Fundraising

On the 32nd day of the 4th month in the 1546th year of the Continental

Calendar, the throne was ceded to Souma Kazuya.

It happened in the capital of the Elfrieden Kingdom, Parnam.

This city was the capital, where the residence of the Elfrieden

Kingdom's king, Parnam Castle, was. A town had risen up around Parnam

Castle, and the circular walls surrounding it were reminiscent of a city-state

in Middle Ages Europe. The roofs in the nobles' quarter and the peasants'

quarter were uniformly orange, and this suited the classic image of the town

well.

Parnam Castle was in the center, connected with north, south, east and

west gates by large roads that were always busy with carriages and large

mounted beasts. Aside from the main roads, there were also countless

smaller cobblestone roads radiating out from the castle, and these small

roads were connected by yet more small roads. Seen from the air, it would

have resembled a spider's web, or perhaps a snowflake. These roads were

lined on both sides with merchants and tradespeople, and they were always

bustling.

Since today was a holiday, and also the first day off since the new king,

Souma (though, with the crowning ceremony not yet having taken place, he

was technically only acting king), had been given the throne, the

marketplace was even more busy than usual. This sudden change of

monarchs had caused tension in the castle town for a little while, but once

they had heard that the throne had been ceded to the summoned hero, and

that the former king, Albert, had announced his abdication of his own will,

and that Souma was betrothed to Princess Liscia, the former king's

daughter, the confusion naturally died down.

Because the former king had ruled through "being loved," the rumors

settled down to:

"Well, if the king is fine, I guess it's okay."

"Yeah, the pressure really seemed to be getting to him. I'm glad he has

that weight off his shoulders now."

"He'll be able to take it easy now. It's best for everyone this way."

The people's interpretations of what had happened were largely

favorable. It seemed the king's lackadaisical manner was in tune with the

national character. Having had the throne foisted on him, Souma had

worried that a resistance movement might rise against the sudden change,

but he was a little let down when it never happened. Regardless, it was

another peaceful day in Parnam as people of many races went about their

business.

As if cutting through that peaceful afternoon, a white horse galloped

down the cobblestones.

The horse was spurred on by a beautiful young girl in a red military

uniform that looked like it could have come out of The Rose of Versailles.

She was sixteen or seventeen years old with fair skin, and platinum blonde

hair that streamed behind her in the wind. Her tight-fitting uniform

accentuated the well-balanced lines of her body.

A beautiful girl riding a white horse made for a picturesque scene in its

own right. The people she passed on her way let out gasps of admiration,

which turned to cheers when they realized she was their country's princess.

"Congratulations on your betrothal, Princess!"

"We wish you happiness!"

The people sent her their warmest regards, with no idea how she herself

felt about the matter. Of course, it was unlikely she could hear them now,

anyway.

"Father, Mother... Please, be safe!" she, Liscia Elfrieden, whispered to

herself with a pained look on her face.

"Father! What is the meaning of this?" Liscia demanded, raising her

voice at the sight before her.

The king's bedroom. It was a room large enough that the king-sized bed

did not dominate it, and each and every piece of furniture was exquisitely

designed. Originally, this bedroom had been meant to be the private

quarters of the royal couple, so it should have been turned over to Souma

when he ascended the throne, but Souma hadn't wanted to go through the

trouble of moving in, so he had given permission for the former royal

couple to stay, and they were still using it. Souma, incidentally, had brought

a simple bed into the governmental affairs office and slept there.

When Liscia ran into that room, out of breath, she was greeted by the

sight of her parents not only elegantly enjoying tea on the attached balcony,

but dipping scones in cream, raising them up to each other's mouths, and

saying:

"Say ah, darling."

"Ah."

and feeding each other.

Liscia fell to the ground, but quickly stood back up, and marched up to

the former king, Albert, with anger in her eyes.

"Father, when I heard your throne had been usurped, I hastened back

from my patrol outside the capital! So, why is it that I now find you two

feeding each other without a care in the world?!"

