Weighing Nostalgia Against the Future

—The middle of the 12th month, 1,546th year, Continental Calendar

The royal capital was thoroughly wrapped in a wintery atmosphere, and

there had been enough cold days in a row that it felt like the snow might

start to fall soon. It was a morning where I didn't really want to get out

from under a warm blanket.

"I have some important business to attend to in the castle town today..."

I said, bringing up the topic while eating breakfast with my four fiancées, as

usual. "It'd help to have a woman come along. Would one of you mind?"

"Is that for work? It doesn't sound like you're heading out to play."

Liscia asked as a representative of the group, to which I nodded with a wry

smile.

"Sadly, it is. It's an important matter this time, so I have to head out

personally."

"I see... I can go. How about everyone else?" Liscia asked, turning the

topic to the other three. It felt like she already had the dignity of the first

queen, bringing all of the others together under her.

Roroa was the first to raise her arms above her head in an X. "I'm afraid

you're gonna have to count me out, sadly. Darlin's already asked me to

negotiate with the merchant's guild."

"About making the slave traders public servants, you mean?" Liscia

asked.

"That's right. Darlin's already made the used metal dealers into public

servants and has them workin' in the recyclin' industry, or somethin' like

that, but this time it's not gonna go so easily. The used metal dealers were

like trash pickers, so they weren't part of a guild. Slave traders, on the other

hand, while they may be looked down on, they're proper, registered

members of a guild. If we're takin' them away from the guild and puttin'

them under the control of the state, that's effectively creatin' a monopoly on

slaves."

Roroa picked up the salt shaker as she said this, then continued.

"If it were metal or salt, there'd be some precedent, but I ain't never

heard of anyone creatin' a monopoly on slaves before. Slaves aren't

somethin' you produce locally for local consumption. Naturally, they come

in from other countries, too. If we're nationalizin' the slave trade, we'll also

need to stop those flows from other countries. As public servants, their

wages'll be stable, but they'll never make money hand over fist. That's why

the slave traders who want to make the big bucks will go to other countries.

There'll be some pushback, too."

"I'm ready to accept some pushback on this," I said.

I was fine with convict slaves being sentenced to hard labor, but I

wanted to put an end to the era where women and children were sold off so

there would be fewer mouths to feed, and where it was taken as a given that

the child of a slave was also a slave. That wasn't only from a humanitarian

point of view, it was also to make this country more prosperous as a whole.

However, Roroa, who had been tasked with the negotiations, had a grim

look on her face. "I'm sure your aim is to downsize the system of slavery,

Darlin'... but I'm not sure there're enough convict slaves and economic

slaves in this country alone to meet demand. It's a real problem."

"Is it going to be too difficult?" I asked.

Roroa shook her head. "I'll do it. I want to see this world after slavery

that you've been tellin' me about, after all. One where everyone earns

money, everyone uses money, and everyone makes the economy turn...

That's the world I want to see."

I had told the clever Roroa a bit about the economic history of my

world. I had told her about that era of technological revolution where goods

had begun to be mass-produced. There had been a demand for markets to

sell those goods to, and so there had been a movement toward freeing the

slaves who'd held no assets in order to create that market.

Naturally, I knew there were people who had fought under the ideology

that all people should have equal rights. I couldn't deny the hard work of

the slaves who'd fought to win their own freedom, or the efforts of those

who'd wished for them to be free. However, with any system, it always

came down to whether or not that system was suitable for the time it existed

in.

The war between the North and South United States had been called a

war of emancipation, but it was more that the North had held up the ideal of

freeing the slaves in order to gather support against the forces of the South,

which had included many plantation owners. What had once been

considered an impractical ideal was accomplished the moment it aligned

with the facts of the situation.

Conversely, no matter how wonderful an ideal is, if it's not in line with

the times, it will be trampled underfoot.

In the end, it's a matter of the times in which we live. I mean, even when

slavery ended, we would have conflict between the capitalist class and the

laborers waiting for us in the next era. However, in the story I told her,

Roroa seemed to see a new frontier.

"It may take bein' a little heavy handed, but if we move together with

the Empire, it can be done," she said. "If half of the territory ruled by

mankind on this continent is movin' to reduce slavery, it'll be hard to push

back against us. Then, when there's a shortage of labor, though this is

reversin' the cause and effect from your story, Darlin', technology'll have

to advance to fill the gap."

"Yeah," I said. "I've got a path toward that. You can leave it to me."

"I'm countin' on that. Because I'll be doin' what I can myself."

I nodded. "I'm relying on you."

"Mwahaha. Say it again."

Roroa and I locked arms firmly. I really was counting on Roroa to

handle the economic front.

Now, if Roroa couldn't make it today, what about Aisha or Juna?

"I am sorry to have to say this, but I have a meeting for our next music

program, so I won't be able to accompany you," said Juna.

"I-I was asked to join the new recruits for training..." said Aisha. "Of

course, if you insist on it, sire, I will cast aside my prior engagement to be

with you."

"No, I'm not going to insist," I said. "Hm... But, well..."

I don't really want to bring that large of an entourage this time. If I had

a lot of people with me, I would put the other party on guard. Though, that

said, I didn't feel entirely safe going without bodyguards. I mean, Liscia

was going to be with me, too, after all.

