Prologue: As One Country Rises

The great library of Parnam held the largest collection of books in the

Kingdom of Friedonia. This world already had printing, and there was some

distribution of books, but owing to the low literacy rate, they had never

gotten to establishing libraries. Still, with the greater focus on education

since Souma ascended the throne, a full six out of ten people were now

literate, and there was already demand for libraries.

"Books are the crystallization of mankind's knowledge. There can

never be too many kinds."

Having said that, Souma bought or borrowed all of the books that he

could from around the country, and from foreign countries with which they

had relations, and ordered reproductions of them made. In the world he

came from, there was the legend of the Library of Alexandria, which it was

said would take foreign books from any traveler visiting the city and, after

copying them, would return the copy. Souma, of course, wasn't doing

anything so malicious. He returned the originals, as was only proper.

The books collected were not limited to academic or technical subjects,

but also legends and children's fables, and even strange texts filled with

obscure and absurd knowledge. These were all copied by the librarians and

researchers to be stored in the great library. (Magical texts, however, owing

to the difficulty of handling them, were instead sent to a specialized

analysis department.)

Souma's policy of not neglecting any knowledge or technology was on

display here too. There had been a shortage of librarians and researchers in

recent years, and even after recruiting from the graduates of the Royal

Academy and Ginger's Vocational School, there was still no shortage of

work to be done. This was the sort of work that noted bibliophile Hakuya,

the Black-robed Prime Minister, would have preferred doing. And while he

often did help out during his time off, there weren't many individuals with

such curious tastes as his.

However, in the previous year, a woman of singular talent had arrived

in this library. It was Ichiha's elder sister, the third daughter of the House of

Chima, Sami. Having lost her adoptive father in the political struggles of

the Union of Eastern Nations, the emotionally wounded Sami was taken in

by this country. She happened to be an excellent mage and avid reader, so

much so that she often shared books with her sister Yomi when they were

younger. However, as they grew, Yomi came to seek knowledge of a wide

variety, while Sami focused on accounting, math, and the sciences.

When he heard that from Ichiha, Souma said, "Rather than staying

cooped up in the castle, I'm sure Sami will be able to distract herself better

if she's surrounded by books," and selected her to be a librarian in the great

library.

She proved to be the perfect pick.

Sami demonstrated great talent in organizing the books left in her care,

and was also excellent in her handling of the magical texts that occasionally

got mixed in with them. This quickly made her a central figure of the

librarian team. For Sami's part, being in a quiet library surrounded by books

helped to soothe her, so she worked hard at her tasks. It would still be some

time before her wounds healed, but it seemed she was able to smile more

and more often.

— Around the middle of the 1st month, 1550th year, Continental

Calendar —

On this day, too, Sami was organizing the bookshelves. There was a

ladder placed in front of a shelf close to twice her height, and she sat on it,

speaking to the person below her.

"Ichiha, hand me the volumes of that Amidonian fable anthology in

order."

"Okay." Ichiha searched through the pile of books on the floor to find

the tomes Sami had asked him for. "Here, sister."

"Thanks." Sami slotted the books into open spaces.

As he handed the volumes to Sami, Ichiha was looking at her in profile.

Sami's side ponytail, tied on the opposite side from her elder twin sister

Yomi's, was shaking. Her expression was peaceful.

Back during his time in the Duchy of Chima, Ichiha had been

tormented by his musclehead older brothers Nata and Gauche for having no

talent. Because Sami and Yomi hated those brothers and stayed away from

them, Ichiha hadn't had much contact with his older sisters.

Is Big Sister Sami going to be all right...?

Because she wasn't the expressive type to begin with, Ichiha couldn't

figure out what Sami might be feeling right now. He was thinking about it

so hard that his hands had stopped moving.

"Ichiha?" Sami looked at Ichiha dubiously.

"Ah, sorry." Ichiha hurriedly passed her the next book. Sami accepted

the book, placing it on her lap.

"You're worried about me?"

