Let’s Go To School

— Morning of the 7th day, 4th month, 1548th year, Continental

Calendar —

I sat in my office chair with Liscia and Hakuya standing flanking me as

three young children stood in front of me. They were Tomoe, a mystic wolf

who was my adorable adopted little sister; Ichiha, a human who was the

youngest son of Duke Chima; and Yuriga, a celestial who was the younger

sister of Fuuga Haan.

Though they were of mixed national and racial backgrounds, today they

all wore the same outfit.

"Those uniforms look good on all three of you," Liscia told them with a

smile.

"Heehee, thank you, Big Sister," Tomoe said with a big smile.

"Y-You are too kind, Lady Liscia," Ichiha stammered, bowing his head.

"...Thanks," Yuriga muttered, looking away in embarrassment.

These three were wearing the uniform of the Royal Academy. The

blazers were indistinguishable in design from the one from the Officers'

Academy that Liscia wore when we went into town in secret, but were

beige instead of red.

The uniforms were provided to each individual student by the academy,

free of charge. This was in part because, in addition to the nobility, the

Royal Academy actively recruited those students noted for academic

excellence, and this prevented differences in clothing being a mark of class.

Because some students, like Yuriga, belonged to winged races, their

uniforms had to be custom made, and this was done as a way of lifting that

financial burden. Though, that did mean that admittance required academic

performance worth more than the cost of the uniform.

After watching their innocent reactions, I rose from my chair and said,

"Liscia's right. You all look great. ...Now, can we have a word from your

teacher, perhaps?"

I turned the conversation over to Hakuya, who had been their instructor

up until this point, who said, "Well..." and walked over to stand in front of

the three. When they looked up to him, as his height necessitated, Hakuya

calmly said, "I expect you three will have no problems academically. You

already possess the academic prowess to keep up with classes at the

academy. ...You did, at least, receive a passing mark, too, Yuriga."

"Why am I the only one you say that to?!"

"Whoa, Yuriga," Tomoe interjected, sounding like she was trying to get

a horse to stop.

"Don't treat me like an animal, you little kid!"

"Ohhkay, ohhkay..." Tomoe said through pinched cheeks.

Yuriga and Tomoe started squabbling. Even on the morning of the first

day of school, these two were the same as ever. That went for Ichiha, who

was trying to stop them, too.

"When you see them like this, Yuriga feels more like my little sister,

huh?" Liscia whispered beside me.

Yeah...she did have the tomboy princess thing going on. They were

different races, and Yuriga's ash gray hair was pretty far from Liscia's

platinum blonde, but I felt like they had a lot in common in terms of

personality.

As for Tomoe, she was more like Juna, maybe? She could be a little

devil at times, too. It was going to be fun seeing what she grew up to be

like, but also scary... My feelings about it were complicated.

"Ahem," Hakuya cleared his throat to get the three of them to pipe

down, and the three stopped talking and stood at attention. In a scolding

tone, he said, "I certainly see no problems academically, but school is also

where you learn to get along with others. You three, in particular, are

individuals of status in your respective countries. The academy is a place

where no one will be given special treatment, but it is inevitable that others

will view you as special. How will you think about your position in the

group, and what sort of friendships will you form with whom...? I would

like for you to keep these things in mind as you live a valuable school life.

Do you understand?"

"""Y-Yes,""" the three of them responded in unison.

"Well, I understand where Hakuya is coming from," I cut in, thinking he

was being a bit too strict. "But you're going to be spending four precious

years of your youth there. Find some friends you get along with, and have a

good time."

"Understood, Big Brother," Tomoe smiled, as she gave me a salute.

""Okay,"" Ichiha and Yuriga responded in kind.

When the three of them left the room, I turned to look at Hakuya.

"You were talking about there being no special treatment, but... I know

you. You've got some sort of protection planned for them, right?"

"But of course," Hakuya said with a nod, as though it were obvious. "I

talked it over with Sir Inugami, and we've already placed our observers

among the academy's staff. If anything happens with your little sister, I will

hear of it immediately."

"If Inugami's involved...it's probably foolproof."

Inugami adored Tomoe as if she were his own daughter. If that "doting

father" was taking part in this, I could expect the security around them to be

perfect. As we nodded to one another in relief, Liscia looked at us with

exasperation.

"Being a little overprotective, aren't we?"

"That may be true, but Tomoe's position warrants caution," I replied.

"She's a former refugee, now the younger sister of the king. She also gets

the credit for setting up the rhinosaurus train. That's a position that nobles

and commoners alike are going take notice of, with both good and ill will.

Eventually, she'll need to handle all of that herself, but I want to protect her

while she's a child, at least."

When I impressed on her that I wasn't just being a doting adoptive

brother, Liscia shrugged.

"I do understand how you feel, but...I resented having that sort of

overprotective environment around me back when I was a student. I don't

think you should be too pushy about it."

Well, I could sort of see what Liscia wanted to say. Still, though...

"That's how you felt back then, right? What do you think now? Cian and

Kazuha are going to go to school eventually, too, you know?"

"There are times when you need to be overprotective," Liscia said,

easily retracting her earlier statement. Hakuya and I could only smile wryly

at how quickly she changed tack. Even if she couldn't understand her

parents as a child, now that she had a child she understood how a parent

felt. This is how it looks when someone grows and learns... Nah, just

kidding.

"Now then, I guess I should get ready to head out, too."

"I'll help you. Carla and the other maids are looking after Cian and

Kazuha."

I was scheduled to give a celebratory address to the new students at the

Officers' Academy and Royal Academy today. Because of the occasion, I

had been told I was to appear in formal wear, which meant my military

uniform. It always took so long to put that thing on...

"Okay, Hakuya. We'll leave you to handle the rest."

"Yes, sir. Take care."

Hakuya saw us off with a salute as Liscia and I left the office.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Wow..."

Tomoe's jaw dropped as she got out of the carriage and saw the building

in front of her. The red brick building she could see on the other side of the

thick, iron gate was the Royal Academy.

The Royal Academy. Situated in Parnam, it was the highest educational

institution in the Kingdom of Friedonia. The other major cities had

academies, too, but even among them, the Royal Academy was the top.

In contrast to the Officers' Academy, which was also located in the

capital, and was responsible for training knights and military officers, the

Royal Academy was a place that taught a variety of different fields, as well

as provided the necessary education to the children of the kingdom's

nobility.

"It's so big," Tomoe sighed, seeing the academy for the first time. "It's

practically a castle."

"You literally live in a castle, and you're going to say that?" Yuriga, who

was standing beside her, said in exasperation.

"Now that I think about it, we've all been staying in the royal castle,

huh?" Ichiha said, a wry smile on his face. "Because Sir Souma and so

many of the others don't make a big deal out of it, it doesn't usually occur

to me."

"Hmph. My brother Fuuga's name will echo across this world. Someday,

I'll live in an even bigger castle!"

"You sure do love your brother, huh, Yuriga?"

This time it was Tomoe's turn to look at Yuriga, who was always

bragging about her brother, in exasperation. Then...

"Well, this is as far as we can take you, so please, continue on by

yourselves from here. We will be back to pick you up when the time

comes," the servant who had been acting as their chaperone said with a

respectful bow.

"Thank you. Okay, Yuriga, Ichiha. Let's go." Tomoe thanked the

servant, then walked onto the academy grounds hand-in-hand with Yuriga

and Ichiha.

"Hold on, we're not children. We don't have to hold hands."

"I-I'm getting a little tense..."

Tomoe pulled Yuriga and Ichiha through the gate with her.

Thus, the three small children took the first step of their school lives...

and yet, immediately, their eyes went wide. At the enthusiasm of the many

people there. And the noise.

There were many students who would be entering the academy this year,

the same as Tomoe, Yuriga, and Ichiha, on the road from the main entrance

to the school building. However, on either side of that road, there were

older students carrying flags, signs, and banners in many colors, desperately

calling out to the new students.

"The Enchantment Magic Club is currently recruiting! Any new students

who are interested are welcome!"

"Hey, all you cute boys and girls! Would you like to come unravel the

secrets of dungeon relics with us?!"

"You there, you look clever! Please, join our society!"

"Huh? You mean me? But..." said the confused student.

"O young one, our field of study is certain to make great leaps in the

future! I say that because they tell me we have promising new students

joining the academy this year..."

"Our club members register as adventurers and take part in activities off

campus..."

"N-No, I refuse!" the student cried.

"Command Center, a new student has fled, requesting immediate

backup."

"This is Command Center. Roger. Dispatching reinforcements

immediately."

There were the voices of older students' engaged in enthusiastic (and in

some cases weird) attempts at recruitment, and the screams of new students

running around trying to escape. There was a scene of unexpected chaos

playing out in this house of learning. Having witnessed all of the shouting,

the three froze up.

"Th-This isn't... quite what we were led to expect, huh?" Yuriga said,

her cheeks twitching a little.

The three thought back to the advance knowledge of the Royal Academy

that their teacher, Hakuya, had imparted to them.

The Royal Academy was largely divided into two sections. There was

the school, where students learned the basic subjects, as well as the

education, manners, and management skills they would require as nobles;

and then there was the research academy where students performed further

academic research.

If you were to equate this to Souma's original world: the former would

have been equivalent to a combined junior and senior high school, while the

latter was equivalent to university. When a person graduated from the

school's four-year program they were deemed to be able to take care of

themselves, but those with excellent grades who wished to continue down

the path of a researcher could enter the research academy. Though, in the

case of the nobility, the oldest legitimate son would need to manage his

domain eventually, so many of those who wanted to join the research

academy were people who had been disinherited.

In addition, the research academy was a total meritocracy, so they

accepted talented researchers from outside without regard to their identities.

Because of that, the research academy was even less hung up on notions of

hierarchy than the school. Conversely, though the school was set up so that

anyone who had the good grades to get through the entrance exam was able

to enroll, it was still a class society, and the nobles acted full of themselves.

The children of the nobility were especially prone to viewing the school

as a place to build connections. They looked at the rare commoners in

attendance with cold eyes, and spent all their time ignoring their studies and

holding tea parties with the children of any house with the slightest

influence. Liscia hated this aspect of the academy, which was why she

joined the Officer's Academy instead, despite being a princess.

This had been their understanding of the Royal Academy before now.