Although Liscia does have more combat prowess than the average

guard.

The Black Cats were currently dealing with clandestine operations in

many other countries, so they likely couldn't spare the people to serve as

guards. If possible, I had wanted either Aisha, who had the greatest

individual combat strength, or Juna, who could also gather intelligence, to

accompany us. As I was thinking about that...

"Your Majesty, might I offer a suggestion?" The head maid Serina, who

was standing ready by the wall, gave an elegant bow.

"Serina? Did you have an opinion on this?" I asked.

"Yes. If you are looking for a guard, there is an individual I might like to

recommend."

"Who might that be?" I asked.

"Your Majesty's personal trainer, Sir Owen."

"Urgh... Old Man Owen, huh..."

She was referring to the old general and head of the House of Jabana,

Owen Jabana. He was a hearty old man whose personality was serious and

honest to the point of being excessively passionate. I had liked his

willingness to express an opinion and had taken him on as my sounding

board and educator.

True, he's a capable warrior, and given his post, he wouldn't have much

to do while I'm gone. He's always noisy, and I don't think he's suited for

going out discreetly, though.

While I was considering the idea, Serina continued. "You should also

take Carla from the Maid Corps with you."

"Huh?! Me?!" Carla, who was standing beside Serina, cried out in

surprise.

"Carla is enlisted with the Maid Corps, but she is Your Majesty's slave,"

said Serina. "At times like this, you really must use her as your meat—

work her like a horse."

"Were you about to say meat shield?!" Carla protested. "Wait, even now

that you've corrected it to horse, that's still pretty bad!"

Serina whipped out her maid training crop.

"Ah! Yes, ma'am! I will serve with sincerity and devotion!" Carla

hurriedly saluted.

She's been completely broken in, huh...

"Anyway, Carla, I'll be counting on you," I said.

"U-Understood, master," she said.

So for now, it was decided that four people of Liscia, Owen, Carla, and I

would be going to the castle town together.

I already felt exhausted just from having come to that decision.

And so, we came to the castle town of Parnam.

Liscia, Owen, Carla, and I were walking down the shopping street in the

middle of the day. Because we were here in secret, we were traveling on

foot and not by carriage.

"Gahaha!" Owen laughed. "I am pleased that you would choose me as

your bodyguard, Your—"

"Shh! Owen... How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Your

Majesty in the middle of town like this?" I hissed.

"Oh, my apologies."

The way Owen laughed it off without looking the least bit guilty made

my head hurt. Owen seemed to be in a good mood over being chosen as my

bodyguard, so he was even more high-strung than usual.

"We're here in secret this time... so, please, I'm begging you," I said.

"But of course, I am aware of that," boomed Owen.

Was he really? For a group that was trying to be discreet, we stood out to

a strange degree.

There was me wearing the Kitakaze Kozou-esque traveler's clothes that

had become my go-to outfit when undercover; Liscia wearing the same

student's uniform she'd worn when we'd first gone into the castle town

together; Carla the dragonewt in a maid uniform; and an old, macho man in

light adventurers' armor. All of us were walking together. What was with

this completely mismatched ensemble? I couldn't blame passersby for

turning their heads to take a second look at us.

"Even a hastily assembled adventuring party would look more like a

unified group than we do..." I murmured.

"If you had just worn a student uniform like last time, wouldn't that

have been fine?" asked Liscia. "It's not like Sir Owen couldn't pass for a

teacher in his outfit."

"By the same token, if you had dressed like an adventurer, we might

have looked like an adventuring party," I said.

While we argued back and forth, we both looked back at the dragon

maid behind us.

"Wh-What?! Why are you both looking at me?" Carla cried.

"Either way, Carla was going to stand out, huh," Liscia nodded.

"I mean, yeah, she's wearing that highly revealing maid dress, after all,"

I said. "She'd be out of place no matter how we dressed."

"Aren't you being awfully mean when I don't even wear this by

choice?!" Carla protested loudly, but... I mean, it was a maid dress.

Of course, we had proposed that she change into something else, but

Serina hadn't been willing to hear of it. Carla's maid uniform wasn't the

classic type with a long skirt; it was a frilly dress type (or, to take it a bit

further, a maid cafe type). Serina was a total sadist to make her walk around

town in it. Carla had been bright red with shame for a while now...

"By the way, Your... Sir Kazuya, is this really the road you want to

take?" Owen asked somewhat confusedly.

"Hm? Yeah, it is... Why?" I asked.

"No, it is just that, if I recall, this way leads to..."

"Ah! ...That's right." Liscia seemed to have realized something, too, but

didn't seem to want to say it. "If we continue down this road..."

...Oh, so that's what it is, I realized. "If we keep going, we'll hit the old

slums, huh?"

"Indeed," said Owen. "It is not a place I would want to take the two of

you."

Even in the royal capital Parnam, there was a dark side. Because of the

large population, there were those who succeeded in business, those who

earned a middling profit, and those who failed outright. The slums were a

place where those who had failed, but who hadn't fallen far enough to

become slaves, would drift to and work for their daily wages.