Liscia, in addition to her title as a princess (though, following the

abdication, she was now the new king's betrothed), had also graduated from

officers' school and held an officer's rank in the army. She was not

especially high in the ranks, but due to her high birth, she was often tasked

with attending royal army funerals, or with other missions of a special

nature. This time, she had been on a regional patrol, so upon hearing of her

father's abdication, she had rushed to the capital.

"There was no usurpation, really. I abdicated of my own will," her father

said calmly.

"Why would you suddenly do that?!"

"I had become certain that that man would make a better king for this

nation than I. This is a decision that I came to as the one entrusted with this

country, and I take full responsibility for it. I will tolerate no objections."

In that one moment, Liscia saw the dignified authority of the man who

had, until just recently, carried a nation on his shoulders, and found herself

unable to object any further. "Urkh... But how could you decide my

engagement without even consulting me?"

"You may discuss that between yourselves. The betrothal was something

I forced on him to begin with. If you do not want it, I doubt Sir Souma will

force the matter."

"Motheeeer!" Liscia shouted. She turned to her mother for help, but

Elisha just smiled.

"Meet Sir Souma for yourself first. This is your life, so you must decide

what you will do with it yourself. Whatever your decision is, we will

respect it."

With not even a straw to grasp at, Liscia's shoulders slumped.

She departed the room of the former royal couple and walked quickly

across the palace.

It had been some weeks since she had left this palace for her regional

patrols. Something about the palace she had been away from for a few

weeks caught her attention. Many of the servants were running around...

The guards, the maids, the bureaucrats, even the ministers... anyone and

everyone was running. The sight of pudgy ministers running about and

gasping with sweat beading on their foreheads was so surreal that she could

only stare, dumbfounded.

It hadn't been like this before. The castle she remembered had been a

place so relaxed that it felt as if time just flowed slower there. The maids,

the ministers... everyone would walk slowly, and it was so quiet you could

hear the palace guards training in the courtyard from anywhere in the

palace. Hadn't Liscia joined the officers' academy because she had been

sick and tired of that atmosphere?

But what now? No matter where she went in the castle, the sound of

footsteps echoed.

Liscia called out to one of the maids who was rushing past. "Can I have

a moment?"

"Why, Princess! How may I be of service?" the maid asked, slowing.

"Um... Everyone in the castle seems to be in an awful hurry. Is there

something happening?"

"No? Nothing in particular."

"Are you sure? It felt like everyone was rushing to do something..."

"I am. Ah, but, perhaps it is our new king's influence. When we see how

that man works, it makes us feel bad if we don't work, too. I couldn't stand

to be slow myself, either... Ah, I'm in the middle of something right now, so

I will take my leave!"

"I-I see... Do your best."

As she watched the maid speed off, Liscia was dumbfounded.

For him to make even the maids feel this way, just how hard does the

new king work?! Just what kind of guy have I gotten myself betrothed to?!

Liscia found herself wanting to bury her head in her hands all the more.

At last, she came to the king's governmental affairs office. When she

opened the door, the first thing that she saw was a mountain of paperwork.

On a desk large enough that two fully-grown adults could have slept atop it,

the papers were piled high and looked ready to spill over. That was not all.

When she looked around, she saw a number of bureaucrats sitting at another

long table, fighting a losing battle with yet more bundles of paperwork.

As Liscia stood there, dumbfounded, a young man spoke to her from the

other side of the mountain of paper.

"You, whoever just came in."

"...Huh?! What?!" Snapped back to her senses, Liscia had let out a

strange cry, but the speaker didn't seem to care at all.

"Can you read? Can you do math?"

"D-Don't mock me! I've certainly been taught that much!"

"Well, perfect. Get over here and help me with the work."

"Just who do you think you are, asking me to help...?"

"Just do it. That's a royal order."

Saying this, the person behind the paper mountain stood up.

Now, finally, for the first time, the two came face to face. This was the

first meeting between the new king, Souma, and his betrothed, Liscia.

Liscia would later describe her first impression of him as "a young man

with tired eyes."

◇ ◇ ◇

In stories where a hero is summoned to another world, the hero

sometimes gains powers as a result of being summoned. It seemed the

people in this world all had some ability to use magic, and so where was the

harm in hoping I might have gained the ability to use magic, too?