However, the school had changed greatly in the past two years or so.

"Come to think of it, when Mr. Hakuya was explaining the academy to

us, he did say, 'As for how the school is now... it may be faster for you to

see for yourselves,' didn't he?"

"He looked exhausted by it, yeah. So, does that mean...?"

With Ichiha and Yuriga both looking to Tomoe, it hit her, too.

"This is Big Brother's influence... right?" Tomoe concluded with a wry

smile. That expression had a strange resemblance to the one her big sister

made every time her big brother did something off the wall.

There were two major factors that led to a change in the overall

environment at the academy. One must have been that King Souma's If You

Have a Gift event caused a change towards valuing talent highly. The way

influential nobles ran around gathering personnel, and even competed to

recruit slaves if they had some ability, was still fresh in everyone's

memories. That trend led people to look to the Royal Academy as a place to

train talented personnel.

The other factor was the rise of another high school-level educational

institution in the capital, Ginger's Vocational School. This vocational

school, which opened with the sponsorship of King Souma, constantly

researched fields of study that no one had paid any heed to before, and had

obtained quite successful results in many of them. Those results were then

covered in the broadcast program Nameless Heroes, spreading knowledge

of them throughout the country.

In addition, at Ginger's Vocational School, if you had knowledge of a

special field or ability, and a novel idea, they would accept any student

there, regardless of wealth or class. That brought prospective students

rushing to their doors. The more attention they gained from the people, the

more talented personnel gathered there... and the result was that Ginger's

Vocational School was recognized as an academic center. That made the

Royal Academy sit up and take notice of their predicament.

Unlike the Officers' Academy, which turned out soldiers, the Royal

Academy was tasked with training personnel in cultural fields, so there was

overlap in their roles. Of course, the sort of research being undertaken at the

vocational school would have been summarily rejected at the Royal

Academy, so there was differentiation. Still, the Royal Academy couldn't sit

still while talented personnel in cultural fields were drifting to the

vocational school, and they were forced to reform their old ways. Now, as

for what result that led to...

"Instead of a focus on creating personal connections to powerful

families, they've placed a greater emphasis on securing talented personnel.

Is that it? It's taken things in a more meritocratic direction," Ichiha plainly

stated the impression he got from this.

The children of the nobility wanted to form connections with talented

personnel, regardless of their class background. That was because, under

King Souma's meritocratic politics, that was the road to fame and glory.

Because there was a demand for it, if someone had something they

specialized in, they would try to improve at it. The classes that everyone

took were not sufficient for that, and, as a result, clubs and societies grew

more active.

In order to maintain and expand those clubs, they needed people. What

they wanted were talented people. But even if they were untalented, it

didn't matter. To even enter this school required a certain level of academic

ability, so if someone lacked an area they specialized in, it was possible to

train them from nothing into the kind of person that the group wanted.

They set their eyes on talented individuals in both the school and

research academy while they were still enrolled, and plotted to have them

join their research after graduation. These days, every person of talent in the

academy had those sorts of eyes set on them, and even those who had still

yet to develop any ability did, too, in their own way. The result was this

mad rush to recruit new students.

As they watched the chaos unfold, Yuriga let out a frustrated sigh.

"Honestly... this country makes no sense."

"But I still like this country. The country that my big brother and big

sister rule," Tomoe said with a smile, to which Yuriga shrugged in

exasperation.

"You would. But isn't it about time you realized? The people know your

face, right? There's going to be plenty of people looking for you, aren't—"

"Oh! Hey! Isn't that Lady Tomoe over there?!" The voice of a female

student cut Yuriga off mid-sentence, and the older students who were doing

the recruiting all turned to look towards Tomoe.

"Despite being a refugee, she was adopted by the former royal couple

because of her gift..."

"That means she's incredibly talented, right?"

"Wasn't there talk of royalty from another country coming to school

with her?"

"Then, are those two...?"

"Indeed?! Then, perchance, could the young boy who stands next to

Lady Tomoe be Sir Ichiha Chima who our society so admires? He of the

Monster Encyclopedia..."

"I like the leg muscles on that winged girl with the twintails. She must

have considerable athletic ability. I really want her for our club."

There were hushed whispers. Then, a sudden gleam in the eyes of the

older students. Yes... those were the eyes of hunters who had found their

quarry. Their thirst for new blood was almost palpable.

"I-It looks like it's not just me," Tomoe winced. "You two are popular,

too, huh?"

"Wh-What should we do?" Ichiha asked in a mild panic.

"This is unexpected," Yuriga said, taken aback. "...I don't want any

trouble."

"...Should we run?"

""No objection there."" The three made an immediate decision to flee,

but the school building was on the other side of the older students.

"I'm starting to want to go home."

"You know we can't go home before the entrance ceremony has even

started."

While Tomoe and Ichiha were struggling with what to do...

"All right, you two, see you later." As the only one with wings, Yuriga

jumped up into the air.

"Hey! No fair, Yuriga!" Leaving a protesting Tomoe behind, Yuriga

flapped her wings in an attempt to clear the human wall, but...

"Whoa, hate to break it to you, but you're not the only one who can fly,"

a girl who looked to be a dragonewt rose up to block her.

"Urkh!"

"Now, young lady, why don't you work up a nice, youthful sweat doing

some sports with me?"

"Nooooo!" The dragonewt girl began chasing Yuriga across the sky.

The realization that even flying was not enough to let them escape left a

look of despair on Tomoe and Ichiha's faces. Even now, the older students

were closing the net around them.

You won't get away. That was what their eyes said.

"I-Ichiha."

"T-Tomoe..."

The two held hands as they trembled.

"""Please, join our society!""" As the mob was rushing towards them...

it happened.

Suddenly, Tomoe felt herself scooped up by someone, and the next thing

she knew she was floating in the air. Had they jumped about ten meters?

From where she was, held in someone's arms, Tomoe looked down at the

green leaves on the branches of the trees. There, beneath them, she saw

Ichiha being swept away by a wave of people.

"Ichi—mmph!"

"Shh!" a figure said, covering her mouth. "If you shout, the people down

there will find us."

They had acted fast, just before the human wave struck, so nobody had

noticed Tomoe being spirited away.

"I know I was only able to save you, Lady Tomoe, but he is a boy, I am

sure he will manage just fine by himself." It was a girl's voice that came

from behind her. When Tomoe nodded to show her acceptance, they

removed the hand covering her mouth.

When Tomoe turned around, behind her stood a girl with dark skin,

white hair, and pointy ears—all traits that were the same as Aisha's. If there

was one thing that was different from Aisha, it was that this girl's hair was

cut short. Tomoe's eyes widened with surprise.

"Are you a dark elf?!"

"Yes, Lady Tomoe. I believe we are not yet acquainted," the dark elf girl

said, bringing a hand to her breast and bowing her head. "I am Velza Norn,

daughter of the warrior Sur of the God-Protected Forest. In order to gain the

education I will need to, one day, be fit to serve a certain person, I have

come here today to enter the same school as you, Lady Tomoe. It is a

pleasure to meet you."

Velza smiled at Tomoe, who was clearly taken aback.

About an hour later.

Tomoe and the others were in the Royal Academy's auditorium. They

were in the middle of the entrance ceremony, and the new students sat in

rows of seats, listening (disinterestedly) as the stout, white-bearded

principal up on stage gave a congratulatory address. Yuriga and Ichiha were

on either side of Tomoe, slouched in their chairs with exhaustion on their

faces.

"A-Are you okay?" Tomoe asked in a worried whisper. The other two

weakly waved their hands.

"I-I thought I was going to die. That dragonewt, she's too stubborn..."

"I was forced into the Monster Research Society. I wanted to join a

group like that if there was one anyway, and once I was in, my seniors

protected me from the other recruiters, so it was fine, but...it still took a lot

out of me."

It seemed Yuriga had managed to give her pursuer the slip, but Ichiha

had found refuge under the protection of this Monster Research Society.

Seeing how exhausted they looked, Tomoe mentally thanked her rescuer,

Velza, once again. Speaking of Velza...

"Now, new student representative Velza Norn."

"Yes!"

The principal called her name, and she walked up on stage. It turned out

she had been near the top of their class on the entrance examination, and

was chosen to give an address as the representative of the new students.

"But the offer came to you and Ichiha, too, right?" Yuriga, who had

recovered a little, asked, and Tomoe nodded with a wry smile.

Tomoe and Ichiha had both received good grades on the entrance exam

(Yuriga had received just over a passing grade), and so, in light of their

position and status, they were each asked to give remarks as prospective

representatives.

"I didn't want to stand out too much, so I turned them down," Tomoe

explained.

"The three of us already belong to the ruling families of our countries,

and we live in the castle. That puts us close to His Majesty, a position which

invites both excessive good and ill will. I wanted to avoid standing out too

much and having people take note of me," Ichiha agreed with her, but

Yuriga wasn't convinced.

"You already stand out plenty," Yuriga replied. "That being the case,

why not take in any talented people from among those who approach and

build your own clique? You could call it the Tomoe Army."

"...You think that would be fun?"

"I think it would be too much hassle, so I won't be doing it myself."

"Whaa..."

"But the idea of seeing you panic as people give you more praise than

you deserve sounds amusing," Yuriga said with a smug smile. "Seriously,

why not do it? If you do, I'll be your lieutenant."

"You're definitely planning to be in control behind the scenes. I don't

want an army like that, either."

While the two of them were whispering about that, "Ahem," a woman

with pointed glasses cleared her throat loudly. The apparent warning not to

chit-chat any more made them both shrink a little. While all this was

happening, Velza's address continued.

"...Therefore, with pride and an awareness of our role as students in my

heart, I would like to do my best in academics, athletics, and amicable

relations with my school friends. Not just as your new student

representative, but as myself, Velza Norn."

With that, it seemed her remarks were finished. There was a round of

applause, and Tomoe, Ichiha, and Yuriga joined the clapping. Velza bowed,

then came down from the stage and returned to her seat.

The teacher who was acting as event coordinator tried to announce the

next item on the program, but the piece of paper it was written on was

shaking in his hands, and he looked tense about something.

"O-Our next guest will offer a congratulatory address. Yes. His Majesty

Souma A. Elfrieden, King of Friedonia. I-If you will, please."