Many of the homes were shanties. It was unsanitary, and prone to

outbreaks of disease. The people who gathered here were of questionable

origin, and the crime rate was high.

That was the sort of place it had been, anyway.

"That's all in the past now," I said.

"It's changed?" Liscia asked.

"It'd be faster to just show you. I mean, when I was considering what to

do about the future of the slum town..." I made a gesture like I had

something like a hose in my hands as I spoke. "...I met someone who was

strangely enthusiastic, going around saying, 'Filth will be sterilized!'"

As we arrived in the former slum town...

"Huh?" Liscia tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Hm?" Owen did the same.

When she saw their reaction, Carla did, too. "Is there something strange

here, Liscia?"

Even after she had fallen to become a slave, Liscia had forced Carla to

keep talking to her the way she had before. They were still good friends. It

would be an issue if it happened in public, but I wasn't about to tell Liscia

how to behave herself in private.

Still with a blank look on her face, Liscia responded to Carla, "Huh?

...Oh, yeah. I've never been to the slums before, but I'm surprised at how

different it is from everything I'd heard."

"What had you heard?" asked Carla.

"That it's a dark, dank, moldy place with poor public order. I've heard

the same," Owen explained.

He was right. The slums had been like that before.

"It's true that they look sparse, but the place looks pretty clean to me,

you know?" said Carla.

What we saw before us now was a scene of houses that just looked like

white blocks of tofu lined up. To put it in terms that a modern audience will

understand, imagine the sort of temporary houses that are set up in the

affected area after an earthquake. While they were spartan, they got a lot of

sun and were bright. They also were well ventilated, so they weren't dank.

Admittedly, they could get a bit too dry in winter. Even so, when we saw

children drawing on the ground and playing, it was hard to imagine that

public order was bad here.

"Is this really the slums?" Liscia asked.

"Yeah. It's gotten a lot better, hasn't it?" I responded, puffing up my

chest proudly. "When I was addressing the sanitation problem in the city, I

worked hard to get everything in shape here."

"The sanitation problem?" asked Liscia. "If I recall, you mentioned that

when you were banning carriages from going down all but the largest roads,

and when you set up the water and sewer system, right? Was reworking

these slums a part of that, too?"

"I'm glad to see you remember," I said. "Yeah. It's easy for pathogenic

bacteria to grow in dark, dank, places that are poorly ventilated. On top of

that, this being a slum town, the residents don't get proper nutrition, so it's

easier for them to get sick. If an epidemic had gotten started, this would

have been fertile ground for it to spread rapidly."

"Pathogenic bacteria... I feel like I may have heard that word before,"

said Liscia.

She and the others were looking at me with faces that seemed to say

"What are those? Are they tasty?"

"Huh? Didn't I explain last time?" I asked.

Ah, come to think of it, I used the word when talking about the

sedimentation ponds, but I didn't explain it in detail, I thought. In that

case... I guess I have to start by explaining how people get sick.

"Well... In this world, there are little creatures too small for the eye to

see, and they exist in numbers far too great to count in the air, the ground, in

our bodies— everywhere you can imagine. These tiny creatures make

things rot and cause illnesses. On the other hand, they also cause foods to

ferment, and there are some with positive effects, too."

Using my meager knowledge of science (I was a humanities student,

remember), I explained to Liscia and the others about bacteria and

microorganisms. I didn't feel like they were getting it all that well, but for

Liscia, who knew that my knowledge could be far ahead of this country's

academia in some places, she seemed satisfied that "If Souma says they

exist, they probably do."

The study of medicine and hygiene wasn't particularly well developed in

this world. One large factor in that was probably the existence of light

magic. Light magic heightened the body's ability to heal, even allowing it

to recover from serious wounds. It could even reattach severed limbs if

administered quickly.

It seemed that, because of that, the study of medicine and hygiene hadn't

developed. That was why, in this world, there were very few who knew of

the existence of bacteria and microorganisms.

Light magic only activated the natural ability of the body to heal, so it

had the shortcoming of not being able to heal infectious diseases or the

wounds of elderly people whose natural ability to heal had declined.

Because of that, until just recently, the use of shady drugs and dodgy folk

remedies had been rampant when it had come to the treatment of infectious

diseases. When I'd addressed the issue of hygiene, I'd thought something

needed to be done about this situation posthaste.

But before I could do that, I had first needed people to become aware of

the existence of bacteria and microorganisms they couldn't see.

"But how can people be aware of something they can't see?" Liscia

asked.

"In this world, there are people who know about bacteria and

microorganisms... or rather, a race that does," I said. "When that race

focuses with their 'third eye,' they can see microorganisms that you

wouldn't normally be able to see. I enlisted their help."

"A third eye... Do you mean the three-eyed race?" Liscia asked, and I

nodded.

The three-eyed race. They were a race that, as you would expect from

their name, had three eyes.

They lived in the warm lands in the north of the kingdom. Their defining

trait was that, in addition to the standard left and right eyes, they also had a

third eye in a slightly higher position in the middle of their forehead. It

would be fine to imagine them looking like Tien Shin*** or ***suke

Sharaku, but it wasn't really an eyeball like that. That eye was small and

red. At a glance, it looked like a jewel was embedded there.