"Oh! Um... Yes..." Ichiha replied, giving up on trying to hide it. Sami

smiled a little.

"You're so kind, Ichiha."

"I mean, we are family."

"Family...huh? It's amazing how different we all turned out despite

coming from the same parents."

A shadow fell over her expression, likely as she remembered their

eldest brother, Hashim. Ichiha didn't know what to say, but Sami shook her

head, as if to drive off the emotions welling up inside her.

"Hey, Ichiha. Do you like living in this country?"

"Huh?"

"This country is just lovely. It's peaceful, and the people in the castle

are all so cheerful. They even treat me kindly, and look out for my wellbeing. You especially. You come to help all the time because you're worried

about my feelings...right?"

Sami was right. The reason Ichiha was helping her was because Souma

and Hakuya had told him it would be better if there was someone by Sami's

side so that she wasn't left alone. Being the clever woman that Sami was,

she had come to notice this.

"Do you already serve Sir Souma?"

"Y-Yes. I'm still only a student, but he accepted me as a retainer."

"I see... You won't be going back north then." Sami smiled slightly at

that. "Yeah. This is for the best. If you went back north, you'd just be used."

"Used...?"

"You know Sir Souma sent Fuuga Haan the Monster Encyclopedia,

yes? The rulers of the Union of Eastern Nations were all so frustrated when

they found out you were the author. No one, myself included, ever thought

that your knowledge would be worth so much."

Sami slid over on the ladder, patting the empty space next to her. That

apparently meant, Have a seat beside me. Ichiha took her up on the

invitation, and she put her arm around his shoulder, patting him fondly on

the head.

"I'm sure if you did go back, they'd welcome you with open arms.

They'd constantly praise you, totally forgetting the dismissive attitude they

had towards you before. You'd be a hit with the girls too. I'm sure you'd be

swamped with marriage proposals. But...from your perspective, it'd all be a

bit too late, right?"

"Yeah, it would..." Ichiha sighed deeply. "I like this country, where I

live among those who recognized me for who I was. The Duchy of Chima

is already gone, so I have no reason to return."

"Good. Now that people know what your knowledge is worth, I can't

see Hashim Chima leaving you alone. You'll be safer under Sir Souma's

protection."

Sami kept referring to their brother not as Big Brother Hashim, but by

his full name, Hashim Chima. Ichiha sensed that this was intentional.

How far did her grudge go? It obviously included Hashim, who plotted

her foster father's murder, but did it extend to Fuuga, who carried out the

plan, as well? What about Fuuga's wife, Mutsumi? How about her twin

sister, Yomi, who had joined Fuuga's camp? How much did she resent her?

"Big sister. One of my friends is... Um..."

"I know. Fuuga Haan's little sister, right?"

"Ah—"

Ichiha had been trying to choose his words carefully, but Sami figured

out what was up.

"Does she live here in the castle? I haven't run into her yet, though."

"Do you resent Sir Fuuga, Big Sister Sami...?"

"I suppose... I can't say that I don't," Sami said before shaking her

head. "But the one I really can't forgive is Hashim Chima. Setting aside

Fuuga Haan, who carried out the plan given to him, I bear no grudge

against Big Sister Mutsumi, who tried to save me. And as for Yuriga, who is

just Fuuga Haan's little sister...I have no problem with her at all. If

anything..."

"If anything...?" Ichiha echoed.

Sami let out a self-effacing laugh. "The way she's been jerked about at

her brother's whims, I feel a sort of kinship with her."

"Uh..." Ichiha didn't know how to respond to that.

As he was struggling to find the words, Sami told him, "If you say she's

your friend, then look out for her. As the sister of a ruler who has been

entrusted to the central nation of the Maritime Alliance, she's an easy piece

to use. As a hostage, she can help to lower their guard, and by abandoning

her, they can lay a trap for you. I can't see Hashim Chima not using her."

"I...see."

