logan was talking to me. He had a wooden training sword in one hand, and was wiping his face with the towel he held in the other. He was, of course, referring to what I held in my hand.

“This is a glove, Logan. I was thinking of teaching the children in the town how to play baseball.”

“A... glove?”

“For catching, I mean... bah, here, I’ll just show you instead.” I took out a ball I’d made earlier, threw it against the castle wall, then caught it in my glove when it bounced back. I hadn’t worn a baseball glove since I was in elementary school, but the feeling still... fit like a glove.

“This is how you play, see? You gotta catch the ball. Usually the game has nine players facing off against another nine, though.”

“Huh...” I made another glove and gave it to Logan. We tried to play a basic game of catch. He missed the first few times, but quickly got the hang of it. I’d noticed it a few times, but the people of this world were definitely quick on the uptake.

The other soldiers started looking at us with envious eyes as they finished up their training. Sensing that, I had the ball and glove copied in the workshop and the copies were distributed to everyone. Vice-Commander Nikola smiled wryly, but their training was done for the day so he couldn’t do anything. I still felt a little sorry, for some reason.

I started counting up the amount of people there were. We had enough for baseball, so I decided to ask if they wanted to play. They might even end up finding it fun, I hoped.

I took everyone who had free time along with me, and I created a baseball field to the west of the castle. I constructed the bases, a batter box, and a pitcher mound.

I crafted new bats, mitts, and protectors for everyone, then taught everyone the basic rules of baseball. I didn’t actually know the rules that thoroughly, though, so I made a point to consult the final details on my smartphone later.

For the time being, I decided just to wing it and take the position of referee. The game finally began, and I watched them go at it.

To be blunt, it went terribly for the most part. There were a ton of strikeouts and dead balls. Nobody ran properly, and ended up walking to the bases. But, gradually, they began to get the hang of it. They started hitting the ball properly with the bat. They were finally displaying the finesse I’d have expected from experienced swordsmen. And, as the offense grew, the defensive players began to shine as well.

They kept screwing up to begin with, sure. There was a lot of fumbling around and falling. But, through trial and error, they gradually improved their form. I was pretty surprised by how well they ended up doing, but then I remembered these men were all soldiers at near-peak physical fitness levels. These guys were very proficient athletes.

I popped open a portal and called the children from the town over. I’d decided that the soldiers had begun playing well enough to deserve a proper audience. I briefed them on the rules as I made some spectator stands for them to sit in.

“You hit it, go for it!!

“Run!”

“Do your best, team!” The kids got into the spirit of the game and began yelling and cheering. The Knights began to cheer on their respective teams with newfound vigor.

“What’re you doing, dumbass?! Throw it to first base!”

“Look up at the ball, put your hand up!”

“Switch places, switch with me!!” The knights, for the most part, were actually jeering at the enemy teams. I wished they were a bit more childishly innocent, like the kids.

I didn’t really go into the rules too deeply, so people started making blunders here and there that I wasn’t entirely certain about. I had to learn more about it later.

“Well, just so long as they’re having fun...” As everyone got absorbed in the action, I started finishing up the stadium. I finished an outfield fence, a scoreboard, and a net to catch any stray balls. I was quite proud of it, when all was done.

It was getting dark, so it was about time to call it a night. I left the baseball equipment with the knight order and told them they were free to play in the stadium when they had time to kill. As for the kids, I made smaller equipment for them to play with when they visited. I didn’t make any special facility for them, or anything. There was more than enough land for them to play amateur baseball on.

The next day, off-duty knights began making frequent trips to the stadium in order to play. They’d already split off into several teams, from the looks of things. They were even setting up little leagues. Their teams had the names of monsters, like “The Griffins” and “The Salamanders,” which made me think that the people of this world really weren’t all too different from the people of mine.

Whenever there was an issue with the rules, people would come and consult me about it. But every time they did that, I had to look it up on the internet. I decided to cut out the middleman and just make a rulebook, but there were a few problems.

I could use one of my spells to transcribe the text into paper, but that also left the issue of converting Japanese into this world’s language. Not to mention the fact that I’d need to sift through everything to remove confusing words like “America” or “Major League,” I didn’t want people getting really muddled.

Eventually, as the regular townsfolk began showing an interest in baseball as well, they all started to come up and watch the games be played. Some of them started joining in after a while as well. And, sensing the opportunity to make a pretty penny, the Mismedian merchant, Olba, negotiated with me for the sales rights to baseball and baseball accessories.

I agreed to the deal, since I didn’t really see a reason to decline. He would produce them elsewhere, and a percentage of the profits would make their way back to my country. It was very much a similar deal to the one we’d made about the spinning tops. Back then I wasn’t sure about the widespread appeal, but the spinning tops had become a hit with kids in several nations, so it was possible I was about to begin a baseball craze too.

At the monthly alliance meeting with the other western national leaders, the loud cheering from the station caught the attention of the emperors and kings. The moment I showed them the source of the excitement, they fell head over heels for baseball.