Liscia let out a sigh. "I'm amazed they agreed to help. I've heard their

race hates having contact with outsiders."

"The reason for their xenophobia actually stems from that third eye, it

seems."

The three-eyed could see things other races couldn't. It seemed that had

been the reason they'd grown to reject outsiders. The three-eyed could tell

if someone had good hygiene or not at a glance. That made them natural

neat freaks, and they had started to avoid contact with other races as much

as possible.

On top of that, with that third eye, the three-eyed had learned of the

existence of bacteria. They knew them to be the cause of illnesses that

couldn't be treated with light magic. However, no matter how much the

three-eyed insisted on this, the other races who couldn't see the bacteria

wouldn't believe them. In a world filled with superstitions, even if they

spoke the truth, it might seem like they were trying to throw the world into

chaos with some dubious new theory.

Because of that, the three-eyed had come to hate contact with other

races, and they'd developed their own independent system of medical

knowledge and practice only for their own race. When it came to the study

of infectious diseases in particular, their medical science was centuries

ahead of this world. In this world where humans and beastmen were

thought to have lived long lives if they made it to sixty, the three-eyed who

originally had the same life expectancy now lived to eighty on average.

"That's how I, as someone who knew what they were saying is the truth,

was able to arrange talks and request their assistance," I said. "With that

done, in order to demonstrate their abilities, I created a system that would

let other races see bacteria and microorganisms."

In other words, an optical microscope. This world already had lenses.

(They had glasses, after all.) For the rest, I'd drawn out a diagram of how I

vaguely remembered a microscope working, and the academics and

craftsmen had created one for me. That optical microscope had proved that

the three-eyed were telling the truth.

"But, man, the three-eyed really are incredible," I said. "I'd never have

imagined they'd already developed antibiotics."

"Auntie-buy-ought-ex?"

"Substances that prevent bacteria from multiplying like I was telling you

about."

The famous example would be penicillin, I suppose. I mean, even a

humanities student like me had heard of it. (Though it was knowledge I'd

picked up from manga.) It was extracted from a blue-green colored mold, I

think?

In the case of the three-eyed, they were extracting theirs from a special

sort of slime creature that could live in unsanitary conditions. They were a

subspecies of gelin, and they had the same sort of shape as Liquid Metal

*limes. They had no name, but I'd taken this chance to christen them

"gelmedics." From what I had heard of its effects, there was no questioning

it was an antibiotic, but while it was similar to penicillin, it might also be

very different.

Incidentally, the three-eyed just called this drug "the drug."

That felt like it was just going to get confusing in the future, so I'd used

my authority as king to give it the name "three-eyedine." It was the threeeyed race's medicine, so I'd shortened that to three-eyedine. I mean, it

would have been fine calling it "the drug," or "the pill"... but, as a former

Japanese person, I'd always have been thinking of completely different

drugs.

"This... three-eyedine, was it?" Liscia asked. "It prevents the bacteria

from multiplying, but what good does that do?"

"It's a cure for infectious diseases," I said. "Basically, you can think of it

as a wonder drug that treats epidemic diseases and will prevent wounds

from festering, I guess."

"Treat epidemic diseases?! It can do that?!"

I couldn't blame Liscia for being surprised. While this country's medical

treatments (in particular, regenerative treatments) could be, in some limited

ways, ahead of modern science, on the whole, they were at the same level

as Japan in the Edo Period. When it came to infectious diseases, they would

drink medicinal teas, trying to ease the symptoms. However, with

antibiotics, it was possible to treat the underlying cause of illnesses to some

degree.

Liscia looked taken aback. "That's terrible... We've been overlooking an

incredible drug like that all this time..."

"Well, the other races didn't recognize the existence of bacteria and

microorganisms, so even if the three-eyed had told you that antibiotics

could fight them, you probably weren't going to believe them. If you turn it

around, the three-eyed were only able to find this way of fighting bacteria

because they could see them."

"So, can we mass produce this three-eyedine?!" Liscia asked, looking

desperate to hear more.

Yeah, I could understand how she felt. I'd had a similar response myself

during talks with the three-eyed elder. However, Carla and Owen, who were

watching us, were wide-eyed with surprise at the way Liscia was acting.

I nodded to Liscia. "We don't have the capacity for it yet, but we're

slowly increasing production. I had already distributed it to the military

when the war with Amidonia broke out, actually. Didn't you notice?"

"Fortunately, I never needed to take any... Ah! Now that you mention it,

I did think the number of fatalities was low given the number of wounded

in that battle. Was that thanks to three-eyedine?"

"Could be," I said. "Bacteria getting into a wound and making it worse

is one of the things it can help to prevent, after all."

"Incredible..." she whispered.

"Anyway, the three-eyed are giving their full cooperation, and the

country has no intention of being stingy when it comes to medical care. The

biggest bottleneck will be the number of gelmedics that they can extract

three-eyedine from, but thanks to Tomoe, we easily solved that problem."

Slime creatures like gelins were actually categorized as plants, and she

couldn't communicate with them as well as animals; but from their

thoughts, she had still been able to learn their preferred environment and the

conditions needed for them to multiply. Now we had the gelmedics actively

multiplying in their breeding grounds.