Technically, I had been summoned here as a hero.

So, right after I had had the throne ceded to me, some priestly-looking

guys carried out an inspection of my abilities.

Apparently there were various types of magic that people could use, and

they had devices that could test it. This one looked kind of like a stone slate.

When a person touched the slate, that person's magic type and abilities were

displayed in that person's head. Not even the people of this world

understood the principles behind how it worked, but it seemed there were a

fair number of these sorts of out-of-place artifacts in this world.

So, I got my diagnosis, and here was the power I'd gained:

[The Power to Transfer Consciousness Into an Object and Manipulate It]

It was an ability that let me transfer my consciousness into objects I

touched, and I could manipulate up to three of them simultaneously.

It sounded more like a psychic power than magic, but the lighter the

object, the more freely I could control it. I could get an overhead view of

whatever I was controlling, as well. What was more, in addition to my own

consciousness, I could have that object move under an independent

consciousness, as well. Using an object as a medium like this, I could think

about multiple things at the same time.

While there was the limitation that I could only move around things

close to me, being able to make things move around at will was neat. Like I

was triggering a poltergeist effect.

So, that was why I named my ability "[Living Poltergeists]." Sounds

like I have a case of middle school syndrome, maybe?

Having gained my [Living Poltergeists], one thing immediately came to

mind:

"This is going to be so useful for doing paperwork!"

...Yeah. Copying my consciousness into three pens, I could review

multiple documents simultaneously with parallel thinking, and by

manipulating those three pens, I could sign off on them. Man, ever since I

learned I had this ability, I've gotten so much more work done. Actually,

without that ability, the giant mountain of paperwork that had piled up in

the confusion since I had been given the throne would probably have buried

me in an avalanche by now.

...Yeah. I know what you want to say. I get an ability, and it turns out to

be mostly good for handling deskwork more smoothly?

While I was getting good use out of it, whenever I thought about it as a

hero's power, I could only think, "How did things turn out like this?" I

mean, even if I hadn't gotten super powerful magic that would let me take

on hordes of enemies at the same time, I'd have liked some defensive magic

that would at least let me protect myself.

...Well, wishing for things I couldn't have wasn't going to get me

anywhere. And it was, as a matter of fact, a useful power to me.

Today, as usual, I was fighting the mountain of paperwork with my

[Living Poltergeists]. While I was doing so, someone entered the room with

a thunderous noise that sounded like they'd tried to kick down a perfectly

good door. When I peeked through a gap in the paper mountain, I saw it

was a young woman in a military uniform.

With her regular features, skin so pale as to be translucent, and silky

platinum blonde hair, she was so gorgeous that at any other time I would

have been captivated by her beauty. However, having pulled three

consecutive all-nighters, I saw not a beautiful girl but just a new source of

labor.

After calling her over and practically forcing her to sit next to me, I

pushed two stacks of paper in her direction. "Please compare these two sets

of documents and look for places where the values, or the number of items,

don't agree and mark them."

"Huh? What? What kind of work is this?"

"What, you ask? Digging for buried treasure. That's what." I explained

to the perplexed girl in uniform. "For 'unaccounted-for expenditures,' to be

precise. One pile is requests for budgetary appropriations, the other is

income and expenditures reports. Even if the amount requested and the

amount spent match, if the number of items differs, that can be indicative of

either wasteful investment undertaken to fully use up their budget, or

embezzlement disguised as investment. We'll check those, and if any laws

have been broken, we'll make each of the responsible parties pay to make

up the loss. If we uncover personal embezzlement, we will mandate

repayment, and in the event they cannot pay, we will arrest the offender and

seize their assets."

"U-Understood."

Perhaps she had been intimidated by the threatening air of a man who

had gone without sleep, because the girl nodded along as I talked.

Good.

Perhaps around two hours passed with her working quietly next to me.

At last, the girl in military uniform spoke to me, her hands never ceasing

their work of checking documents as she did. "...Hey."

"What? If you're tired, you can take a break whenever."