I offered each national leader a set of baseball equipment, though it was more fair to say that they all bothered me for some. Each country created a national baseball team. And, just like clockwork, the game became very popular. Baseball as a sport became a casual activity in almost every developed nation. Who could’ve seen that one coming?

When people had free time, they’d band together with their friends and form teams, and then they’d play against other teams. Their family members and other friends would watch them play. It seemed like cheerleading was starting to naturally catch on as a consequence as well... It didn’t look like professional baseball leagues were far off, if I was honest.

I never quite expected it to blow up to the extent that it did, but Olba told me it was his intention and anticipation from the beginning.

“I had no idea it’d be this successful...”

“Your Highness, it’s something you began, so naturally it would be a smash hit. If you’ll pardon the joke.” Olba answered me with a small chuckle. He was right. I’d completely forgotten how devoid of entertainment this world was. There wasn’t really much variety in general life, let alone sports. That was honestly a little sad, if you asked me. It made me wonder if I’d be able to sell anything if I marketed it as a “fun game.”

“Now then, if you have yourself any other bright ideas... please do not hesitate to ask my company for assistance in sales and distribution...”

“Mm, well, I actually have a lot of ideas right now. But I’m not sure if they’ll all sell...”

“Ohoho... How very interesting...” I saw a devious glint in Olba’s eyes just then. That was probably his senses as a trader. I decided to make use of that keen eye.

“But, that aside for a minute... I’m going to need metals. Copper, iron, silver, mithril, orichalcum, and hihi’irokane... Can you use your trade connections to get these at decent prices?”

“Metals, eh? Well, I think there’s a particular trader who can get me these on the cheap, yes. How much do you need?”

“I need them indefinitely, for now at least. From now on, please use my cut of the profits from any inventions I give you to purchase these materials for me.” I decided to start preparing well in advance for the Frame Gear, that way even if it needed a ton of materials it shouldn’t be a problem. I decided to start stockpiling. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get enough materials to make a Frame Gear if I only focused on gathering materials alone.

“It seems you must have a sufficient reason, then... I’ll begin searching for the relevant materials. Color me intrigued.”

“Thanks for your understanding. So then, on to the goods. They’re called the yo-yo, the hula-hoop, the hopscotch, and the ball-and-cup.”

“I’ve never heard of these before. Can you tell me more?” I made a yo-yo and tried to use it in order to show Olba how it was. The plastic types were the best, but I had to make one out of wood. I ended up crafting the other toys too, and demonstrated them all to him one by one.

With that, I’d secured the funds to acquire materials for the Frame Gear. I felt a little bit awkward using sales proceeds of other people to fuel my project, though. I decided to kill a Mithril Golem later on to make myself feel better, it probably wouldn’t be much of a challenge compared to the first time I went up against one, though...

At any rate, things were starting to look up.

“So... H-How do I look?”

“Eh? Ah, yeah. You look really beautiful. Those outfits actually look really great on all of you. They really suit you.” Elze asked me while blushing, and I just answered reflexively. But it was true that I thought they all looked really cute in those clothes. I never would’ve thought that a simple change of clothes would leave such a deep impression on me.

“Well then, let us depart on our date! Oh, but before that...” As if taking the lead for something, Lu turned to face the other girls and clenched her fist.

Following her lead, the rest of the girls also each clenched one of their fists with a sharp look in their eyes.

“Rock, paper... Scissors!”

“That was a draw, so... Go!”

Umm... What exactly are you refined ladies up to, playing rock-paper-scissors...?

“I have won!”

“I-I won, too!” It seemed like Lu and Linze had won at something, but... What was this all about? Just as I was wondering that, the answer came to me without warning. Rushing up to my side, Lu and Linze each wrapped themselves around my arms.

“Just remember that we’re going to be switching after a while, you two.”

“Such regret, regret indeed...”

“Hey! Aren’t you clinging to him a bit too much?!”

Oh, now I get it. Hrmm... On the one hand this is a very pleasurable experience, but on the other, it’s pretty damn embarrassing... Meanwhile, Laim was laughing at the sight. Yup, definitely pretty embarrassing...

I somehow managed to convince the two ladies to just link arms with me instead. It was still embarrassing, but it was better than having them wrapping their entire bodies around me in public. Though I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a pleasant experience either way.

“Now, where should we go first?”

“Let us visit Refreese first! I have never been there before, and I would like to see it at least once.”

“Alright, if that’s what you want. Refreese will be our first stop, then.” Everyone was on board with Lu’s suggestion, so I whipped up a [Gate] to Refreese’s Imperial City, Bern.

Bern was a beautiful scenic city surrounded by wonderful sights of nature. It resembled the towns of Santorini with their overlooking view of the Aegean Sea, as the blue of the sea and the sky merged together into the horizon blending together into a single world of blue. The white walls of the stores and buildings of the street on the hill road only helped to enhance the beauty of the scenery.

Perhaps it was because we were in a high place, but we were embraced by a gentle and refreshing breeze.

“What a lovely city this is!”

“The breeze is so refreshing, it is~” Being their first trip to Bern, Lu and Yae were enraptured by the wonder of the beautiful scenery around them.