"Huh? Big Brother?" When Tomoe looked up, Souma walked on from

the side of the stage. In that moment, every student and every member of

the staff rose in unison.

Souma, who was dressed in his black military uniform as formal wear,

smiled wryly and said, "There's no need to be so stiff," tapping the nervewracked teacher on the shoulder as he took the podium.

You were the special guest for the entrance ceremony today, Big

Brother?! You could have said something. Tomoe's cheeks puffed up with a

slight dissatisfaction, but this must have been Souma's way of keeping the

surprise for his little sister. Then Souma turned to the students and began to

speak.

"I am Souma A. Elfrieden, as I was just introduced. New students of the

Royal Academy, congratulations. You must be here because you

demonstrated, through the entrance exam, that you were fit to be students of

the Royal Academy. That means you may be one of the people who support

this country in the future. As king of this country, I look forward to you

learning in this academy, and becoming people capable of supporting my

country."

There was a regal confidence in the way Souma spoke, and the students

were listening to him closely, without chatter. No one was going to be so

impertinent as to talk when the king of this country was speaking. Nobody

wanted to be hauled off for the crime of lèse-majesté right after getting into

school. Even Tomoe, who knew Souma wasn't the type to mind, was

standing up straight and listening to him now.

Big Brother really is a great king. Seeing him look regal for the first

time in a long time, Tomoe felt a little proud, but...

"Okay... I'd say that's enough of the stiff, formal address from the king.

Oh! Standing at attention like that's got to be hard on all of you, so, please,

be seated."

Souma broke the tense air in the room on his own. The way he suddenly

shifted to casual speech left Tomoe and everyone else feeling bewildered.

The students and teachers, who were looking at one another, wondering if it

was really all right for them to be seated, began to sit down here and there.

"Okay, everyone's sitting." Souma spread his arms out towards the

students, and grinned. "It's a fact that our country is looking for smart

people. Every person who can do something at an above-average level is

valuable. A country can't run on the people we call 'geniuses' alone. The

country keeps running because of diligent workers who may never see their

day in the sun. I'm sure, if you've watched the broadcast program Nameless

Heroes, you understand that."

The students nodded in agreement. Nameless Heroes was a popular

broadcast program that shone a light on engineers who supported the

country in ways people wouldn't usually see.

"However! I'd be in real trouble if all I had were people who can study.

It's definitely true that personnel who can do one thing really well are

appealing. Those who can run ahead of the pack, pushing into a new era,

and those who will help lay firm groundwork. This country needs both of

them!"

Souma spoke passionately, slamming his hands down on the podium as

he did.

"I hear the Royal Academy has changed since my If You Have a Gift

event and the opening of Ginger's Vocational School. I want to see both

kinds of people cultivated here. I want you to recognize every person with a

gift, no matter how pointless it seems. Conversely, I also want you to

recognize anyone who is able to do everything well because of their hard

work, even if they have no outstanding talents. If there are people like that

here, please, let the country know."

When Souma turned to the line of teachers and said that, the principal

and all of the faculty bowed their heads as one, as if to say they accepted his

request. Souma nodded, then turned to the students.

"That was my request to the school, but I have a wish for you, the new

students coming to this academy, too."

"""......"""

Hearing the king had a wish for them, the new students waited with

bated breath to hear what he might say. After a brief dramatic pause,

Souma's wish was...

"I want you to really enjoy your time at school."

"""...Huh?"""

...That was it.

Looking at the blank stares he was getting from the students, Souma

laughed and said, "It may only be four years, but it's still four years during

your youth. The knowledge and friendship you cultivate in a place like this

will be an asset that lasts you for life. We're creatures whose heads and

bodies work more efficiently when we're enjoying ourselves. That's why I

want you to enjoy learning, enjoy spending time with your school friends,

and get the most out of your school life. While you're doing that, I want

you to look for something that you can get absorbed in."

Souma brought his hands down on the podium with a bang, then grinned

and continued, "If, among the things you enjoy, there is one that you can get

absorbed in and you want to master it, that's a great strength in and of itself.

It doesn't matter how small it is, or that no one else can understand it.

Naturally, you have to avoid causing trouble for others in the process, but

when a person has something they enjoy and are absorbed in, they shine

brighter than other people. Someone will be watching that effort, and

recognize you for it.

"That's true of the country, too. In fact, in the music program at Ginger's

Vocational School, there's this one student pursuing a fanciful topic of

research that seemed like hogwash at first glance, but the reports say they're

getting some interesting results. We plan to do everything the country can to

test it soon. It involves knowledge of magic, so the Royal Academy will be

cooperating, too."

Even if their research looked like hogwash initially, it could find

recognition. These words from Souma earned more applause from the

existing students than the new ones. Those cheers came from the members

of minor research societies. Their work, which they thought might never see

its day in the sun, might receive the recognition it deserved. Seeing the

reaction from those students, Souma gave a satisfied nod before continuing.

"You can work hard if you're having fun. And if you work hard, people,

and the country, will be watching. So, to all you new students, I'd like you

to enjoy your school lives. That is all."

With Souma's congratulatory address finished, the students clapped and

cheered. In the middle of that applause, Souma came down from the stage.

When he did, he glanced towards Tomoe, and gave her a little wave,

warming her heart.

Thank you, Big Brother. I'm going to do my best! Tomoe gripped her

hands into fists in front of her chest so Souma could see.

The entrance ceremony ended, and Tomoe and the other children moved

to their classrooms. There were six classes in each year, and each class had

thirty students. Tomoe and her group were in Class 1-1.

Class assignments were made based on the results of the entrance

examination, irrespective of social class, and the most gifted students were

assembled in Class 1. While social class was not a factor considered in the

assignment, the upper classes often hired talented tutors, which resulted in

Class 1 overwhelmingly being made up of the children of the nobility.

"Isn't this great, Yuriga? We made it into the same class."

"Of course we did... is what I'd like to say, but it was exhausting."

Yuriga, who was sitting next to Tomoe, stretched out over her desk.

They were apparently free to choose their own seats, so Tomoe had taken

one a little to the right of center (closer to the hallway), while Ichiha sat

behind her, and Yuriga was to her left.

Tomoe and Ichiha had always had good grades, so it was seen as a given

that they would make it into Class 1.

"You really did your best, Yuriga."

Yuriga's academic ability would normally have put her in the lower half

of Class 2. Not wanting to be put in a lower class than the others, Yuriga

had begged Hakuya for help, and studied like mad for the entrance exam.

Thanks to that, she made it in to Class 1, but thinking back to those days

spent studying always seemed to depress her.

"But you didn't really need to push yourself to get into the same class as

us, did you?" Ichiha asked. "I mean, Class 2 is right next door. It would

have been easy to come visit, wouldn't it?"

Yuriga snorted. "I am going to learn in this country, and become

someone who can be of use to my brother. Do you think I could let you two

stay ahead of me?"

"You say that, but the truth is you were worried about being in a class

full of people you don't know, right?" said Tomoe. "That's why you studied

so hard, so you wouldn't be separ—aww, aww, aww."

"Be quiet, you little kid!"

Yuriga pinched Tomoe's smiling cheeks. As Ichiha smiled wryly at them

getting along as well as ever, things were getting noisy over by the

blackboard.

"Looks like they've finally settled on one."

"A-Ahahaha..."

"...Honestly, I can't see why they care," Yuriga said in exasperation.

Over at the blackboard, there was a lottery in progress. It was to decide

"Who will sit next to Tomoe?"

Tomoe might have been a former refugee, but she was now the king's

younger sister. It was only natural that the people of this kingdom would

want to get closer to her; by sitting next to her in class, for instance.

That being the case, when they learned that seating was free, their

classmates crowded around, saying, "Please, let me sit next to you!" They

were very pushy about it.

"I-I'd like to sit close to Ichiha and Yuriga... I think..." Tomoe managed

to force those words out despite feeling intimidated.

None of her classmates wanted to earn her scorn, so those two seats

were secured. That left the seat to the front and to the right of her. That is

ultimately what led to the current situation, and judging from the noise over

there, one of those seats had just been decided.

"...The Kingdom sure is peaceful, huh." Yuriga sighed, and Tomoe

smiled happily.

"Of course it is. Big Brother and Big Sister are ruling it."

"That's not what I meant. I was being sarcastic. Sar-cas-tic."

"Murgh..."

"Ahaha... Oh! It looks like they've settled on the other person, too."

When Ichiha pointed to the blackboard, there was one student jumping

for joy in the middle of her dejected peers. It was a petite girl who had

forced her short hair into two pigtails.

The girl looked towards them, then rushed over. With distinctive beady

eyes, she slammed her hands down on Tomoe's desk and asked, "Lady

Tomoe! Would ya mind me sittin' in front of you?"

"S-Sure. Go ahead..." Tomoe answered somewhat hesitantly, and the

girl's face burst into a beaming smile.

"Thanks! The name's Lucy Evans; thirteen years old. I'm the daughter

of the representative of Evans Company, and we do business in the capital.

Pleased to meet ya!" The girl who called herself Lucy introduced herself

energetically with a mix of merchant slang.

Lucy of the... Evans Company? Though she was intimidated by the girl's

vigor, Tomoe remembered them.

The Evans Company was a fairly influential merchant family in the

capital, engaged in the operation of restaurants and cafes. They were the

first to serve dishes incorporating the recipes from Souma's world that

Souma and Poncho had published, and that had brought them great profit.

Her house was one of common birth, but they might have had more

influence than a minor noble. She had heard Roroa saying, "Nyahaha,

there's some companies on the Elfrieden side with an eye for business, too,

huh!" with a cheerful smile on her face.

Huh? Roroa? That's when Tomoe realized something. It was about

Lucy.

The merchant slang, the beady, personable eyes, and the pigtails, even if

her hair wasn't quite long enough... She was exactly like a mini-Roroa.

"You look... like Roroa?"

"Nice one, Lady Tomoe! You noticed!"

Th-This is a lot of pressure... thought Tomoe.

Then, putting her left hand over her chest, and raising her right hand into

the air, Lucy declared, "I'm an adorin' fan of Lady Roroa. She's a lovely

princess, but she's also got a good head for business, and that's won her

every merchant's heart. We always thought of Amidonia as full of uptight

men, so who'd've thunk there'd be a lady like her there. She's a business

goddess! The way I talk, and the way I look, I'm doin' it all out of

admiration for Lady Roroa!"