"No, that's not it... I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Liscia

Elfrieden. The daughter of the former king, Albert Elfrieden."

I stopped moving my pen. "...You're the princess, huh?"

"I don't look like one?"

"You were in uniform, so I didn't notice. But... Yeah, maybe you do look

princess-y."

At this point, she finally made me take note of how attractive she was.

"I'm... Souma Kazuya. Technically, I'm the new king."

Liscia turned to face me. She was pretty close, and we looked into one

another's eyes. Unlike me, who was just taken aback, her golden eyes

seemed like they were trying to evaluate me. After we looked into one

another's eyes for some time, Liscia slowly opened her mouth.

"I'm not a princess anymore. Because you usurped the throne, my

current position is a little unclear."

"Usurped...? Your father pushed the throne and all his duties off on me,

I'll have you know. Honestly, why do I have to go through all this pain and

hassle?"

"...Seriously, what happened? I know you're the summoned hero, but

how did that suddenly turn into you taking the throne?"

"You tell me. I just did what I felt I needed to in order to protect

myself..."

I explained what had happened around the time of the summoning

ceremony to Liscia.

When I had been summoned to this world, I'd been on the verge of

being handed over to the Empire. The king hadn't seemed enthusiastic

about the idea, but, seeing as he had no other plan, if the Empire had put

pressure on him to do it, he probably wouldn't have had any other choice.

There had been no telling what might happen to me if I was turned over to

the Empire, so I had asked the king to choose the "do not hand over the

hero" option.

My proposal to the king and prime minister was that they pay the war

subsidies to buy time, and with that time, push forward with policies that

would build a strong and prosperous country. If they were saying "hand

over the hero in place of war subsidies," all we had to do was pay the

subsidies. If we did that, they would lose any justification for interfering in

our affairs. It was not an actual threat, no matter what it seemed like. To

keep up appearances, the Empire would not insist on it any further. That

was my reasoning. We would use the time bought this way to pursue

country-strengthening policies which would let us stand on equal terms

with the Empire.

The two of them had had objections, of course. They had said this

country had no means to pay the war subsidies. But, after inspecting the

materials they brought me, I was able to show that if we sold off some stateowned facilities, enacted caps on government spending, and the king turned

over some of his "personal assets," it would be possible to pay.

I had gotten into the university's School of Socioeconomic Studies (with

the subject I had selected for the socio- part of the entrance exam being

World History, by the way), and my dream for the future had been to

become a local government employee. This was all within my field of

expertise.

Hearing this plan, the king had taken on a ponderous expression, but the

prime minister, Marx, had been enthusiastic. He must have ultimately

decided that, rather than turn over the hero to preserve the status quo,

enacting economic reforms was more likely to leave the country with a

future. The king became more enthusiastic as we went on.

As the guy who suggested it, I knew I'd probably be expected to put in a

lot of the work on those reforms, but only as a single bureaucrat in the

finance ministry... that was what I had thought.

"And then he pushed the throne off on me."

"Um, well... Sorry."

"It's nothing you need to apologize for. If anything, you're a victim in

all this, suddenly finding yourself engaged to me."

"Well, yeah... Wait, huh? Which of us is higher-ranked now? Do I need

to be super polite and formal?" She looked unsure of whether she should

speak to me as a commoner would to a king, or as a princess who was

candidate to be queen.

"...We can keep it casual, I guess?" I said.

"...Sure."

"Also, don't worry about the betrothal thing. I'm just holding onto the

throne for now. I'll probably quit this whole king gig in a few years,

anyway."

"Huh? Why?!"

"Because I only ever planned to work hard enough to earn the subsidies

for the Empire so that I wouldn't be turned over. Now that I've been handed

the throne, I'll do enough to get this country on the right track, but after

that, I'll leave it to the people of this country to handle the rest. Of course,

we can tear up the engagement then."

I gave Liscia a reassuring smile.

◇ ◇ ◇

"I'll probably quit this whole king gig in a few years anyway." My eyes

went wide when I heard Souma say that.

He makes it sound so simple. Does he even realize how difficult that

would be?