Yumina had apparently been here a few times with her family due to royal affairs, meanwhile Elze and Linze were born and raised in Refreese. I’d heard from them that they’d been to the Imperial City a couple of times before. After admiring the scenery, next we took off to go wander around the fancy accessory shops and general goods stores in Bern, enjoying our little shopping trip.

When all five of the girls asked me to pick out something that suited each of them, I at first struggled to think of what would be best for each of them. After a lot of thought, I went for a selection of five brooches, each styled after the design of the flower that best suited each girl, and gave them to the girls as gifts.

I also picked up a few souvenirs for the people back at the castle. They were always helping me and looking out for me, so I wanted to thank them in some way. I hoped they’d be happy with what I got for them.

Our next stop was a cafe at the top of a small hill, where we decided to have a bite to eat. Apparently the time to switch had come, so now Yumina and Elze were linking arms with me.

Assaulted by their “Say aaah” attacks as they fed me by spoon, my shyness began to reach critical levels. Yumina was pulling off this advanced move like it was nothing, while Elze on the other hand let out her little “S-Say aaahhn” attack while blushing to her ears.

God dammit, why are you so cute, you little rascal?!

“Wherever are we going next, then?” Yae asked as she took my arm. Lu had taken my other arm once more.

“Ah, Touya, look! It seems like there’s a theatre troupe putting on a display down in the town plaza.” Yumina pointed to a poster on the wall. It was an advertisement by a theatre troupe for a play called “Bakram the Mighty Dragon Slayer.” By the title alone, it didn’t feel like the kind of performance you’d usually go to watch while on a date.

“Bakram the Mighty Dragon Slayer is a love story about a certain woman. In order to gain approval for the marriage of her beloved, she goes on a quest to fight an Evil Dragon, but the Dragon...”

“STOP! If you spoil the story, it won’t be nearly as interesting to watch!” As the older sister, Elze stopped Linze before her explanation went into spoiler territory. Still, a love story, eh? If that was the case, maybe everyone would enjoy seeing it, after all.

“So, you wanna go see it?”

“Yes!” Right as we were about to head to the location of the plaza listed on the poster, our path was blocked by four men.

“Yo, buddy. Popular guy, ain’t ya? Makes me real jealous, y’get what I mean?” One of the men called out to me with a vulgar smile staining his face. The guys were all dressed like adventurers, but not a single one of them seemed to have any decent equipment on them at all. If anything, they just looked like a group of halfwit thugs. They didn’t even look that much older than me. Though in this world, that was still old enough to be considered an adult.

“Do you have some business with me?”

“Nah, nothin’ that important. Y’see, we ain’t got much cash right now. Then we come across a dude who’s trailin’ a bunch of women all wrapped ’round his arms, an’ we figured y’might be able to spot us some cash with the virtue of that wide ol’ heart a’ yours. Get it?” So they were just decorating extortion in pretty words. It was a sad sight to see such human trash loitering around in such a beautiful city. The emperor sure must have his hands full already, and now this...

“Look, buddy, don’t you think it’s a bit shameful to be trying to extort money, even from a guy like me? You’re old enough to be responsible for your own livelihood, so just go out and get a job like everyone else.”

“The fuck you say?! Look, brat, d’ya even get what’s goin’ on here?!”

“We ain’t lookin’ for a priest, we’re lookin’ for a profit. Now hand over yer wallet if ya know what’s good for ya.”

“Hell, if ya ain’t gonna hand over yer wallet, we’d be fine takin’ them girlies ye’ve got with ya. We’ll make sure to take reeeaaal good care of ’em in yer place.” The thugs all burst out into a vulgar display of laughter.

One of them reached out his hand toward Lu, so I figured I should at least give him one good punch to set him straight and took a step forward. But before I could do anything, two people made their move before I could.

“Gnuogh?!”

“Ahgyaaagh!” Yae grabbed the laughing thug by the wrist and threw him straight down onto the ground.

Elze swept the legs of another one of the thugs and then sent him flying.

“Wh-Whaddya think you’re doin’ you bitch?!”

“I don’t want to waste my precious time dealing with human garbage like you. Would you get the hell out of my sight, right this instant?”

“I very much agree, I do. I very much would not care to dirty our precious day dealing with the likes of you, I would not.” Elze and Yae shot the thugs a glare so cold it could freeze the very air itself.

When I glanced to my side, I noticed that Lu, Yumina, and Linze were all shooting the same ice-cold glare at them. The atmosphere was so tense I could barely move. My instincts were telling me that the girls were even sending me the message “Don’t you dare lift a finger here.”

“Crazy bitches, don’t fuck with us! Ya’d best be ready now that ye’ve done that to us!” The two thugs that had been knocked down stood back up, and the whole gang whipped out knives from their pockets. They must’ve thought we’d be easy to take down, judging by the disgusting smiles on their faces.

“They must surely believe that they could intimidate us if they came at us in a group all armed with knives, I suspect.”

“I suppose I should have expected this. They truly are little more than a group of petty thugs.”