"Our little sister is way too convenient, isn't she?" I added.

"She sure is," said Liscia.

The public had started calling Tomoe the Wise Wolf Princess. Given the

rhinosauruses, the orangutan army of Van, and now the gelmedics... there

was no doubt she was living up to that name.

"And, well, on that note, our country is in the middle of a medical and

hygienic revolution, and one part of that was fixing up these slums," I said.

"We tore down the old houses to improve the sunlight and air flow. While

we were at it, we stamped out the criminals and illegal drugs, which was

cleaning up the area in a different way. We had all the residents move to

new, prefabricated huts. The huts are small and cramped, but they're free.

On top of that, by having them work at cleaning up the city, we're able to

both support them financially and manage the city's hygiene."

"You're doing all sorts of stuff, huh. ...You're not pushing yourself too

hard, are you?" Liscia asked, looking concerned.

I put a hand on her head. "It's a struggle, yes... but it's rewarding. I get

to see the city, and the country, rebuilt the way I want them to be. If the

result is more people smiling in the end, all the better."

"Well... Okay, then," she said. "But if there's anything I can do for you,

just say the word."

"Of course. I'll be counting on you."

Liscia and I smiled broadly at one another.

But just as we had a good mood going...

Pshhhh.

...suddenly, we heard a sound like air leaking out of something.

When I looked up ahead, wondering what it could be, I saw someone

with a large barrel on their back using a metal cylinder on the end of a hose

extending from that barrel to spray some sort of mist on the ground.

That person was an exotic-looking woman with skin not quite as dark as

a dark elf, but still brown, and blond hair. She looked to be in her midtwenties. She was probably beautiful, and she had a shapely figure, but with

the triangular mask she wore over her face and the barrel slung over her

back, it all went to waste. That woman's forehead had the third eye unique

to the three-eyed race shining on it.

"Hehehe... Hohoho... Ahahahahahaha! Filth will be sterilized!" After

that three-stage laugh, the woman enthusiastically sprayed the ground and

huts with some sort of mist.

That all-too-incredible scene left Liscia, Carla, and Owen all speechless.

As for me, I felt my head starting to hurt again.

"What are you doing, Hilde?" I asked wearily.

Her name was Hilde Norg. In a show of appreciation for our support and

the redemption of their honor, the three-eyed had lent her to us to help

reform our system of medicine. She was their one and only "doctor."

In this world, there were very few doctors in the sense that a modern

Japanese person would think of the term. The ones who carried out the vast

majority of medical treatments were light mages, and the ones who

administered herbal remedies to help ease the symptoms of illness were

medicine men and women.

Many of those light mages were affiliated with the church, and therefore

most of the hospitals were also attached to church buildings. That was why

it was normal for people in this world to go to the church when they were

sick, but for the three-eyed, it was a little different.

Because their medical technology was far more advanced, they could

treat most illnesses and injuries in the homes. When they came down with

an illness so serious that it couldn't be treated in the home, that was when

they would first seek medicine mixed by the doctor. Naturally, that doctor

was the foremost expert of her race, and so she could only prepare medicine

for so many of them.

The one over there spraying a disinfectant (limewater, probably), Hilde,

was the one and only doctor of her race, considered to have a high degree of

medical knowledge, even by the standards of the three-eyed. However, with

the way she was dressed now, she just looked like a farmer spraying

agricultural chemicals.

Hilde had been letting out a loud, enthusiastic laugh until a moment ago,

but now she wore a dark smile and had a heavy atmosphere around her.

"Honestly... haven't I told you people to pick up your cats' droppings?!

Because you people keep leaving them lying out in the open, there's

bacteria all over this place! Oh, for goodness sake! Unclean, unclean!"

This time, as he sprayed disinfectant, she stamped her feet indignantly.

She might have seemed emotionally unstable, but this was business as usual

for Hilde.

She, with her knowledge of pharmacology and an eye for bacteria that

was considered excellent even by the standards of the three-eyed, also

demonstrated an obsession with cleanliness that was strong even by the

standards of her race. To the point that it was normal for her to walk around

with disinfectant like that.

It wasn't always good to be able to see too much.

"I see you're the same as ever, Hilde," I said.

"Hm? You're... Who're you?"

I took off my conical hat and showed my face.

Without much surprise, she said, "Oh, just the king, huh," and returned

to the work of spraying disinfectant.

"Calling me 'just' the king is a little mean," I said. "It's technically an

important position, you know?"

"Then try to dress the part, why don't you?" she asked. "I thought you

were some hobo."

She was as harsh as ever. I'd had an image of doctors being harsh even

back in my old world, and it seemed things were the same here. Hilde in

particular wasn't the sort to care much about the position of the person she

was talking to.

Hilde's philosophy was: "Illness strikes us all, good and evil, rich and

poor, male and female, irrespective of race. Then, before a doctor such as

myself, all patients are equal."

That was her argument, apparently.

"Anyway... Hilde, let me introduce you," I began. "The two ladies are

—"

"I know who they are," Hilde said with a sigh, as if it was a given that

she'd know who they were. "They're famous, aren't they? The princess and

the daughter of the former General of the Air Force, right?"