"O-Oh... I see..."

Though she was intimidated by the way Lucy was touching her hair as

she rambled on, Tomoe managed to nod along. Then, with a sideways

glance, she looked to Ichiha or Yuriga to rescue her.

However, Ichiha put his hands together in a silent, "Sorry, I can't help

you," and Yuriga looked away, resolutely ignoring her.

While Tomoe was agonizing over what to do... it happened.

"Ohh, would ya be so kind as to introduce me to Lady Roroa some—

Gwuh!"

Mid-sentence, someone pulled on Lucy from behind. For a moment

Tomoe wondered what was up, but then she saw the dark elf girl with short

silver hair behind Lucy.

"How about you calm down a little? Can't you see you're bothering

Lady Tomoe?"

"Velza?!"

It was Velza, daughter of Sur. It seemed she had grabbed Lucy by the

scruff of the neck, and was dragging her away from Tomoe.

Then, still holding Lucy by the neck, Velza introduced herself, "Hello,

Lady Tomoe. I will be sitting to the right of you, so I hope we will get

along."

"You were participating in the lottery, too?!"

"Yes. In considering the future, I believed it would be best to be seated

next to you so that we might form a bond. Fortunately, I was able to draw

the seat beside yours, and I am pleased by that."

"I-I see..." Tomoe gulped.

There was a feeling of heaviness behind this talk of the future. Though

she wasn't as pushy as Lucy, Velza had a certain tenacity about her, too.

"Hey, hey, would ya mind lettin' me go now?" Lucy, who had ended up

like a kitten being carried by her mother, protested. When Velza let go,

Lucy angrily said, "What's the matter with you. Treatin' me like an animal.

Did ya hear me meowin' or somethin'?"

"I wouldn't want to have trouble communicating, so please, be human."

"Oh, come to think of it, I might've heard Roroa meowin' as a joke

before," Tomoe commented.

"Meowhat?! Is Lady Roroa a cute goddess?!"

""She's a queen!"" Tomoe and Velza retorted in unison.

"Well, aren't you all oddly in sync."

"I agree. It feels a lot like watching His Majesty Souma banter with his

queens."

When Yuriga and Ichiha said that with exasperation and a wry smile

respectively, the three looked at one another and then laughed.

"I guess you're right, huh? I have a lot of respect for Big Sister and the

other queens."

"Lady Aisha is the pride of all women living in the God-Protected

Forest."

"Lady Roroa for life!"

Each had a different woman she admired and was trying to be a bit more

like, so perhaps that was why their interactions had come to be similar, too.

After a hearty laugh, Tomoe rubbed the corner of her eye and said,

"Ahaha... Hey, since you're both my classmates, can we not do the whole

'Lady' thing? I'd really be happier if you'd just treat me like a friend who

sits next to you in class."

"Okay! If that's what you want, Lady Tomoe... I mean, Tomoe."

"...Yeah, if that's how ya want it, I can do that, Tomie."

The two both gave hesitant nods. From the way she'd already given

Tomoe a pet name, you could see Lucy was similar to Roroa in her ability

to close the emotional distance between herself and other people.

"I, for one, don't mind you calling me Lady Yuriga, you know? I am the

younger sister of a king, after all," Yuriga said, maybe because she felt left

out.

Tomoe sensed what Yuriga was thinking and chuckled.

"Very well, Lady Yuriga," she said, bringing a hand to her chest and

bowing.

Ichiha, Lucy, and Velza did likewise.

"""Very well, Lady Yuriga,""" they said in unison. Yuriga froze solid,

her cheeks twitching.

"...No, don't do that, after all. It's kind of creepy."

"Don't say that, Lady Yuriga."

"Gahhhh! I'm sorry, now stop it, you little kid!"

A red-faced Yuriga was pinching Tomoe's cheeks, and the smiling

Tomoe was at her mercy. The remaining three watched them warmly.

They continued chatting until a woman with pointed glasses entered the

classroom.

"Hey, hey, Tomie."

As the first day of lessons came to an end, and Tomoe was preparing to

go home, Lucy called out to her while kneeling backwards in her chair.

Ichiha, Yuriga, and Velza all came over to see what was up.

Tomoe tilted her head to the side as she asked, "What is it, Lu?"

"I was thinkin', since we're all friends now, maybe we ought to go

somewhere and have fun?"

"Somewhere... You mean in the castle town?"

"That's right. You come to my place, and I'll hook ya up with a whole

lotta sweets."

As Tomoe was considering how she'd respond to the pushy Lucy, Velza

interjected, "Lucy, don't you think that's a bit too much to ask? Tomoe is

His Majesty's little sister, so I doubt she can go play in the castle town so

easily."

"Well, it won't be easy without King Souma's permission. In my case,

I'm allowed to go anywhere in the capital. My big brother's very hands-off,

you see."

"Setting Yuriga aside, there's a carriage coming for us, too. Oh! I need

to report I joined the Monster Research Society. I'll probably be staying late

on meeting days."

"You're all no fun," Lucy said, puffing up her cheeks. "Hangin' out

together after school. Stayin' together durin' the summer break. Ain't that

the joy of school life? His Majesty said we were supposed to enjoy our

school lives, didn't he?"

"That's the same king we're telling you she needs permission from,"

Yuriga sighed, but Tomoe tried to mollify her.

"Now, now. Lu, I really can't go off without Big Brother's permission. I

made everyone worry the last time I snuck off on my own..."

Tomoe must have been talking about the time they were in the Chima

Duchy. When she slipped out of the room she had been told to stay in out of

curiosity, some nasty men had picked on her and almost sparked an

international incident.

Nothing happened because Ichiha, who she met that time, protected her,

and Souma and the others found them in time, but she didn't want a repeat

of what happened there.

At Tomoe's words, Lucy came to her senses and sat down normally in

her chair.

"O-Oh, yeah," she laughed, rubbing her head with her hand. "I was so

gung-ho on gettin' to know ya, I got ahead of myself. I wasn't thinkin'

about your position at all. Sorry."

"Nah. I want to go out and play with everyone just as much as you do.

That's why I'll talk to Big Brother and the others about it. They're all really

nice, so if I bring it up with them, I'm sure they'll work things out for us."

Lucy smiled as Tomoe gripped both her hands. "No need to push it too

hard, ya hear? This's just a selfish request of mine."

"Sure. I'll do what I can to get that selfish request granted."

Tomoe felt highly motivated.

◇ ◇ ◇

That night. Tomoe visited Liscia's room alone.

When she went to the governmental affairs office to see Souma, there

was only Hakuya inside. He informed her that Souma had been relieved of

his work for the day, and he had gone to Liscia's room to be with Cian and

Kazuha. If she wanted to see him, she should go there.

When she knocked, she heard Liscia say, "Come in," and upon entering,

she found Souma and Liscia sitting on a king-sized bed holding the babies.

On Souma's lap was Kazuha in light blue baby clothes, and on Liscia's

lap was Cian in red baby clothes. They were only four months old and

couldn't sit on their own yet, so without support, they would fall on their

backs.

The full-body baby outfits they wore were hand-made by Souma, and

were modeled on bizarre creatures called Machapin and Zukku from his old

world. The faces of the characters on the hoods looked kind of silly, but the

two babies wearing them were super adorable.

They were in the middle of playing with stuffed animals and dolls. Cian

was holding the hand of a doll like he was shaking hands with it, and

Kazuha was hugging a stuffed bear as she nibbled on its ear. Th-This was a

carnivore woman (in infant form)...

"Is something up, Tomoe?"

"You came here for a reason, right?"

Tomoe came back to her senses upon hearing Souma and Liscia call out

to her.

"Oh! Um... I had something to talk to you about..."

""Something to talk to us about?""

From there, Tomoe told them about what had happened at school. That

she had made friends with the dark elf Velza and the merchant girl Lucy.

That she had been invited to play after school by Lucy. And that she had

wanted to go and play with everyone.

When she had gone through all of that, "Hmm..." Souma groaned in

thought, stroking his jaw. "Well... What do you think, Liscia?"

"What do I think? I'm worried, of course."

"Yeah... We've told Naden she's free to do what she likes in the capital

on her days off, but that's only because of how powerful she is."

"I can't see Tomoe being able to protect herself..."

The two frowned. Tomoe thought she might not get permission. While

she tensely waited for them to come to a conclusion, "But..." Souma said,

"How was it when you were at the Officers' Academy, Liscia? Did you just

go back and forth from the castle to the school?"

"I slipped out all the time, of course. Ditching my bodyguards."

"Haha! I figured."

"...I feel bad about it now, okay? Now that I have children of my own, I

know how my mother and all the rest must have felt."

"Whoa, the tomboy princess is sounding all mature now," Souma said,

giving Liscia a little poke.

"Oh, stop teasing me."

There was a warm air around the newlywed new parents. Tomoe had

been bracing herself for a more harsh opinion, so she almost felt a little

deflated by it.

"Well, the best part of being a kid is the time you'll spend with friends,

after all." Souma shuffled to the side a little, creating a space between him

and Liscia, and beckoned for Tomoe to come over.

Tomoe sat herself snugly between them, with Souma and Kazuha on one

side, and Liscia and Cian on the other. Now sandwiched by the royals,

Souma and Liscia both patted Tomoe on the head.

"Though it was for your protection, we did force you to become a

member of the royal family. That's why I don't want to make you feel too

constrained by being royalty."

"I always hated it when things were too rigid and formal, so I don't want

to force that on you, either, Tomoe."

"Big Brother, Big Sister..." Tomoe squinted, feeling a little tingle in her

eyes, and...

"Dahh."

"Ahh."

Imitating Souma and Liscia, Cian and Kazuha started touching Tomoe's

head, too. Though there was no blood relation between them, there was a

familial scene unfolding here.

"Okay. I'm going to permit you to go out with friends," Souma said,

patting Tomoe's head with a grin.

"Really?! Big Brother!"

"I really do think spending time with your friends is important... There's

two conditions, though."

"Conditions...?"