“They’re the textbook example of utter lowlifes.” These girls weren’t holding anything back...

“ORAAH!” One of the men Linze had called a lowlife charged straight for Elze, knife in hand and ready to stab her. Naturally, Elze wasn’t about to be taken down by a puny thug like this. There was a dry cracking sound as Elze shattered the hand the man was holding the knife in, and in the same movement she brought her heel crashing down against the back of the man’s head.

“Guhhuergh?!”

“You bitch... Guahberagh?!” A second man charged at Elze from behind, only to be knocked out in one shot by Elze’s roundhouse kick.

Another charged at Yae, who swiftly dodged the man’s knife, grabbed him by the arm, and slammed him against the wall in a single swift movement.

The last man standing looked at Yae and Elze like his brain couldn’t even process what had just happened.

“Y-You bastards! I’ll get you for this! You’d better remember that!” Abandoning his companions, the man ran away in such a rush that he tripped over several times as he fled.

“As if we’d bother to remember a lowlife like that.”

“Everything from the way he ran away to the line he left us with merely proves his status as a mere thug.”

“He got... everything that he deserved.” They really were running their mouths off here...

“Elze, Yae, are you alright?”

“As if I’d ever get hurt against an opponent like that.”

“Goodness sake... It appears that fools like them can be found in any country, they can.” Yae remarked as she observed the three men collapsed before her. There was some truth to her words, though. On rare occasions, thugs like that even popped up in Brunhild sometimes.

“You fellas are pretty strong, huh? But you’d best be careful. They’re part of a group of scoundrels who’ve claimed this area as their territory. Their leader’s a bit of an infamous big-shot, almost worse than the actual criminals around here. My advice? You should probably get out of here as soon as you can.” A kind old man who’d watched our little conflict gave us a concerned warning. The fact that these thugs had their own territory was bad enough already. Disorder among the public leads to disorder among the whole country. Next time I see His Imperial Presence, I’ll need to give him a strict talking to.

“Alright, let’s forget about all this nonsense and get going. Wouldn’t want to miss the play.” Elze grabbed me by the arm and took off running. I struggled to match her pace for a moment there.

“Hold it right there, Elze! It is my turn to take Touya’s arm!”

“It is my turn too, it is!” Everyone began chasing after the two of us as we dashed down the hill. Lu and Yae were shouting out complaints, but they still seemed to be having great fun with it all.

We joked around with our mock-complaints and little arguments in a way so as not to cause any public disturbance, as we entered the tent where the theater troupe was putting on their play.

“That was pretty interesting!”

“Yeah, both the acting and the script were great.”

“Bakram the Dragon Slayer” was quite an interesting play. It started out as a simple love story, but as the tale progressed, political intrigue, love rivals, and Dragons all made an appearance. It was a gripping production that spanned four acts.

Best of all, this wasn’t fiction. Apparently the play was based off a true story from a hundred years ago. Of course, certain parts had likely been embellished for dramatic effect.

“Maybe we should invite a troupe like that to our country sometime.”

“I don’t see why not. I’m sure everyone would be happy.” Chatting excitedly, we made our way to the restaurant that’d recently become the talk of the city in Refreese. According to Yumina’s sources, even the reclusive princess has snuck out of the castle before to go eat there. I really hope we don’t end up running into her...

After a few minutes of walking, Yae and Elze sidle up to me and surreptitiously whisper into my ear.

“We’re being tailed.”

“I knew it.” A while back I’d noticed a group tracking us.

“There’s six to our right, five to our left and eight behind us... I believe that’s all.”

“That’s quite the force. What do you imagine their objective is?” I casually glanced to my right. The figures instantly retreated into the shadows, but before they vanished I distinctly made out one of the thugs we’d ran into earlier.

“I guess he brought his cronies along to try and teach us a lesson.”

“Aaah, I see now.”

Elze heaved a sigh as understanding dawned on her. Yae slipped back and informed the other three of the situation.

“How unpleasant...”

“Some people never learn I suppose.”

“Sheesh, what a pain.” I could feel the girls’ wrath flare up. The heat was almost palpable. Well, I understood their anger. To be honest, I was rather frustrated myself. They were interrupting my precious quality time with everyone.

I could have just locked on to all of them and hit them with [Paralyze], but then they might have come after me again. It would be best to put an end to this once and for all.

“It’s not so bad to get some exercise before dinner, right?”

“I doubt we’ll manage to even work up a sweat... It’s obvious those thugs won’t put up a decent fight.” I made small talk with Elze as I lured the thugs into a deserted alleyway. The sun was just beginning to set, and the sky was a fiery red.

I was hoping to settle things before night fell.

“This should be good enough.” We stopped at an empty street. Seeing their chance, the thugs trickled out from behind the cover of nearby buildings. They were carrying crude cudgels in their hands. Two, four, six... more than I’d thought. Less than thirty though.

“They’s the ones, boss!”

“Oh, pretty little things, ain’t they? This should be fun.” The thug from earlier had brought over a hulking bear of a man. He had a knife in his hand, and a longsword strapped to his waist. So this guy was the Big Boss of the little ruffian gang, huh. Well, whatever.