Even someone like myself, who had focused so much on military

matters that my political knowledge was a bit weak, could see the situation

our country was in. I believe the word was "checkmate." Food shortages,

economic malaise, the influx of refugees caused by the invasion of demons,

plus pressure from the Gran Chaos Empire. We had nothing but uncertainty

bearing down on us.

For that reason, I could somewhat understand my father's decision to

immediately abdicate the throne to someone he sensed was more capable.

But still. Considering all that, was it even possible to get this country back

on track? Even supposing he somehow could, would the people allow a

king who had accomplished such a great feat to retire so easily?

"...So, do you think you can secure the funds for the war subsidies?"

"Hm? Yeah. I've already secured the funds to send to the Empire."

"...Huh?"

"Right now, I'm trying to squeeze out the funds for my reforms. They'll

cost even more than the war subsidies, after all."

Wait... Wait, wait, wait, wait! He's already secured the funds? The

amount the Empire requested was so massive that it was equivalent to the

national budget, from what I heard!

"Where did we have that kind of money...?"

"I sold off, like, a third of the treasure vault."

"The treasure vault... Our national treasures?! Don't tell me you sold off

our national treasures! You didn't, did you?!" I closed in on Souma, who

looked very blasé about the whole thing. "The national treasures belong to

the whole country! Just arbitrarily selling them off is a betrayal of our

people!"

"Now, now, just calm down. If you say they're the property of the

people, I'd say selling them for the benefit of the people is all good."

"Even so, there must have been objects with historical and cultural

value..."

"Ohh, if that's your concern, I had those set aside. All I sold were jewels

and ornamental objects that had material value."

Souma looked through the paperwork for the treasure vault inventory.

"Treasures were divided into three categories: Category A (items with

historical or cultural value), Category B (items without historical or cultural

value but with monetary value), and Category C (everything else). We only

sold items from Category B. Rather than sell the stuff in Category A, if we

put it on rotating display in a museum, it's likely to serve as a more

permanent source of income."

"Well, maybe... What about Category C?"

"Magic tools, grimoires, and the like. Honestly, I'm not sure how best to

handle them. You could say they're like weapons, in a way. We can't sell

them off or put them on display without the proper precautions. That full set

of Hero Equipment looked like it might fetch a nice price, though... Mind if

I sell that?"

"Please, don't..."

Technically, you're supposed to be the hero... Ah, wait, you're the king

now, aren't you?

"But, if we have all this money, shouldn't it go to the military? In

officers' school I learned 'Spend always on defense, never on tribute.'"

"Let me answer that pithy saying with another one. 'Time is money.'

Which is to say, by offering the war subsidies as a sacrifice, we can gain the

one resource our country most needs right now: time."

"...Why do you have to talk in such a roundabout way?"

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, even if we were able to strengthen our

forces, it would all be for naught if we can't also get domestic issues under

control. Until the food and refugee issues are resolved, we're only going to

continue losing the support of the people. Once that happens, we'll be left

with a fragile state that's easily thrown into riots with a little agitation by

foreign actors."

"No... The people love this country, too. They wouldn't riot..."

"You're being idealistic there. 'Only once one is clothed and fed does

one learn manners.' In the end, you can't have morals or patriotism on an

empty stomach. If you're too busy looking after yourself, you can't afford

to look after others."

Souma's eyes were cold as he said this. It was a harsh and realistic view.

That alone made me feel he was on the mark. From the look of him, you

would expect him to be a weak man, yet somehow...

...he looked so reliable.

◇ ◇ ◇

After spending another day, I was finally able to secure a certain amount

of funds. While I wasn't exactly flush with cash, I would have the money I

needed for my reforms for the time being. I managed to extract all of this

money from just my direct holdings, without having to touch the Three

Dukedoms, so I'd have liked some praise for that, at least.

Looking around the room... It was a disaster. Bureaucrats were passed

out on their desks, others were leaning back asleep in their chairs, their

faces looking skywards. On the sofa, Liscia had lain down and was snoring

softly.