"Yeah. First, I'll be sending a unit from the Black Cats to protect you, so

you'll have to accept that. I'll tell them to watch from the shadows while

you're in the capital so they don't inconvenience you. But if you decide you

want to go outside the capital with your friends, they'll be protecting you

openly, not in the shadows. Well, think of them as bodyguards. I'm sure

Inugami can handle it."

"Yeah... That seems like a reasonable call. It'll be reassuring for us to

know someone is by her side, too," Liscia said with satisfaction as she made

Cian clap his hands.

Tomoe nodded in agreement. "I understand. So, what is the other

condition?"

"That you don't try to ditch your guards. The more active you become,

the more you resemble your 'Big Sister,' so I'm a bit worried about that."

Souma shot a cold glance in Liscia's direction, which she blatantly

looked away from. That exchange between the two of them made Tomoe

chuckle.

"I understand. I'll absolutely abide by those conditions."

"Okay. Well, I can tell from the way you came to talk about it with us

that you're understanding, Tomoe. Those conditions are merely added

insurance. I want you to enjoy your time with your friends without

worrying too much about it."

"Hold on, Souma. You say that like I'm not understanding?"

"It's a fact, isn't it? Once you set your mind on something, you don't

budge, now do you?"

"...What'd you say to me?" Liscia glared at Souma.

"...What'd you say to me?" Souma glared back.

Invisible sparks flew over Tomoe's head. Because Souma and Liscia

were so close, they occasionally had these little fights. Still, they always

passed quickly, and the two would make up in no time. No one wanted to

get in the middle of a marital spat, and that included Tomoe.

As she was fretting over what to do...

""Fwah...! #$%&ahh!"" Cian and Kazuha started wailing. Souma and

Liscia hurried to soothe them.

"Ohh! Look, Kazuha. It's Mr. Bear."

"Don't cry, Cian. There, there."

Their desperate attempts to soothe the babies managed to get them down

to just sniffling. Tomoe stood up, put her hands on her hips, and told them,

"Geez, the scary looks on your faces made Cian and Kazuha cry! Big

Brother, Big Sister! Try to get along, for the children's sake!"

""Right. I'm sorry.""

The royal couple bowed their heads to a twelve-year-old girl. What

would the people have thought?

Once they had apologized to one another, "Oh!" Souma seemed to

remember something and pulled an item out of his pocket. He then offered

the thin object to Tomoe. It appeared to be some sort of wooden token.

The words written on it were...

"Rent-a-Cycle? ...What is this?"

"If you're going to the castle town, you'll need to get around, won't

you? You can ask the merchant girl you met how to use it. She probably

knows."

"Okay. Thank you," Tomoe said, sticking the wooden token under her

arm.

For now, she had permission to go play in the castle town.

Tomoe couldn't wait to tell everyone.

◇ ◇ ◇

The next day. When everyone had gathered at the school, Tomoe's

friends were glad to hear she had been given permission, conditional though

it was, to visit the castle town.

Then, when Tomoe pulled out the wooden token...

"A Rent-a-Cycle token?!" Lucy raised her voice in surprise.

"You know what it is, Lu?"

"Do I know? The whole capital's talkin' about it!"

"They are?"

That's when Lucy banged her hands down on the desk, and leaned in

closer.

"It's easier to show you than explain it... No, it's even faster to have you

experience it yourself! You've got the token, so how about we all go after

school?"

"S-Sure..."

It seemed what they'd be doing after school was already decided.

After school that day.

"So, we've come to Rent-a-Cycle! Please clap!"

"""Yaaaay!"""

"...Why are you all so high-strung?" Yuriga said, exasperated by the way

Lucy looked like she was ready to play a fanfare, and how Tomoe, Ichiha,

and Velza were so willing to go along with her.

After school, the five kids had set out with the wooden token Souma had

given Tomoe in hand, and stood in front of a business whose sign simply

said "Rent-a-Cycle." Naturally, the Black Cats were watching them from

the shadows, but anyone else watching would only have seen five children

getting along.

"This is... Rent-a-Cycle," Tomoe mumbled as she looked at the shop.

The business was not on the shopping street, but on a main road.

Looking at it from the outside, it was plain to see what kind of place it

was... There were several of the same thing lined up out front.

Lucy pointed to one of them with a grin. "That's right. Rent-a-Cycle

rents out these here tricycles."

"Tricycles... Ah, they do have three wheels, yes," Velza said as she

stared at one of the tricycles.

As per the name, Rent-a-Cycle was a business that rented out cycles,

these three-wheeled tricycles in particular. Naturally, these weren't the kind

a child might ride, with the pedals attached directly to the wheels. These

had a proper chain, and the two wheels in the rear turned as it went around.

"Wheels, a seat... and a basket in back. It looks like this is a vehicle,

huh. Could it be that spinning the things down here makes the wheels go

around?"

"Ohh, ya got it!" Lucy clapped, impressed that Ichiha had managed to

discern the function of the thing from its form. "If ya sit in the seat and

pedal, I hear it'll go forward. You put stuff in the basket, and it makes

carryin' it easy, even if ya don't have a horse. His Majesty Souma's the one

who invented it, y'know?"

"...Yeah. I sort of guessed," Tomoe said with a slightly troubled smile.

Off-the-wall ideas like this generally came from either Souma or Genia.

If it were Genia, it'd be even more crazy, so she assumed that, because this

still showed some semblance of common sense, it must have been Souma's

idea. Tomoe had come to understand how her big brother was over the past

two years.

I can just imagine the look on Big Sister's face when he came up with

this. As Tomoe thought that, she looked to the castle where the two of them

were.

◇ ◇ ◇

Meanwhile.

"Go, go, Darlin'!"

"Right, right..."

In the courtyard of the castle Tomoe was looking at, Souma was

pedaling a cycle with Roroa sitting behind him. Instead of a tricycle, like

they used at the Rent-a-Cycle, they were riding a more standard mountain

bike.

"I'm seein' everythin' from a higher vantage point, and the speed is

refreshin'," Roroa said, having fun behind him.

She was standing on bars that came out of either side of the rear wheel,

and had her hands on Souma's shoulders for balance. If a police officer saw

them, they'd have received a warning for this behavior, but there were no

such laws governing bicycles in this world yet, so give them a break.

"Mweheheh, Darlin'."

Roroa took her hands off his shoulders, wrapped them around his neck,

and pushed herself up against his back. The impact made the bike wobble a

bit, but Souma managed to keep his balance.

"Hey, that's dangerous."

"I was just thinkin'. I can play all the tricks I want on ya right now."

"If I go down, you're going down, too. Behave."

"Don't be like that. The truth is, you're enjoyin' this, aren't ya, Darlin'?

The way you can feel my breasts on your back." Roroa snickered, but her

cheeks were just a bit red. Even she must have found that line a bit

embarrassing.

Souma couldn't see her face because he was driving, but having lived

with her so long, he could pick up on it from the way she was laughing.

That's why Souma started feeling a bit mischievous himself.

"They are touching me, yeah. Just a little, though."

"Unyah?!" That direct response made Roroa's face turn bright red. "WhWhat're you sayin', Darlin'! You idiot! You pervert!"

"This coming from the person who touched me..."

"I'm not pressin' them against you, I wanted to get you flustered."

"That's a novel comeback."

It wasn't that old, "I'm making them touch you," line.

When they finished one lap of the larger-than-you-might-expect

courtyard flirting like that, Liscia was waiting at the central terrace with a

look of exasperation on her face.

"Souma's gone and made something weird again..."

"It's a fascinating vehicle, though..."

Beside Liscia was Souma's personal trainer and sounding board, the old

commander Owen.

"Hmm, I think riding with someone will help increase muscle mass in

the thigh area. How does ten laps with me riding in the back sound as part

of your daily training menu?"

"Riding double with you, Owen?! Give me a break..." Souma groaned.

Riding double with an old macho man was nothing but a punishment.

"Whew, that was fun, Darlin'," Roroa said cheerily as she hopped off

the bike.

Liscia looked at the bike Souma was riding and said, "Still, it's strange.

How does it stay upright when there's only one wheel in front and back?"

"It'll be a long explanation, okay? First, let's start with the gyroscopic

effect..."

"Ahh, if it's going to take that long, I don't need it. I doubt I'd

understand anyway."

When Liscia smiled wryly, scratching her cheek, Souma let out a sigh.

"...Well, just assume anyone can ride one with practice. In fact, using the

technique my grandfather taught me, every member of the Hiryuu's crew

learned to ride a bike. Do you want to try it later, Liscia?"

"Hmm. What's the technique?"

"First, you use really shallow, short strokes to..."

Souma taught Liscia and the others his grandfather's technique for

riding a bike.

In fact, Roroa learned to ride the bike using this technique (Liscia

declined), but because there was no guarantee of safety, they decided to put

off doing it in public for now.

When she had heard the full explanation, Liscia cocked her head to the

side as she touched the bicycle. "So, why did you make this thing?"

"I received a report that there was a lot of trouble moving around our

carrier, the Hiryuu. Given that we already carry wyverns, there really

wasn't space left for mounts like horses, too. That's why I thought bicycles

would be a faster, easier way to get around than walking."

Now that they had access to a rubber-like material, we were able to

make tires. Souma remembered how bicycles were put together, and if he

gave Genia and the other researchers a rough outline, he figured they could

have a bicycle developed in no time. But it wasn't that easy.

"I never expected making the chain and gears to be so difficult..."

Not once did it cross his mind while riding a bike in his former world,

but it was an incredible feat of engineering to make the chain and gears

mesh perfectly. The technology was already established, and there was no

room for improving it, so not even a genius idea from Genia was going to

solve things. In the end, hard work was the only option available to them.

"I asked Kuu to get Taru to help us, and we somehow managed to get to

a finished product, but it ended up being incredibly expensive. I had to give

up on spreading the technology far and wide."

"Th-This thing was that expensive?" Liscia asked in shock.

"Nyahaha, almost as much as one of the royal family's ornamental

carriages," Roroa told Liscia with a wry smile, making her eyes go wide.

"You... can't mass produce them then, huh."

"Right? I wanted them to be available to the common folk who can't

afford horses one day, but this is out of their reach. Still, I can't see the

nobles and knights buying them, either. The nobles would never think to

pedal a vehicle on their own, and the knights generally have horses of their

own. Basically, there's no demand for it."