Fitting of a boss of a group of trash, the boss himself had quite the crooked-looking face with his perverted grin.

“Yer luck ran out when you made an enemy of us, fellas. Oy, you there. Yeah, you, the brat. If ya leave all the cash you’ve got on ya and hand over the women, I might even consider lettin’ ya go free.”

“Dumbass.” I whipped out my Brunhild gun and shot the leader right in the temple with a rubber bullet. Knocked back by the force of the sudden attack, he fell backward and collapsed to the ground unconscious. I wasn’t about to just stand and wait for an enemy armed with a weapon to come charging at me.

“B-Boooss?!”

“Y-You bastards, the fuck d’ya think you’re doin’?! Guys, go get ’im—”

“Blow forth, Wind! Soaring, Spinning Gust: [Whirlwind]!”

“Uwoooooaaahhh!” A burst of wind came out of nowhere and sent a number of the thugs flying into the air. As expected of Yumina, skilled as ever.

“Entwine thus, Ice! Frozen Curse: [Icebind]!”

“Nuoouh?! M-My feet are frozen?!” This time Linze showed off her magic skills by freezing one of the thugs’ shoes to the ground. Normally that spell was meant to freeze the legs completely, meaning Linze had deliberately held back.

Following up Linze’s move, Elze moved in with a straight punch of considerable force, sending the thug flying through the air so hard that he was blown right out of his shoes still frozen to the ground.

“Gnuhuoh?!”

“Ouhgack?!” Apparently Lu had snatched one of the enemy’s weapons before anyone could even notice, and was striking down thug after thug with a simple wooden stick.

“Lu-dono’s skill is rather impressive, it is. I suppose it is time for my turn, then.” Yae swiftly snatched a length of timber from one of the thugs and struck one of them heavily right on the shoulder. With her improvised weapon, she continued to send anyone who came her way flat to the ground face-first with great skill.

After just a single minute had passed, roughly thirty or so thugs were all down and collapsed in the alleyway.

“Well, then.” Using [Power Rise], I gathered the entire group of thugs into one big pile. I took a piece of paper and wrote “These men are a group of bandits and robbers. I have therefore taken the liberty of arresting them.” and slapped the note on the leader of the group.

Having done this, I opened up a [Gate] to the Refreese Knight’s patrol station that I’d seen near the theater tent and lugged the lot of them through it. That took care of that.

“Honestly... Now our precious date has been completely ruined.” Yumina puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction, and I did my best to calm her down. She was cute when she was angry, but I still wanted the girls I loved to be smiling as often as possible.

“C’mon Yumina, we can all just visit anywhere at any time. We’re going to be together for the rest of our lives, after all. We’ll have plenty of chances to go on dates. In a few years, we might even look back on this little incident as a funny memory. To be honest, I still really had a lot of fun with our date today.”

“Touya...”

“Hey, don’t just casually say it like our date’s already over! We’ve still got plenty of time to go out and have even more fun!”

“Very true, indeed.”

“Precisely! Now, let us all head off to a restaurant!”

“I’m, looking forward to that.”

“Hey, don’t drag me along like that! The restaurant’s not gonna get up and run away, you know!” As the sun set on our date and the stars in the sky shone above us, we, all of us, all ran together under the starlit sky.

The food in the restaurant was delicious. It was so good that I couldn’t have been more satisfied. Everyone had returned to their usual cheerful selves, too. We managed to end our hectic date on a very positive note.

When we returned to the castle, I handed out the souvenirs that I’d bought for everyone. I took a bath and went to my room to retire for the night, only for that thought to be interrupted by a certain group of five girls in their pajamas who had barged right into my bedroom, leaving me at a complete loss.

Just for the record, nothing indecent happened between us at all. The five had fallen right asleep in my bed leaving little room for me, so I had no choice but to sleep on the couch for the night. Still, all in all, it had been a wonderful day.

I told myself that I’d do my best tomorrow, too.

Afterword

Hello there. It’s me, Patora Fuyuhara.

We’ve finally released the fifth volume of In Another World With My Smartphone.

Thanks again for sticking with me this far. I hope you continue to enjoy my work.

In the last volume, Touya became the ruler of a country, and he’s now the grand duke of Brunhild.

From here, the story will become about Touya’s journey across the world, using his duchy as a home base.

He has a home now, so he won’t be lugging around so much dead weight. Plus, he has alliances with the surrounding nations, so they’ll help him if he encounters trouble, and vice versa.

Going forward, the story will see Touya traveling to various countries with his entourage, solving various confrontations. Don’t expect it to mix up too heavily just yet, though.

In Another World With My Smartphone was written to be an easy-going, comfy adventure, after all.

In this volume, Pam uses a pretty basic syllable-based language. I toyed around with the idea of making her speak in symbols like ★％☆■○◆＊, but I thought that might be a little boring.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter if you can’t understand what she’s saying. There’s no hidden story in her lines or anything, so it’s fine.