I moved over to her quietly, sat on the sofa's armrest, and watched

Liscia sleep. In the end, this girl had stayed up until close to dawn helping

me with my work. Even though she must have wanted to say a thing or two

to say about being forced into an engagement with me...

I patted her sleeping head. Her silky hair slid smoothly between my

fingers. The excitement from being set free after such a long job must have

been affecting me. Normally, I'd have been too embarrassed to do this

sober, but just sitting here like this made me happy.

"Mrm..."

Liscia groaned, so I pulled my hand out of her hair. The next moment,

Liscia opened her eyes and sprung up. Maybe she was still a little groggy,

since she was looking around all over.

With a wry grin, I bid her good morning. "Good morning, Liscia."

"M-Morning... Huh? Did I fall asleep...?"

"We've hit a good stopping point now. Do you want to go back to

sleep?"

"Oh, no. I'm fine. What about you, Souma? You haven't slept, have

you?"

It looked like she was fully awake. I was happy to see her showing

concern for me, too.

Lifting myself from the armrest, I stretched my arms wide.

"I plan to have a good long rest after this, but... could you come with me

for a bit first?"

"Hm? Where to?"

"For a before-bed walk," I said.

It the light of near-dawn, Liscia and I bounced along on horseback.

While breathing in the morning mist, Liscia's horse sped along with a

clip-clop, clip-clop, not bothered in the least by the weight of two people.

Liscia sat in the front holding the reins, while I was behind her with my

arms around her slim waist, holding on for dear life.

"Hey, don't squeeze my belly so hard," she objected.

"No way. This is pretty scary."

"Pitiful. Normally shouldn't you, as the man, be the one holding the

reins?"

"Well, it's not like I had a choice. Since I've never ridden on a horse

before."

In modern Japan, there was rarely any chance to ride horses.

At best, I'd ridden on a pony at the petting zoo as a child while someone

else led it on a leash.

"In this country, pretty much everyone from peasant farmers to the

nobility can ride, you know?" she told me.

"In my world, there were many more convenient vehicles."

"Your world... Tell me about it, Souma."

"Hm?"

"Did you... leave behind any family, a lover maybe, in the other world?"

Liscia asked me hesitantly. Was she trying to be considerate of my feelings?

"No, nobody. My last relative, my grandpa, just passed away the other

day... yeah."

"...I'm sorry."

"It's nothing to apologize about. Grandpa had had a full life. That's why,

well... Nobody's waiting for my return, so I guess I don't feel the need to go

back in any hurry."

"Oh... You don't." Liscia seemed somewhat relieved.

As we talked, the horse kept clip-clopping along. It was around six in

the morning, maybe. The time when people finally start to stir. As we

passed through the shopping street, no shops were open yet and there was

almost no one out. Passing through the castle town, we reached the wall that

went around the capital. We came up to a massive gate, the likes of which I

had only seen in foreign fantasy films, and after speaking to the guards

there, we went outside through a small door beside it.

Liscia did all the talking here. If the newly-ascended king had told them

he wanted to go outside the city without any bodyguards, I doubt they'd

have allowed it. So, Liscia, who held an officer's rank, told them, "I have

been dispatched outside by order of the king," and played it off as part of

her duties.

Once we safely passed through the gate, Liscia added, "Since I said it

was a royal order, there's going to be a record of it. Who knows what Marx

is going to say to us later..."

I ignored her complaints.

After a short trip through the city streets, we finally reached our

destination. "...Stop here," I said.

As she stopped the horse, Liscia looked at me questioningly. "This is

where you wanted to come? All I see are farmers' fields."

Indeed, there was nothing but verdant fields of green leaves here. Green

fields, wet with the morning dew, as far as the eye could see. This was the

place... No doubt about that.

"This is the place I wanted to show you, Liscia."

"These fields? I suppose they're pretty when they're wet with the

morning dew like this..."

"Pretty... huh. Even though it's because of this that people are starving

to death."

"Wha?" Liscia's eyes widened in surprise.

I sighed. "Take a close look. These 'inedible fields' are the root of this

country's food crisis."