The only place to ride a bike in this world was inside the cities, where

the roads were paved. There were roads outside the city too, of course, but

in a world full of dangerous monsters, it would be unsafe to keep your

hands occupied riding a bike.

Souma had said himself that no matter how excellent a policy or system

might be, if it was out of step with the times, it wouldn't be accepted. That

applied to inventions, too. It might have been too soon for this country to

have bicycles.

"Huh? But there's a Rent-a-Cycle business in town, right? Doesn't that

place deal in cycles?"

"Hm? Ohh. I talked with Roroa about how we could use the bicycle,

and..."

"I said, if they can't buy one, why not lend them out?" Roroa said,

looking slightly smug.

This was Roroa's proposal:

Because cycles were expensive, they were unsuited to individual

ownership, but they were attractive as a means of transportation that didn't

require mounted beasts. Even if the range of movement was limited to

within the city, there were merchants who had used carts for transporting

their loads all this time. By renting them out to such people at low prices,

the development costs could be recouped, and at the same time, it would

ease the flow of goods.

"We decided on mainly usin' tricycles, which the merchants can ride

without trainin', and to rent them for cheaper than it'd take to keep a horse

fed."

"Yeah. With a one-per-store limit. If they intend to use them for other

purposes, the cost goes up, by the way. Because I mainly want them to be

for commercial use... But still, between making numbered plates for them

as a preventative measure against theft, and having the guards watch closely

to ensure they weren't taken out of the city, there was a lot of annoying

work that had to be done."

Souma slumped his shoulders, having been unable to get a return that

was worth the upfront costs in labor. There was no guarantee that every idea

he had would end up working out, and things often played out in ways he

didn't expect.

Roroa gave Souma a slap on the back and said, "We're just gettin'

started. I hear Rent-a-Cycle's doin' pretty good business. Apparently it's a

real hit with the guys in the shippin' business. They don't get much speed

when they're loaded up with luggage, but they can go through the back

alleys. The old ladies who run restaurants were sayin' it's made stockin' up

on ingredients from the market way easier, too."

"...Yeah, I guess it's good that we're getting even a little use out of

them."

If they're not completely useless, the effort wasn't entirely in vain,

thought Souma. Like Roroa said, things were just getting started.

"Why not try spending the income from Rent-a-Cycle on cycle

production? We may have a real 'cyclical industry' on our hands here...

Heh." Souma intended it as a joke to lighten the mood, but...

Roroa followed up, "Well, duh, they're dealing in cycles."

"What are you stating the obvious for?" Liscia groaned.

These times when the joke doesn't work in their language can be real

tough...

Souma slumped his shoulders again.

◇ ◇ ◇

As for what was happening with the five children who had come to

Rent-a-Cycle down in castle town...

"Whoa, the wind feels great," Tomoe said as the background scenery

streamed past her faster than usual. She was currently on the back of a

tricycle being pedaled by Ichiha, sitting on the luggage rack with the basket

removed.

Thanks to the token she had received from Souma, it allowed them to

borrow this tricycle for a single day. Primarily, Rent-a-Cycle lent to

commercial users for a limited time, so to borrow it for personal use would

typically cost a fair bit of money.

"Heehee, keep going, Ichiha." Tomoe cheered Ichiha on as he pedaled.

"Y-Yes."

There was a limit of two cycles that could be loaned out for personal

use, so they ended up splitting riders for today. One was being ridden by

Tomoe and Ichiha (the driver), and the other by Yuriga (the driver), with

Lucy and Velza struggling to fit on it together. As such, Yuriga's pedals felt

heavy.

"Th-This... isn't much fun."

"Ya think? I'm havin' a blast."

"Yes. It's refreshing to see the scenery stream past us."

"Well, yeah, you two are just riding! It's about time one of you took my

place!"

"Aw, don't be silly. A frail little thing like me'd never be able to manage

with two people ridin' in back."

"I can take over in a little while."

"I can fly, so why do I need to ride this thing anyway?!"

The three of them, despite their arguing, seemed to be having a good

time.

Meanwhile, as for Tomoe and Ichiha...

"Take that!"

"H-Hey! Tomoe! Don't poke the driver in the cheek."

"Ahaha, sorry, sorry."

...They were writing another page in the story of their youth.

Some ten minutes later...

"Whew... I'm beat..."

Yuriga was sitting with her head down at a table on the balcony,

exhausted from pedaling a cycle with Lucy and Velza on it all the way here.

As she lay there, Lucy brought a spoon to Yuriga's mouth with a smile.

"Here, Yurie. Say ahh."

"Ahh?"

Unable to think straight, possibly due to exhaustion, Yuriga just opened

her mouth, and Lucy put a spoonful of something inside. To her surprise,

Yuriga remarked, "...It's sweet."

"Isn't it, though? I hear when you're exhausted, eatin' somethin'

sweet'll do you good."

"You're saying that when you're the one who tired me out?"

"Here, say ahh."

"...Ahh."

It must have tasted really good. Yuriga did as she was told, opening her

mouth wide like a baby chick, and let Lucy feed her.

Tomoe, Ichiha, and Velza watched the two of them with wry smiles.

The five had come to the fruit parlor run by Lucy's parents, The Cat's

Tree. It was a trendy main street shop with, as the name suggested, a cat on

the sign. It was two floors, with a quarter of the floor space taken up by

fresh fruit they were selling, and the remaining space being a cafe which

served sweets made using that fruit.

Tomoe and the others were The Cat's Tree's main street balcony, trying

out the sweets Lucy was so proud of. There were two plates of them laid

out on the table.

Tomoe took a spoonful of the treat in front of her, put it in her mouth,

and smiled.

"This pudding is really delicious."

"Glad to hear it. That's our best sellin' item, the 'Special Pudding a la

Mode.' We pride ourselves on the fact that the pudding, fruit, and cream are

all delivered fresh through our own routes."

Lucy puffed her chest out with pride when her product was

complimented. It was that sort of gesture that made her look like Roroa.

Then Ichiha, who was also enjoying the pudding, tilted his head to the side.

"What's 'a la mode' mean?"

"Dunno."

"Huh?"

"Couldn't tell ya why, but that's what they call puddin' in Souma's

world when it's bein' served with fruit and whipped cream like this. Feels

kinda fancy, doesn't it?"

"I-I guess..."

Ichiha worried whether it might be a strange word, but even if it was, no

one from this world would know it, so he decided it was still fine. "A la

mode" means something like "modern style," so there was no issue, but

Ichiha couldn't have known that.

Lucy also seemed to like it, so it would probably have been rude to say

anything, too. While Ichiha was thinking about that, Lucy continued to pile

the pudding into Yuriga's mouth.

"Here. Say ahh."

"Ahh... Wait, how long are we going to do this?! That's enough! Don't

make me eat any more!" Yuriga said, moving her head away.

"Aww, I was havin' such fun, I couldn't help myself."

"Well, help yourself! And hold on, Velza, what have you been so quiet

about all this time?!"

Now that she mentioned it, Velza hadn't said a word. Wondering what

was up, the four turned to Velza.

"Whew..."

She was frozen stiff. A spoon in her mouth, and a look of ecstasy on her

face. Her eyes were gazing up and to the right, unmoving, as though her

mind had gone elsewhere.

"H-Hold on, Velza, are you okay?!" Tomoe said as she shook Velza.

"Ah!" She blinked as though she had just come back to her senses. "II'm sorry. It was so delicious, I lost myself."

"Th-That badly? I know it's good, but..."

"Apologies. In the God-Protected Forest, the only sweet food that we

have is fruit, so..."

"Oh..."

Aisha did say that, remembered Tomoe. She also remembered Souma

watching Aisha with a wry smile and saying, "Half of Aisha's loyalty might

have come from me taming her with food."

Velza held her cheeks in embarrassment. "Ohh... Ever since I left the

God-Protected Forest, the food has been so good I don't know what to do."

"Uh, yeah, I sort of get that from having watched Aisha."

"But, even with that in mind, I think this pudding is delicious... I would

very much like to share this with them. And I'd like to come back here with

everyone again..."

"Huh? Who's 'them'?"

"Oh, just talking to myself there." Velza smiled and brought an index

finger to her lips. It was a soft, mature smile; an expression that implied she

would not divulge on this topic any further.

"Huh? Is this a kuku berry?"

"Huh?! Whoa! It is!"

When Ichiha scooped up a round, translucent fruit that was next to the

pudding, Yuriga looked surprised, too.

"Kuku berry?" Tomoe asked, tilting her head.

"It's a little round berry that comes from the Union of Eastern Nations,

and it has a distinctive gummy texture," Ichiha replied as he held up the

spoon.

"Nom... Munch... You're right, it does have an unusual texture," Tomoe

commented, having snapped up the kuku berry that Ichiha offered her.

This was a scene where there were indirect kisses and lines like, "Say

ahh," going around, but Tomoe and Ichiha were both still children, so they

didn't care.

In fact, in order to return the favor, Tomoe took a different fruit and fed

it to Ichiha. Once he had swallowed, Ichiha continued his explanation,

"Munch... But kuku berries don't last long. They may not spoil

immediately, but I never expected to be able to eat them outside the Union

of Eastern Nations."

"Heheheh. You'd better not go underestimatin' the Kingdom's ability to

ship things. There's rhinosaurus trains runnin' to and from the border

almost every day. That's why we can put these short-lived fruits on our

menu."

"Why are you acting so smug about that...?" Yuriga said, sounding

exasperated at the way Lucy was puffing up her still flat chest.

Lucy stood up, and got so close to Tomoe their cheeks might have been

touching. "What're you sayin', Yurie? The one responsible for gettin' that

rhinosaurus train set up is our very own Tomie here."

"Hm? It is?"

"I-I only helped out a little."

Tomoe told Yuriga about how she could speak to animals, and how she

had used that ability to arrange an area suitable for rhinosaurus mating,

securing their help as a means of mass transportation. Naturally, she kept

quiet about the top-secret information that she could speak to monsters and

demons, too.

"I was iffy on it at first, but as I was listening, it started to sound

incredibly useful," Yuriga grunted approvingly. "If you have that ability,

why not join the dairy farming club, or something like that? If I recall, there

was a farm with horses and cows on the outskirts of the school, you'd be

instantly useful to them..."