I wrote a bit about a wedding in this volume, did you know I used to work for a place that held weddings?

The only issue is, the place held weddings in Hall A, and... funerals in Hall B. There were a few times where I got the two places mixed up, and there was one particular incident where I nearly rushed into the middle of a funeral to deliver a “congratulations” card... That would’ve been dangerous, for sure...

Alright, it’s time to give my thanks as usual.

Eiji Usatsuka, thank you again for your illustrations. I really liked the pictures in this volume, they’re just so lovely. I’ve seen the ones for the next volume, and they’re amazing too!

K. As usual, thank you so much. Sorry if I’m ever a burden. I’m looking forward to working with you more in the future.

To everyone at Hobby Japan’s editorial department, please take my most sincere thanks.

And once again, to all of those who supported me on “Shousetsuka ni Narou,” you have my gratitude.

Ohoho, I am excited though, because next volume we’re finally going to include that in the story... I really can’t wait, I hope you all enjoy where the plot goes from here.

Well then, dear readers. I’m looking forward to speaking with you in volume six. See you then.

— Patora Fuyuhara

Bonus Short Stories

Creative Urges

Quite a long time had passed since I was transported to the new world. I’d gotten used to life here, even down to the odd inconveniences that had made me miss the modern culture of my old world.

A large part of that was because I had my trusty smartphone by my side, which let me watch television or listen to the radio whenever I pleased. I could even read manga and novels thanks to the wonder of e-books. On top of that, I could even play games on it! Plus, I could still keep up on the current situation of my old world through news sites and such. I had already come to terms with the fact that I could never return to my old world, but still being able to retain a degree of contact with it was somehow comforting to me. I was glad that God had modified my smartphone in order to let me do these things.

Ever since I’d picked up the [Modeling] spell, I’d been eager to try making all sorts of things with it. Things like those shogi sets and bikes and stuff.

Whenever I needed reference for certain parts or designs, I could use the wonders of the internet to look up whatever it was that I wasn’t sure of. My only real complaint was that there wasn’t any plastic over in this world... But honestly, just making things was simply a fun pastime for me.

“Touya, what are you making this ti— Wow! That’s amazing!” Yumina let out a surprised voice as she peeked over my shoulder at what I was constructing. It was a pale blue glass bottle with a sailing ship inside it. Basically, it was a ship in a bottle.

Normally, to make something like this, first you would take the parts needed to construct the ship and then insert them into the bottle one piece at a time. From there, you would use long tweezers-like tools to slowly assemble the ship from outside of the bottle. It was a delicate task that pushed the bounds of human concentration and perseverance.

Yumina seemed impressed at my handiwork, but I had to admit that I had cheated at making it. In my case, I built the model ship first outside of the bottle, then used [Modeling] to open up the base of the bottle, inserted the ship, and then cast the spell once more to seal the bottle again. It was a faux ship-in-a-bottle.

I was certain that the ships in bottles that I’d sometimes seen being sold in shops for extremely cheap had been made by similar methods to mine.

Still, it seemed as though the concept of putting a ship inside a bottle like this was completely foreign to Yumina, as she praised the workmanship. Even though it was just something I had felt like making on a whim, really.

“I’d love to show it to my father. He’s rather fond of ships, you know?”

“That so? In that case, you can give it to him as a gift from me. I’m sure it’d pale in comparison to one made by an actual professional craftsman, though.”

“You’ll really give it to him? Thanks, Touya! I’m sure Father will be quite pleased with it!”

Well, if it made him happy, then that was good enough for me. When we went to visit His Majesty the very next day, in fact, he was over the moon when I gave it to him. I was glad that I was able to make people happy like this using my magic, as well as the assistance of my trusty smartphone.

Although, when the king’s younger brother, Duke Ortlinde, got wind of it, I ended up having to make another one for him, too. The duke was equally overjoyed at my gift, and that made it all worth the effort.

Seeing my creations bring joy to the people around me only made my creative urges well up even further. I wanted to make things that would surprise people or make them happy, and seeing the successful results of that only made me want to keep on creating more and more new things.

Right then, what should I make next? I thought idly to myself. Without a moment’s delay, I whipped out my smartphone and began surfing the web for more creative inspiration.

The Child is the Father of the Man

I’m sure that this is true not just of myself, but of all people, that things they’ve experienced or books that they’ve read, or even just little things that they’ve picked up in their childhood have sometimes left quite a deep impression on them.

In most cases I imagine this to be the direct influence of their parents or siblings, but in my case, plenty of things have drawn my interests for as long as I can remember. Actually, my father was a man with a wide variety of interests and hobbies. At the same time, he was also a fickle person who lost interest in things rather quickly.

This naturally lead to the remains of whatever my father had been fiddling with as one of his hobbies laying scattered around the house after he had tossed them aside, having lost interest.

Off the top of my head, some of the remains of his past hobbies included fishing equipment, swords, replica guns, records, painting sets, woodblock prints, sculptures, postage stamps, various types of coins, stone tools, a car, a Buddha statue, model trains, tennis rackets, golf clubs, baseball equipment, cameras, watches, a guitar, a harmonica, spiritual texts, and gardening tools, just to name a few.