◇ ◇ ◇

Inedible fields... That was what Souma had called the fields spread out

before me, looking at them bitterly. Souma had said he'd wanted to show

me these fields, but I still didn't understand why.

"...What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. All of the fields you see here are cotton fields."

"Cotton fields... Ah! That's what you meant by inedible!"

Cotton flowers were grown to produce cotton thread. Sure enough, these

fields didn't grow anything you could eat.

Souma sat down there, resting his elbows on his thighs. "Jumping

straight to my conclusion, it's the excessive increase in the number of these

cotton fields that has caused this country's food shortages."

"...Come again?"

Did he just sort of off-handedly say something incredible now? The

cause of our food shortages?

"While I was sorting through the paperwork, I noticed it. With the

expansion of the Demon Lord's Domain, the demand for clothing and other

daily necessities has skyrocketed. Of course, the demand for the raw

materials has shot up, too. With the selling price of cotton flowers rising,

and being able to sell as much as you can produce, the farmers have entirely

stopped growing the food crops they had produced up until that point.

Crops grown to sell to others instead of to eat are called cash crops. Which

is to say: our farmers have turned to growing only cash crops, which has led

to a lowering of this country's food self-sufficiency rate."

I was speechless. The cause of this country's food shortages...

I had always just assumed it was bad weather, or that our country had

just had poor soil to begin with. Here was a concrete reason, and yet I, who

had lived in this country for more than ten years, hadn't seen it. Meanwhile

Souma, who had been summoned here only a few days prior, had managed

to.

"If I were to go a bit further, I could say it's the cause of this country's

poor economy, as well. When the food self-sufficiency rate drops, you have

to import from other countries to avoid starving. However, imported food

involves transportation costs as well, so the price of food rises. That puts

pressure on household budgets, but you can only cut food costs so far. If

you don't eat, you'll starve, after all. Of course, if you're going to trim the

fat somewhere, it's going to be in nonessential and luxury goods. This

change in spending practices is causing a downward spiral in the economy."

What had I been looking at? Had I just been a private citizen, it would

have been fine to just laugh scornfully at my lack of insight. However, I

was a princess.

The ignorance of those at the top kills those at the bottom.

"I'm... a failure as a royal." I lost all strength, falling to my knees there.

In all my life, I had never so keenly felt a sense of powerlessness as I did

now.

Seeing me like that, Souma let out an "Uh," and an "Um," scratching his

head, before resting his hand on my head.

"Don't let it get you so down. We've secured the funding we'll need. It's

not too late for agricultural reforms."

"...What are you planning to do?"

"Place limits on the growth of cash crops, bring back the growing of

food crops, and improve our self-sufficiency rate. The country will pay

subsidies to help support that transition. First we'll replant the fields with

beans, which have a wide range of uses, and potatoes, which are resistant

against famine, and over time I'd like to increase the number of paddy

fields. After that..."

Souma spoke eloquently of his plans for agricultural reform. He used a

lot of words like "paddy fields" that were unfamiliar to me, but as I looked

at his face in profile, he seemed so radiant.

I felt I could understand why my father had abdicated the throne to him.

He was what this country needed most right now. We had to do whatever it

took to keep him tied down here. Our betrothal had probably been meant as

another chain with which to bind him.

I guess I can't afford to be upset about the engagement being decided

without my input.

Souma had said that once he got the country on track, he would return

the throne, but we couldn't let him do that. It would be a loss to the country

to have a man of such rare talent leave. It needed to be prevented at all

costs.

He says he has no family in his old world. If I were to become his family

here, could I keep him in this country? I wondered. As his fiancée, if I can

just make the marriage a fait accompli... Wait, the best way to make it a fait

accompli... would basically be... doing that with him...

The thoughts that came to my mind left my face flushed red.

"So, in the mountains we'll... Hey, Liscia, you listening?"

"Eek! Wh-Why, yes, I'm listening."

"Hm? Your face is all red, you know."

"It's just the sunrise! Think nothing of it!"

My cheeks were on fire. I was ready to just die of embarrassment.

From there on, I don't think I heard a single word of Souma's

explanations.