"Absolutely not!"

"Whoa!" Tomoe's firm refusal made Yuriga bend back in surprise. "I-I

didn't expect you to be so against it."

"...Okay, Yuriga, try imagining it."

Tomoe rounded on Yuriga with a face so serious you could hear the

dramatic sound effects. Her threatening attitude made Yuriga sweat as she

asked, "Imagine... what, exactly?"

"The voices of livestock that will be made into meat. Of chickens having

their eggs taken away."

"...I'm sorry," Yuriga meekly apologized. It was tough just imagining it.

Tomoe adjusted herself in her chair, then, "Whew..." she let out a sigh.

"Obviously, I plan to do whatever I can with my ability if it helps Big

Brother and Big Sister, you know? I think I can help with creating an

environment that won't stress the animals... But I don't want to get

seriously involved in farming livestock. I don't think I'd be able to eat the

oyakodon that Big Brother makes anymore if I did."

"No, seriously... I'm sorry."

There was an awkward air in the room. The once sweet pudding had lost

all its flavor.

In an attempt to change the atmosphere, Lucy clapped her hands and

said, "Now, now, let's get back on topic. So, like I was sayin', we're able to

offer unusual fruits thanks to a distribution network that includes the

rhinosaurus train. It's just that, well, products that are subject to shipping

fees end up being more expensive. The only ones who'll be orderin' this

puddin' a la mode regularly are the family of nobles, knights, or influential

merchants."

"Ah... So it is expensive." Velza looked wistfully at the already halfeaten pudding. Lucy smiled and crossed her arms.

"That's right. For my part, I wanna make it cheaper so your average girl

can come eat, too. If we had reasonably-priced sweets, that'll make puddin'

a la mode feel more special. If we can manage that, maybe the gals out

there'll buy it as a luxury on special days."

"Wow... That's amazing, Lu. You've got all of this thought out."

"Nyah, nyahaha. You're makin' me blush."

Tomoe's compliments made Lucy a little bashful.

Looking at the way she thought about the common folk at the same time

as she thought about business, it was little surprise she idolized Roroa.

"So, it was just as I was thinkin' about that. The God of Food, Lord

Ishizuka, released a new recipe. Hold on just a sec."

Lucy rose from her seat, and rushed down the stairs to the first floor. Not

long after, she returned carrying a single plate. This plate also had pudding

on it, but... this pudding was different somehow. It was glossy, shining, and

wobbly.

Lucy laid the dish on the table, and, smiling, she said, "Ta-dah! This is

our store's future hero product! It's called gel pudding!"

""""Gel pudding?""""

The other four cocked their heads to the side in unison.

Lucy confidently laughed and said, "It's faster just havin' you eat some.

Go on, try it."

The four dug into the pudding with their spoons as directed, and each

took a bite. Instantly, their eyes widened.

"How is this so delicious?!"

"It's wobbly, but smooth on the tongue. It goes down like a drink."

Yuriga responded instinctively, and Ichiha analytically.

Though they expressed it in different words, each was extremely pleased

with the taste. Tomoe, meanwhile, was smiling despite herself, and Velza

even had tears in the corners of her eyes.

"To think there could be something so delicious... I'm so glad I left the

God-Protected Forest."

"Velza, do you need a hankie?"

"Th-Thank you, Tomoe." Velza took Tomoe's handkerchief and wiped

her tears.

Lucy was nodding ecstatically at their response. "Reactions are lookin'

good. Looks like we've got a big hit on our hands."

"It's like pudding, but not, right? What's different?"

"That there's a good question, Tomie. To make it simple, custard

puddin' is made by boilin' it, while this gel puddin' is made by chillin' it.

The base ingredients're similar, but custard puddin' uses the way that eggs

harden when heated, while gel puddin' uses the power of an ingredient that

isn't in custard puddin' which hardens when chilled."

"An ingredient that hardens when chilled?"

"Like this." Lucy put a jar filled with a white and slightly greenishyellow powder on top of the table. Everyone peered at the contents of the

container.

"What's this?"

"Dried, powdered gelin."

"Gelin?!"

"Huh?! I just ate gelin?!"

Ichiha and Yuriga both cried out in surprise.

Gelins were invertebrates that lived in the fields, and primarily lived by

absorbing the remains of animals. The Union of Eastern Nations had no

such culture of consuming gelin, so seeing it came as a shock to them.

"The same gelins from gelin udon?" Tomoe asked.

"We had that sent to us in the God-Protected Forest, too, after the

disaster," said Velza. "It was called instant gelin udon, and they told us it

was developed for military rations, but it was delicious."

The children's reactions were divided into two clear camps. Lucy smiled

with amusement as she explained, "For gelin udon, you destroy the core

and use the hardened remains, right? Well, this is the opposite. We cut or

bludgeon them without destroying the core, and then use the liquid that

produces. It turns out, chillin' liquefied gelin makes it get hard. You know

how, when ya boil meat, the juice that comes out can turn into a jiggly lump

when you leave it? It's like that."

Even after being appointed a minister, Poncho had continued his

research on dishes from Souma's world. He tried, through trial and error, to

recreate the sort of gelatin-based pudding he had been told about (the kind

where you pull the tab, and it wobbles out of the package), and in that

process, he arrived at using gelins. The liquefied gelins were a source of

collagen, and he discovered they could be used in place of gelatin to

produce an exceptionally smooth result.

Naturally, because gel pudding used raw eggs, it required fresh eggs to

make. The Kingdom had put food hygiene laws into effect after taking over

Van, the capital of the Principality, so using old eggs was illegal. However,

in a situation where fresh eggs could be prepared, gel pudding was less

expensive to produce than custard pudding. That was because powdered

gelin was cheap, and it meant less eggs and milk were required.

There was also the ease of mixing together the ingredients, then leaving

them in an ice room in the basement to set.

The ice could be made by packing in the snow that fell in the winter

season, or replenished by hiring a user of ice magic, so most businesses that

handled even slightly larger ingredients had an ice room in their basement.

Incidentally, last summer in the castle...

"Liscia, I want to cook. Can you make me some ice?"

"Again? Don't treat me like an ice merchant."

"I was planning to make ice cream for dessert, you know..."

"...Well, okay then." (<- Cheerily producing ice.)

This was a conversation that took place between people at the highest

level of power. It reflected how ice was rather important to the people. But

we've digressed. Let's get back on track.

This was how a low-cost, delicious gel pudding came to be.

"The God of Food, Lord Ishizuka, sure is incredible. Praise be to him."

Lucy brought her hands together as if praying to a deity.

But for Tomoe, who knew the man personally... I'm sure Poncho would

be so troubled to see her praying to him like that...

She could just imagine Poncho laughing (because what could he do but

laugh?) with a troubled look on his face.

"Tricycles, rhinosaurus trains, and gel pudding..." Yuriga whispered to

herself as she stared at the streets of Parnam from the balcony.

"Yuriga?" Tomoe tilted her head to the side, causing Yuriga to look back

to her.

"It's a weird country, huh... This country of yours."

"Murgh, there you go, saying that again..."

"I don't mean it sarcastically."

Yuriga grabbed Tomoe's puffed-up cheeks. She didn't put any force into

it. It was more like she was just lightly rubbing them. She didn't pull like

usual.

As Tomoe was thinking this was odd, Yuriga smiled wryly and said, "I

don't really understand what it is your brother is trying to do with his

policies. If he were like my brother: stronger than everyone, leading the

warriors with his charisma, defeating enemies, and protecting his people...

that would be easier to respect. But King Souma is making tricycles and

bizarre food?"

"Th-That's not all he does. He's always busy attending to his duties."

"But the people can't see that, right? They only see the result. The sight

of my brother fighting inspires the troops, and the way they sing his praises

wins him the support of the people. That united the clans on the once

fractured steppe, and is about to unify the Union of Eastern Nations, too.

Do you think your people will feel the same way when they see a tricycle?"

"......"

When she put it that way, Tomoe had no response. It was a fact that

Souma wasn't doing things in a way that stood out.

His dealings with other nations, the place where Souma was most regal,

were hidden from the people. He had their gratitude for the Jewel Voice

Broadcast programs, but it was hard to see them associating that with how

he was doing as a king. Souma had their support, but he was not showing

them much that was kingly.

"...That's what I don't get."

"Huh?"

When Tomoe tilted her head to the side, Yuriga crossed her arms and

groaned, "My brother is king because he's been recognized as more regal

than anyone else. But King Souma never acts like a king, and yet he is able

to continue being one. Even though he's making nonsensical contraptions

like this."

"...Aren't you ragging on the tricycle a little much?"

Had being forced to pedal with three people riding on it left her with a

negative impression?

While Tomoe was thinking about that, Yuriga let out a sigh and said, "It

all looks pointless to me. But from what I hear, it's helping, isn't it? I can

tell that from looking at the city. Everyone's smiling, full of energy. They

don't think tomorrow will be worse than today. The people aren't

fanatically obsessed with their king, but they do trust in him. That's why I

said it's a weird country."

"Yuriga..."

Though Yuriga called it a weird country, Tomoe felt like it was a

compliment.

This country has a set of values not present in Malmkhitan, and it felt

like Yuriga was recognizing that. Tomoe grinned at the thought of it.

"What're you smiling for, you little kid?" Yuriga grumbled as she

pinched her cheeks (for real this time).

"Ow, ow, ow."

As they were jostling about, it happened.

"Huh, Tomoe? What're you doing here?"

"""""Whoa!"""""

There was a sudden voice from the direction of the window, and all five

of them shuddered. The first to realize who it came from was Tomoe.

"Wait, huh? Naden?"

Sitting on the balcony railing was King Souma's second secondary

queen, Naden Delal Souma. For some reason, she was carrying a basket full

of vegetables on her back.

The sudden appearance of the second secondary queen made Velza and

Lucy, as citizens of the kingdom, stand and salute. Being so startled by the

queen they couldn't speak was seen as rude to them.

""Excuse us, Lady Naden!""

"I don't really mind. You don't need to salute, either." Naden waved her

hand and gestured for them to sit down. "I noticed you while I was running,

so I decided to call out."

"Um, Lady Naden, this is the second floor, you know... Did you climb

up here?"

"I was running along the roofs, so I climbed down, actually."