It was certainly true that Hashim would suggest such a plan. The

question was if Fuuga would use it...and that would probably depend on the

situation. Under normal circumstances, Fuuga wasn't that heartless. In fact,

he was quite caring when it came to family. But as the scion of the times, it

wasn't improbable that a time may come where he would cast Yuriga aside.

Sami pulled Ichiha closer, pressing her head against his. "Not everyone

cares about blood relations. Try to keep that in mind."

Ichiha nodded silently.

There was another party silently listening in on their conversation, but

that person left as if running away.

◇ ◇ ◇

Knock, knock.

As I was in the governmental affairs office, battling with paperwork

alongside Hakuya like I did every day, there was a knock at the door. It

was...still a little early for our afternoon break, but someone must have

come to call me.

"Come in," I called to the door.

"Excuse me..." Yuriga replied, entering. She looked uneasy somehow.

"What's wrong, Yuriga?"

"I had something to talk to you and Mr. Hakuya about... Ah! If you're

busy with work, I can come back later..." Yuriga seemed awkward and

noncommittal.

Is it hard to discuss with others around? Hmm... Well, we were going to

take a break soon anyway, so it's fine.

I cleared my throat loudly and said, "I think we'll take our afternoon

recess early today. Everyone but Hakuya may leave."

"""Yes, sir!"""

All of the other bureaucrats working in the office bowed and filed out

of the room at my suggestion. With Hakuya, Yuriga, and myself left alone

(albeit with guards outside the door), I addressed Yuriga again.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Um... I happened to overhear Ichiha and Sami talking in the library..."

"Oh..."

Ichiha's elder sister, Sami, was staying in the castle as a refugee from

the Union of Eastern Nations. From what Ichiha had told us, Sami was a

talented mage with a gift for accounting, so I had wanted to put her to work

under Roroa. But because she was a guest, not a retainer, I couldn't do that.

If she seemed likely to eventually volunteer her services to this country, I

would have recommended her to the Ministry of Finance, but it was too

soon. The wounds hadn't healed yet.

Still, just spending her days in idleness would be depressing. It would

give her all the time in the world to worry, after all.

After talking things over with Ichiha and Hakuya, I decided it was best

to give her something to do so she wouldn't have so much time to think. I'd

heard from Ichiha that Sami liked to read, so I tried giving her a job as a

librarian in the great library. This seemed to have been somewhat effective,

as she worked in silence, reading in her spare time. As if trying to shut

away her painful memories...

Ichiha frequently went to help as well, in order to keep her from feeling

alone. That must have been what Yuriga walked in on. As far as Yuriga was

concerned, she was the younger sister of the man who killed Sami's

adoptive father, so she couldn't bear to listen.

With a calm expression on my face, I told Yuriga, "For now...I'd prefer

not to agitate her. I know this may feel restricting, but could you stay away

from the library for the time being?"

"I know that much...!" Yuriga said, averting her eyes.

Hakuya and I exchanged a momentary glance before, in a consoling

tone, I said, "You don't need to worry too much. From what Ichiha's told

me, it seems her anger is directed more at their older brother Hashim rather

than Fuuga. So long as you don't do anything strange to provoke her, she's

probably not going to resent you."

"I wouldn't do that... I won't, but..."

Seeing Yuriga get more and more deflated, Hakuya let out a sigh.

"It would seem that that's not what she wanted to hear."

"Ah?!"

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked, and Hakuya shrugged.

"Madam Yuriga was more interested in asking about Sir Fuuga."

"About Fuuga, huh?"

"Recently, when I've been teaching Madam Yuriga, I see her taking

what I can only assume is a different perspective from his occasionally. I

think that..."

"That's enough, Mr. Hakuya..." Yuriga raised a hand to cut Hakuya off.

"I'll say the rest myself."

Raising her face, Yuriga looked straight into my eyes.

"In order to unify the Union of Eastern Nations, did my brother need to

deceive and murder Madam Sami's adoptive father...? I wanted to hear your

opinion, as a king, on that."