"Huh? What about Sir Owen?" I asked.

"I don't want to know anything about that filthy old man."

"What?!" Owen protested. "Who are you calling filthy?! I take care to

groom myself properly!"

"Stay away, you musclebound moron! I hope you've washed yourself

properly?!" she shouted.

Pshhhh.

"Hey now, little girl, don't spray that weird mist on me! I am clean, you

know? Every day, I pour water over my naked body, then rub myself down

with a dry towel!" Owen shouted.

I was suddenly forced to imagine a macho man bathing naked in the

dawning light of morning. Yeah... It felt dirty just imagining it. Perhaps

having imagined a similar scene themselves, Liscia and Carla both looked

ready to puke.

I-It felt like dwelling on this any longer was just going to make

everyone's mental state worse, so it was time to change the topic.

"B-By the way, Hilde, what are you doing here today?"

My forced attempt to change the topic got a snort from Hilde.

"If I leave the people here to their own devices, they become unhygienic

in no time. I'm making regular visits to instruct them on hygiene and to

disinfect the area."

"Makes sense..." I said. "By the way, is your partner with you today?"

"Don't call him my partner." Hilde spat the words out, seemingly

annoyed. "If you're looking for Brad, he's 'outside.' He said, 'If I have to

examine fattened pigs, I'd much rather treat the untainted wild dogs'... or

some such nonsense."

"...I see he never changes, either."

"Maybe you could you tell him off, too, sire," she said. "That guy

always pushes lecturing the junior physicians off on me."

"I-I see..."

The Brad who had come up in our conversation was the other doctor

acting as a pair with Hilde to push forward the reform of this country's

medical system. His full name was Brad Joker. He was a human male, and

his skills as a medical practitioner were good, but... his personality was a bit

of a problem.

I can't see Brad ever being able to explain things to others. Showing off

practical skills in the field will offer guidance to his juniors, but Hilde's

going to have to be the one to hold lectures...

"Hey, are you listening to me, s-i-r-e?" Hilde snapped.

"I-I get it," I said. "I'll try talking to him, at least." If she was going to

press me on it with that angry smile, I just had to nod and agree with her.

"So? What is the king and his entourage doing here?" Hilde demanded.

"Oh... I was planning to visit the chief of the mystic wolves," I said.

"While I'm at it, I thought I might poke my head in at the job training

facility I have Ginger running, too."

"Oh, so that's the sort of business you had." Liscia clapped her hands as

if she finally understood something.

Oh, now that I thought about it, I hadn't told her what we were doing,

had I?

"Then, once I've had the mystic wolf elder make a connection for me, I

plan to go 'outside,'" I added.

"Ohh, you're going 'outside,' are you, sire?" Hilde asked. "In that case,

maybe I'll tag along."

"Huh? Why is that?"

"That should be obvious. To knock some sense into that examinationobsessed idiot, that's why."

Hilde had a smile on her face, but her eyes weren't smiling.

"W-Well... Just try to not to go overboard, okay?" I asked nervously.

"Um, you keep talking about going 'outside,' but what exactly does that

mean?" Carla hesitantly raised her hand and asked.

"If we're talking outside from the perspective of being inside the city, it

can only mean outside the walls," Hilde said coolly.

"By outside the walls... could you mean...?" Liscia seemed to have

figured something out and had a pensive look on her face.

Yeah... It was probably exactly what she was imagining.

Regardless, thus was our group of a foreign traveler, a female student, a

dragon maid, and a macho man joined by a female doctor.

...Yeah. This group was making less and less sense.

Our first stop was the job training facility Ginger was in charge of.

The mystic wolves' Kikkoro Distillery, which produced miso, soy sauce,

and sake, among other products, was in the former slums. So was Ginger's

job training facility. Both had required considerable room, and this had been

the only suitable place.

While it went without saying for the training facility, the Kikkoro

Distillery also had an easy time securing workers here, so it wasn't a bad

location. That alone made it worth having fixed the place up.

The job training facility was surrounded by brick walls, and there were a

number of buildings inside the compound. The place had just opened and so

they were only teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic to the applicants,

but the intention was to experiment with all sorts of different ideas in the

future, so the number of buildings had increased.

When we went to enter through the front gate, a number of children ran

out from it.

"Goodbye, Ms. San!"

"Goodbye!"

They were all around the age of ten, maybe. They weren't that well

dressed or groomed, but they seemed full of energy.

When we looked in through the gate, the former slave who was now

Ginger's secretary, Sandria, was waving to the children. "Goodbye,

children. Take care on your way home."

The slight smile she saw them off with was a gentle one, very different

from the ill-tempered demeanor she'd had when we first met.

So, she can make an expression like that, too, huh...

While I was thinking that, Sandria noticed me and gave a respectful

bow. "Why, Your Majesty, how good of you to come visit us."

"Hey, Sandria," I said. "Is Ginger in?"

"He is in his office. I will show you the way there."

We followed Sandria into one of the buildings.

It was a simple, boxy design with no frills, but you could tell this

building had a lot of rooms even from the outside. It would have looked like

a hospital or school to a modern Japanese person.