"D-Did ya now?" Lucy said, blinking. The way she started out talking

more formally but was slipping back into merchant slang showed her

confusion.

"Is this a tea party on your way home from school? It looks like you're

having fun."

"Y-Yes. Something like that," Tomoe replied. "What about you, Naden?

Are those vegetables..."

"Ohh, when Souma's cooped up in his office, or when there's no

weather forecast, I have nothing to do. So I've been told I can do whatever I

like inside the capital. When I'm talking to the ladies in town... I get asked

to do all sorts of things. I'm delivering vegetables right now."

"We have a queen acting as the town's errand girl?! Does Big Brother

know?!"

"I've got his permission. Souma sort of laughed about it, but told me,

'It'll probably help earn you support among the people, so I think it's fine.'

Besides, he's always super happy when he sees the fresh fruits and

vegetables they give me as 'thanks.'"

"They even pay you in product?! Is this why I see Big Brother gleefully

standing in the kitchen more often lately?!"

Naden and Tomoe were having a conversation no one would have

expected between a queen and the (adopted) royal sister.

As Yuriga stood beside them, watching, she whispered, "Yeah... This

country is weird."

◇ ◇ ◇

That night, Yuriga, who had returned to Parnam Castle with Tomoe, was

visiting the kitchen that was near the Souma family's section of the castle.

This was a simple kitchen, prepared for Souma, who said he still wanted

to cook for himself. The question of how long the king should continue

borrowing the kitchen that was attached to the cafeteria had apparently

become an issue. To sum it up, he had been quarantined.

Now with it decided they would be building him his own personal

kitchen, Souma had Genia and the others develop cooking equipment for

him. Thanks to that, though it was a narrow space, the room had quite

similar functionality to kitchens back in the world he had come from. He

obviously couldn't get a microwave, but he did manage to make a pseudohotplate using an ore that absorbed heat.

The door to the kitchen had been removed in the interest of making it

easy to bring serving trays in and out, as well as due to ventilation concerns,

so when Yuriga simply said, "Excuse me," and entered without knocking...

"Aisha. Say ahh."

"Ahh. Hamph... Munch, munch."

"Souma. Me, too. Me, too."

In front of a bubbling pot, Souma was feeding Aisha with chopsticks.

They were probably taste-testing the food, or something.

Having been fed, Aisha's face broke into a contented smile.

Naden, who was standing behind Souma, may have been jealous,

because she was pulling on the hem of his shirt and making her presence

known.

"Here. You, too, Naden."

"Ahh... Chomp. Munch, munch."

"...Um, what are you doing?" Yuriga said, exasperated by the syrupysweet scene she had witnessed the moment she stepped into the room.

""Guh...! Cough, cough."" Perhaps startled by the sudden voice, Aisha

and Naden choked in unison. When he realized Yuriga had seen him

making his wives say, "Ahh," Souma got a little embarrassed, and he

scratched his cheek as he asked, "What's up? Why are you here?"

"I was looking for you, Sir Souma. I went to the government affairs

office, but Mr. Hakuya was the only one there. I asked him, and he said,

'His Majesty has finished work for the day. I believe he is in the kitchen. He

looked giddy, carrying the daikon Naden brought home for him when he

left.'"

"Was I that obvious...?"

"So, really, what were you doing?" Yuriga asked again.

Souma pointed at the bubbling pot and said, "It's just like Hakuya

predicted. Naden brought home an amazing daikon, after all. I just had

some octopus delivered, too, so I was thinking I'd make oden for the first

time in a while."

"O-Oden?"

"It's a sort of soup... no, a hot pot dish from my old world. I can't get

any boiled fish-paste products, so it's just daikon, octopus, boiled egg, and

then konbu for the soup base. ...If I were to tie together some gelin udon,

would that work in place of shirataki noodles? Hmm, the texture is similar

to konjac jam, so it shouldn't taste bad, but it would take it further away

from being oden..."

"...The one thing I understood from all that is that you're up to nonsense

as usual." Yuriga gave an exasperated shrug. She had begun to get used to

the weird atmosphere in this country... or rather, the bizarre actions of the

people around Souma.

Why was the king of a nation so happy to get a daikon?

Why was the king cooking it himself?

Why were the queens saying, "Ahh"?

If Yuriga looked at this through the lens of common sense, there were

any number of things she could call them out on, but that effort would

surely be in vain. She had figured out this much already.

"So, you came because you needed me for something?" Souma asked.

"That's right," Yuriga replied, having remembered her reason for

coming. "I want to send a letter to my brother about recent events in my

time here... I was hoping to get permission. May I?"

Having said that, Yuriga pulled a letter from the tool bag at her waist,

and showed the front and back of it to Souma. It had apparently not been

sealed yet.

Looking seemingly uninterested, Souma turned back to the pot and said,

"Hmm? If it's about mail, you can hand it to the relevant official. I'm sure

they'll take care of it. There's no need to come out of your way to report to

me."

"Huh?! You're not going to check the contents?!" Yuriga's eyes went

wide.

Being treated as a transfer student from Malmkhitan, she belonged to a

foreign country, and was trying to contact another person in a foreign

country. Shouldn't he have been concerned she would leak national secrets?

If Yuriga were in Souma's position, she would have been. That was why

she had assumed this letter would definitely be read by Souma and his

people. Even if it was only an update on her current situation, why wouldn't

they still search it for anything resembling a coded message?

However, Souma said there was no need.

"...I'm not the one who needs to tell you this, but shouldn't you be more

cautious? What if I were leaking this country's secrets to my brother?"

"Oh, I'm fully aware of the danger," said Souma with a laugh. "If

someone from another country goes anywhere where they might come in

contact with secret information, I have covert agents who will let me know.

I just haven't gotten any such report yet. I don't think there's anything you

could have put in that letter that would cause me trouble."

The lack of tension in his voice left Yuriga bewildered.

"That's... true, yes, but I'm not quite convinced. Okay, what would you

do if I tried to find that secret information?"

"In that case, I'd use that fact to send you back to Fuuga. If we judged

you under our own laws, it might give him a strange excuse to do

something, so you'll be going home in one piece. I need to treat you

respectfully as a transfer student, but I don't think I need to be so concerned

about the feelings of a spy."

"That you can handle it with such disinterest is... actually more scary in

some ways."

He had absolute confidence in his covert agents, and believed beyond a

doubt that Yuriga could never leak his secrets.

In the way he handled her with disinterest as he fussed over how wellboiled the contents of his pot were, Yuriga felt she had seen the image of a

king who would not be disturbed easily. It made a chill run down her spine.

Incidentally, around when he got to the, "If you try to leak our secrets..."

part, the looks Aisha and Naden were giving her got noticeably sharper.

This country... is frightening. The king and queens, too.

"Obviously, I have no intention of leaking any secrets." Yuriga put her

hands up, unable to bear the way the queens were looking at her any longer.

"This really is just an update on my situation. This country has been taking

care of me, after all. There's a lot I want to learn, so I'd rather not be

thrown out yet."

"That makes things easier on me. I wouldn't want to throw one of

Tomoe's few friends out like that."

"I-I don't particularly think of myself as her friend..."

Yuriga was trying to play tough, but she and everyone else already knew

she was friends with Tomoe and Ichiha. Her poor attempt to deny it was

met with a smirk from Souma.

"Oh, right. Back to the oden, would you like to join us, Yuriga? I was so

excited to eat it again after so long, I made too much. I was going to call

Tomoe, and Ichiha, too."

"...Can I?"

The scent of soy sauce and soup broth had hung in the air for a while,

and it had Yuriga interested.

She was uncomfortable about joining the king and his queens at the

dinner table, but if Tomoe and Ichiha were there, she'd probably be fine. In

fact, if they got to eat something tasty, and she was left out, that would have

bothered her.

"...If those two are coming, I will join you, too." Yuriga said with a

blush.

That evening, dinner was very lively.

◇ ◇ ◇

— Roughly a week later —

"Hahaha, looks like she's having fun."

Far to the north, Fuuga Haan, the King of Malmkhitan, grinned as he

read Yuriga's letter.

"What are you reading, Darling?" Mutsumi asked as she came into the

room.

Fuuga handed her the letter he had been given and replied, "It's a letter

from Yuriga. It sounds like she's having fun in the Kingdom of Friedonia."

"Oh, it's from Yuriga?" Then, looking through the letter from her sisterin-law, Mutsumi cocked her head to the side. "Hmm? It seems to be a report

on recent happenings in her life. The writing style is fun, though..."

"Does something about it bother you?"

"Oh, no, I thought she might be made to write a letter like this. I

wondered if we should really take the pleasant tone at face value..."

"You're saying Souma might've forced Yuriga to write this? Not a

chance."

Fuuga blew off Mutsumi's concerns with a hearty laugh.

"This is unmistakably Yuriga's handwriting. Besides, if Yuriga is forced

to write letters against her will, she's been taught to deform her writing in a

certain way. Well, knowing how overly cautious Souma is, he wouldn't do

anything so silly as to harm his relationship with me. There may be some

censorship, but I'm sure what's written in there is how Yuriga really feels."

"Her true feelings... Then the thing she wrote at the end is how she

really feels, too?"

"Yeah, it means that's how she felt." Fuuga grinned.

This is what was written at the end of Yuriga's letter:

"Brother,

Friedonia is a weird country.

It is fun living here, but I feel something other than just enjoyment from

it. My preconceptions are breaking down, and the values inside me that I

thought were absolute are colliding with a set of values that are different

from them... It's hard to put into words. I haven't sorted it out myself yet,

either.

You have been cautious of King Souma since the beginning, so I doubt

you will let your guard down, but let me say it regardless. By no means

should you underestimate him.

Sincerely, Yuriga."

"Yuriga believes in me more than anyone, and even she's saying that.

He's one hell of a guy, huh?"

"...You are enjoying this," Mutsumi said, sounding exasperated.

There was a ferocious sparkle in Fuuga's eyes.

"We've only accomplished one so far. From here on, I don't know who,

or what, will stand in my way. Not being able to see that excites me. This

era's gonna get so hot it makes my blood boil!"

Then, resting his feet on the walls of a city he had reclaimed from the

monsters, he roared towards the sun which hung high in the northern sky.

In the northern lands, a tiger was about to take flight.