"Was the deception and murder justified, you mean?"

The look in Yuriga's eyes was completely focused. She wasn't looking

for encouragement or platitudes... It was a serious question that demanded a

serious answer. So I gave her one.

"I don't know."

"Huh?! I'm serious here...!"

"And I'm being serious. There's no way to be sure what the right

choice was. If I'm not going to take a side, this is the only answer I can

give." It was rare you could neatly divide things into good and evil, after

all. "If I were Sami, I'd think that what Fuuga did was evil. So it's only

natural she'd hate him for it. But if he had started a war to annex all of

those countries with rulers that wouldn't submit to him, even more lives

would have been lost. On both sides."

Yuriga remained quiet, so I continued.

"If Fuuga had invaded Sami's country, and Sami's adoptive father had

surrendered after a battle and been spared, the people would have still been

sacrificed. If someone, or someones, die so that others may live... There's

no way you can say with certainty which way was right. It may be that

Fuuga's actions are praised by later generations for minimizing the number

of people sacrificed."

Later generations are only able to view things with the benefit of

hindsight, after all. They can only see this many people died, or this many

people didn't die. Especially when they try to look at things from a neutral

point of view...

"Besides, I've done something similar myself. I have no right to cast

stones."

"Huh? You have?" Yuriga's eyes widened. She seemed pretty surprised.

"Do I not look like I would?"

"Yeah... You don't seem like you have that kind of ambition."

"Ha ha ha... Well, she's right about that. Isn't she?" I said to Hakuya,

who nodded.

"In order to stabilize a political regime, there are times when blood

must be shed, even if we would prefer not to," Hakuya said. "It is for the

sake of rooting out sources of future strife."

"But if you overdo it, you'll breed resentment, and come to a bad end

fairly quickly. You have no choice but to do it, however, within reason.

That's the kind of duty a ruler takes on. I've made a whole lot of people

shed blood and tears to come this far, and I'm sure there must be those who

hold grudges against me for that... Even now, I have nightmares

sometimes."

"Oh...? You do?" Hakuya asked, looking surprised. I nodded with a wry

smile.

"I occasionally have these dreams where Gaius VIII rises from his

grave to come kill me."

The fear of him must have been seared into my memories. Regardless

of how the man himself would actually feel, in my dreams he did whatever

I was most afraid of. Nightmares show us the things we wouldn't want to

see. It's not quite The Butterfly Dream, but...I sometimes wonder if what I'm

seeing is actually reality.

On nights when I wake from a dream like that, I bury my face in the

bosom of whichever wife is sleeping next to me to calm myself down. They

always understand and hug my head, but... Wait, what am I rambling on

about all this embarrassing stuff for?

"Uh, anyway, I can't say whether what Fuuga did was right or wrong.

We can only look at the results of the decision he made."

"Right..."

"Sorry I couldn't give you the answer you were looking for."

Yuriga got very quiet. I'm sure she was hoping I would tell her that

Fuuga wasn't wrong, or maybe that he was.

If I said he wasn't wrong, she wouldn't have to feel a sense of guilt

over Sami's misdirected resentment. If I told her he was, she could feel

sympathy for Sami, and be considerate of her feelings. Either way, Yuriga

wouldn't have to grapple with the righteousness, or lack thereof, of Fuuga's

actions, and would be at ease. But neither Hakuya nor I would give her an

easy answer.

That might have been harsh for a girl in her teens, but she would

eventually be a figure of national prominence. Coming to grips with

intractable problems was just something she would have to learn to do.

Yuriga let out a sigh. "You're harsher than you look. Both of you."

"Ha ha ha. Well, we're always happy to hear your complaints."

Hakuya followed up with, "If I might add, Madam Yuriga, you have

reliable friends at school, so you would do well to talk to them rather than

internalize it all by yourself. Of course, you are always welcome to talk to

me too."

"Yeah... I'll do that."

Yuriga smiled just a little at what we'd said.