We were led in front of a room on the first floor of that building with a

sign that read "Director's Office." When Sandria informed the occupant he

had visitors and opened the door, Ginger, who had apparently been doing

desk work, hurriedly rose.

"Wh-Why, Your Majesty, it has been a while," Ginger said, rushing over

to us. Unlike Sandria, he did so timidly, and it seemed he still felt tense

when talking to me.

"No need to be so stiff," I said. "I'm the one imposing on you here."

"N-No... It's no imposition whatsoever..."

"Your secretary there has her head held high, doesn't she?" I

commented.

"Because my loyalty belongs to Lord Ginger alone," Sandria said

nonchalantly as she moved to Ginger's side.

It should have been quite the disrespectful statement, but there was

something about her demeanor that wouldn't let me take it that way. She

was like Liscia's maid, Serina, or the public representative for Roroa's

company, Sebastian. Those people who had found the master they meant to

serve for the rest of their lives had a unique intensity. It was like they could

face down the king himself on their master's behalf.

"Ginger, let me introduce you," I said. "This is my fiancée, Liscia."

"Hello. I am Liscia Elfrieden." Liscia smiled and bowed, causing Ginger

to stand up very straight.

"Th-The princess?! Th-Thank you for coming to visit our humble

establishment! I-I'm... Ah, no, I am the one called Ginger Camus. With

more support than I deserve from His Majesty, I have been able to become

the director of this facility..."

"Hee hee! No need to be so tense. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ginger."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Ginger stiffly took Liscia's hand and shook it.

"It almost feels like you're more tense than the first time you met me..."

I murmured.

"I'm sure he is," said Carla. "Until your betrothal to her was announced,

master, Liscia was something like what we now call a lorelei to the people

of the kingdom. That unreachable flower, the princess who was so high

above him that she might as well be above the clouds, is now right in front

of his eyes. He cannot be blamed for being tense."

Carla's explanation made sense to me. Members of the Royal House,

especially a princess or a queen... they were like national idols in a way. I

had seen the huge fever that had gripped England when a new princess was

born there on the news. Even in Japan, news about the Imperial House and

those connected to the imperial family got a lot of attention.

After that, I also introduced Carla and Owen. Then, when I went to

introduce Hilde...

"Hilde and I are already acquainted," said Ginger. "She gives free

medical examinations to the children who come here. It's really been a great

help."

Ginger bowed his head to her, causing Hilde to take on an awkward

expression.

"Hmph. The brats are filthy, that's all. Who knows what diseases they're

carrying around."

"You say that, but you still come to visit us once or twice a week," said

Sandria. "If the children get injured, you heal them. I think that, for all that

you say to the contrary, you really do like children, don't you?"

"Sandria... If you say too much, I'll sew your mouth shut, you know

that?" Hilde snapped.

"Oh, pardon me," Sandria apologized nonchalantly while Hilde glared at

her.

Yeah... Looking at Hilde just now, it made me remember the old lady at

the bakery in the neighborhood where I'd used to live a long time ago.

Whenever the children came up to her, she'd say, "Look at the noisy

visitors," taking a sour attitude, but then she'd add, "What hungry little

brats you are," and would often give away leftover sweet buns. Now that I

thought back on it, it had been her way of masking her shyness.

Hilde snorted. "I'll be waiting outside until you're all done talking."

"The children have all gone home, just so you know."

"Shut up, Sandria! Whoever said they wanted to play with the

children?" Hilde snapped.

"I didn't say that much..." Sandra said.

"Hmph!"

When Hilde left, violently slamming the door behind her, we all saw her

off with wry smiles.

...Now then. It was time to get back on track.

Liscia, Ginger, Sandria, and I sat down at a conference table. Liscia and

I were seated on one side, with Ginger and Sandria sitting across from us.

Carla and Owen were standing behind us.

Liscia raised her hand. "Um, I have a lot of questions... What exactly do

you two do here?"

"For the moment, we teach applicants how to read, write, and do

arithmetic," Ginger answered with a gentle smile.

"Is that something like a school?"

"Yes. It's a school where anyone can come learn, regardless of class."

In this country, there were already proper educational institutions. The

uniform Liscia was wearing belonged to the Royal Officers' Academy, and

there was also the Royal Academy, which pumped out researchers in every

field, as well as the Mages' School, which specialized in the study of

magic. However, those educational institutions were almost entirely for the

children of the knights and nobility. There were no general schools meant to

serve the common people. This job training facility was serving as a test

case for that sort of general school.

"Also, it's not only for children," said Ginger. "Adults can learn here,

too."

"Adults, too?" Liscia asked.

"There are many adults who say they cannot read, write or do

arithmetic. The poorer their background, the more likely that is to be the

case. We provide those people a place to learn here, too. During the day,

children learn, and then at night, adults who have finished working during

the day come here to study."

"Hm, so you've got them properly segregated into separate time

periods..."

"It was His Majesty's idea to set up a time at night for adults to learn,"

said Ginger.

It hadn't really been my idea. I had just recreated the night schools we'd

had back in the other world.

Ginger brought his hands together in front of his mouth. "This is all we

can do right now. However... from here on out, we'll be able to do more and

more. Isn't that right, sire?"