Most of these sorts of things were just thrown into boxes and kept in my father’s closet, where they were undisturbed for a very long time. When I inherited that room, I suppose it should have come as no surprise that the boxes of treasures left a deep impression on me.

Of course, there were plenty of things that I had no interest in whatsoever, but on the other hand there were a number of things that had left a deep impression on me. In particular, records... Or rather, the music itself had an effect on me that almost feels closer to having been brainwashed.

My father mostly listened to a wide range of Western music, everything from classical symphonies to rock songs. The ones he listened to the most, though, were something he called the "oldies." As a result, I had been made to listen to musicians and bands such as Neil Sedaka, The Carpenters, Chuck Berry, and The Beatles ever since I was a baby.

Without a clue as to the meanings of the lyrics, or even knowledge of who had sung that song in particular, these songs still get stuck in my head from time to time... Even now, I can hum the tunes or sing the lyrics to entire songs, a lot of the time without even a clue as to the artist or song name.

There were also a great many books in my father’s closet. A good number of them quite dubious-looking. He had everything from occult-like spiritual texts or books on prophecies, to books on Shintoism, Buddhism, books on art, books on wildflowers, all the way to things like books on mythology or books about ancient ruins. He also had some books by Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, but those ones were a bit too difficult for me to try and read as a child.

Speaking of things too soon for a child, I recall once being forced to watch the movie "Alien," and I’ve never been able to deal with horror movies since then. I realize that movie was Sci-Fi and not Horror, but it just left me terrified the entire way through. I still haven’t forgiven him for that experience.

I can stay perfectly calm when it’s about ghosts or paranormal phenomenon, but when it comes to films with "a horrifying creature designed for the sole purpose of scaring the audience," I just can’t bring myself to watch it. Try to force me to, and I will cry. It’s only since becoming an author that I’ve begun to feel that these experiences or interests that I had as a child have both greatly helped and influenced my own works.

Whoever came up with the phrase “The Child is the Father of the Man” really knew what they were talking about. At the end of the day, right here, right now, my childhood memories are proving to be of help every now and then, so even my bad memories weren’t completely in vain.

I highly doubt that my father ever had any such intentions in mind, though.

The Light of Ramissh

The darkness that had veiled the Ramissh Theocracy had finally been cleansed away. The curse that had bound the theocracy for over a thousand years had finally been lifted. And by the hands of a real god, at that. Although, the deed itself had been carried out at the hands of a savior sent by God, not quite God himself. The pope of Ramissh, Elias Altra, gave her thanks to God as she watched the sunrise shine its gentle light upon the cathedral.

That boy was unmistakably a savior sent by God. He had power that defied common sense and a wealth of knowledge, yet he did not flaunt this as others would, but instead believed that he should make use of his powers for the sake of the people. And that just so happened to be the very thing the pope herself had been chasing after all those 60-odd years.

“So this is where you were, Your Holiness?”

“Whatever is the matter, rushing here so early in the morning, Phyllis?”

The pope turned around to face the young girl, who was dressed in a brand new cardinal outfit. The girl was none other than Phyllis Rugit, soon to become the youngest cardinal in the history of Ramissh. After all, she was the girl whom the pope trusted above anyone else. This fact alone made her fitting for the role of cardinal.

Just like the pope, the young girl had also met face-to-face with God himself. Eventually, this girl would grow up and inherit the position of pope herself, going on to lead the country into prosperity, or so Elias Altra believed.

“Actually, umm, yesterday we received some gifts from the grand duke of Brunhild. This one was given to me, and this one was to be delivered to you.”

“Is this... some sort of staff...? No, wait a moment... Could this be a scepter?” The object that she had been handed was, indeed, a finely-sculpted and delicately crafted ornamental scepter made out of gold. At the end of the scepter was something akin to a transparent gemstone, sparkling in an almost divine way.

Phyllis’ scepter was much shorter and made from silver rather than gold, plain in appearance yet similarly divine in its radiance. Both were absolutely amazing to behold. Their beauty was such they could have easily been mistaken for luxurious art exhibits.

“Supposedly both of these scepters have been imbued with the spells [Cure Heal], [Mega Heal], [Area Heal], [Recovery], and [Refresh].”

“Wha...!?” The pope was taken completely aback after hearing this. Such powerful magical items were literally unheard of. They were so valuable, in fact, that they may eventually be passed down through the generations as national treasures.

“Apparently these scepters are also capable of storing a vast quantity of magical energy as well as amplifying its output, meaning that if we provide them with magical energy on a daily basis, they should prove extremely useful in dangerous situations. For a more detailed explanation, please read this.”

Phyllis presented a letter which contained instructions on every function of the scepters. Some examples included a way to bind the use of the scepter to oneself so that nobody else may use it; a way to call the scepter forth to teleport into one’s hand should it ever be dropped or stolen; a way to transfer the usage rights of the scepter on to another person. The letter had all of this noted down to the finest detail.

“Is it truly alright for us to accept such a valuable thing...?”

“His Highness said that they would be necessary things for the theocracy to have in the days to come. He also said that they would certainly prove useful in saving any people living in suffering.”

It would appear I’ve gotten Touya worrying about me now. Although it is true that even now, having lost my aptitude for Light-type magic, I will still be able to use healing magic to help those in need.

The pope held her scepter aloft toward the rising sun, and offered up her gratitude to the grand duke of a far-off foreign land as well as the god whom she believed had sent him to be their savior.

“It would appear as though we’re about to become rather busy indeed. Phyllis, let us both do our best together. For the sake of a brand new Ramissh.”

“Of course, Your Holiness!” Silver scepter in hand, the young cardinal bowed with a bright smile on her face.

And so, the sun rose.

As though to declare that a brand new light was about to be born, in a brand new Ramissh.

The Life of Brunhild’s Prime Minister

How did things end up like this?

There were plenty of reasons that I could think of, but at the end of the day I could only put it all down to my own incompetence. I was sullying the name of Kousaka Masanohbu, as a member of Takeda’s Elite Four.

My former lord, Takeda Schingen’s orphaned son Katsuyohri-sama, was completely incompetent in all matters of the state. The natural thing to do would have been to leave all such tasks to retainers who were competent in such fields, which may have assured our survival as a clan at the very least.

Alas, Katsuyohri-sama was blinded in his desperation to surpass his father. We naturally couldn’t help comparing him to Schingen-sama, and I was sure he had caught on to that fact.

As a result, he put us, who had served the Takeda since the times of our previous lord, down as disloyal retainers, and kept us by his side in name only. From there, he instated one unnecessary policy after another as though he were a raging bull.

As to be expected, all of our funds were exhausted in no time at all. Our Lord’s ‘solution’ to this was to raise the taxes to an unfair degree for all the people of Takeda, to essentially steal from them however much he needed. This only caused further strain on the citizens under us. In no time at all, this led to violent uprising from the farmers and the peasants, and news of this chaos was quick to reach the emperor’s ears.

Considering Yamamoto Kansukay’s attempted revolution not so long ago, combined with the current state of affairs, the emperor came to the natural conclusion that the Takeda Clan has shown no signs of reflecting upon its past misdeeds, and ordered that the clan be disbanded, with its land confiscated.

Katsuyohri-sama himself was also exiled from Eashen as punishment. You could say that he’d merely reaped what he had sown, but from time to time I couldn’t help but think to myself that I should’ve attempted to stop his rampage even at the cost of my own life. Such regrets had weighed on my mind ever since coming to Brunhild. In spite of this all, I had been granted such a critical role as prime minister in my new homeland.

To be frank, when the youngster in front of me first assigned me this role, I almost wondered if he were naught but a fool after all. I couldn’t believe that he was essentially ready to give up full decisive authority on all political matters to a man who was little more than a complete stranger to him.

As such, my new lord, Mochizuki Touya-sama was the very polar opposite of our previous lord Katsuyohri-sama. He made no move to directly intervene in the politics of the country. So long as he thought it a good idea, he was willing to seriously consider anyone’s suggestions, regardless of who had come forward with them. By nature, he managed us under the philosophy of ‘live and let live,’ and essentially left us to manage affairs as we saw fit.

I was happy that he had placed so much trust in us, but it had still left me worried about whether things would really turn out fine for our country under the rule of someone with such a personality. It didn’t take very long for me to figure out his reasons for this, however.

Touya-sama was very rarely at rest, always on the move doing who knows what. If I took my eyes off him for even a moment, he would vanish off to somewhere with little notice, if any at all. If he were just wandering around within our duchy’s borders, then that would not have posed much of a problem, but I had quickly learned that he was the type of man to take off to some country on the other side of the world without giving it a second thought. It hadn’t taken me very long at all to learn that having a lord capable of using transportation magic would be such a handful to deal with.

If we were ever to leave the final decisions on everything to Touya-sama, then we would never make any progress at all. As such, his closest retainers had no choice but to make many of the decisions between ourselves.

That said, there were many matters in which Touya-sama himself was the only one who could make the final decision. Partially because of that, it had become somewhat of a routine of mine to go searching for our whimsical grand duke at least once every few days.

The documents have really begun to pile up these days... Honestly, just where is our grand duke loitering about this time?

“His Highness? He said he was going out to check up on the paddy fields in the castle town.”

“Hrm, I see. I may still make it in time if I hurry.” Having gained valuable information from Tsubaki, one of our former Takeda shinobi, I set out swiftly after our lord. Were my prayers to be answered, he may very well have still been in the duchy, at the very least.

Troublesome as it was, I did not dislike my job. Ours was a small country, yet founded by a renowned hero. I was most curious to see how far we could go, and to what extent we could influence the state of the very world itself. I was looking forward to the day that I could witness such greatness with my own two eyes.

Right now, though, my top priority was to grab our grand duke by the arm and have him sort through his paperwork. My own personal hopes for him and our own internal political affairs were two different things, after all.