Ginger had turned the conversation over to me, so I nodded firmly.

"Yeah. From here on, I intend to have you teach more specialized topics.

For instance, training adventurers to explore dungeons and protect people,

passing on civil engineering techniques, working with Hilde and her people

to train new doctors, studying ways to improve our agriculture, forestry, and

fisheries... Oh, also, I'd like a place for training chefs, too."

"That's a pretty wide range of topics..." Liscia said.

I think you've figured it out now that I've said this much, but the job

training facility I wanted to create was a vocational school, or perhaps

something like a university made up of specialized departments.

The main focus of academic study in this world was either magic or

monsters. Magic could be applied with some versatility to any number of

fields, and it also had ties to science and medicine. As for the study of

monsters, ever since the Demon Lord's Domain appeared, it had been

become one of the most important research topics.

Before that point, the monsters that had only appeared in dungeons had

been the subjects for this sort of research. However, after the demon lord's

domain had appeared, the number and variety of monster sightings had

increased by a factor of ten. Research on the topic had been rushed along in

order to find some solution to the problem. Also, research on the materials

that could be harvested from monsters was indispensable for the

development of technologies.

This sort of research on magic and demons was principally being done

at the Royal Academy. It was certainly true that the results of this sort of

cutting edge research could lead to new developments in other academic

fields.

However, and this might be my sense as a Japanese person speaking, I

thought that there were incredible, revolutionary discoveries waiting to be

found in research that, at a glance, seemed pointless, too. Like how the

techniques that were polished and refined in downtown factories without

gathering much attention could then create indispensable parts for a

spaceship.

No matter what the subject, if you mastered it, you were first class. If

you could become number one, you could become the only one.

That was why I wanted to create a place where the subjects that had

been neglected by this world—education, civil engineering, agriculture,

forestry and fisheries, cooking, and art—could be given specialized study

and taught to other people. And then, if we were able to see results in a

given field from our experiment at this training facility, we would build a

training facility (at this point, more or less a vocational school) for that

subject in another city.

For that, it would first be necessary to raise the average level of

education within the kingdom, and that was why we were starting by

teaching elementary level reading, writing, and arithmetic.

I asked Ginger, "Well, what do you think? How are things with the

training facility?"

"Well... we are doing a good job of gathering children under the age of

twelve," said Ginger. "The school meals system that you proposed has

worked well, I would say. There are times when it gets hectic, but we have

created a cycle where they show up, they study, they get a proper meal, and

then they go home."

"School meals system?" asked Liscia.

"If children under the age of twelve come here and study, they are given

free meals to eat. If they study here, they can eat. Once this becomes widely

known, the children of families under financial stress will be more likely to

come here and study. Many of their guardians find it's better to send them

here to study and save the money it would take to feed them than it is to

force the children to work for what little money they can get. If they study

properly, they may be able to escape from poverty in the future, after all."

"Hmmm," said Liscia. "That's a well thought out system. Is that

something they do in your world, too, Souma?"

"Yeah," I said. "It's a method often used for providing support in poor

countries."

Liscia seemed impressed, but Ginger's expression was more clouded.

"It's true, we're doing a good job of drawing in children. However,

conversely, it's hard to gather the adults, who aren't covered by the school

meals system. We are doing what we can by teaching them in the evening

once their work lets out, but... 'I've lived all my life without being able to

read, write, or do arithmetic. Why should I learn to now?' they say, and

won't even give us a chance."

"Well, if they've never had an education, I can see how they might think

that way," I said.

Only upon receiving an education is one able to understand the value of

one. While children may ask, "Why are we studying?" when they become

adults they think, "Why didn't I study more?" That they're able to have that

regret at all is because they were made to study as children.

"Well, enlightening them on the value of education is one part of our

work," I said. "I'll come up with something."

"Please do, sire."

Ginger and I naturally shook hands.

Finally, after touching base on a number of things, Ginger and Sandria

saw us off, and we left the training facility.

The next place we visited was the Kikkoro Distillery, not far from the

training grounds.

This distillery, which used a hexagon with the character for wolf in the

center as its brand mark, was run by mystic wolves like Tomoe, and it

produced soy sauce, miso, sake, and mirin.

Here, we met another person I knew.

When we entered the grounds, there was a plump man wearing short

sleeved clothes despite the winter chill.

"Hm? Poncho?" I asked.

"Wh-Why, Your Majesty! Good day to you, yes."

When he noticed us, Poncho bowed his head to me. Maybe he had

gotten used to the idea that he was only supposed to bow once. Before, he

had been bobbing his head up and down constantly.

"What are you doing here, Poncho?" I asked.

"Oh, that's right! Listen to this, sire!" Poncho trudged over with his

abdominous body.

"Whoa, you're getting too close!" I exclaimed. "...What's this, so

suddenly?"

"At last, at long last, it's complete! That 'sauce' you have been

requesting!" The usually shy and reserved Poncho was incredibly excited,

thrusting a bottle filled with a black liquid out toward me.

The sauce I'd requested?

...Ah!

"You don't mean that's finally ready, do you?!"

"Please taste it for yourself, yes."

"Sure!" I dripped a few drops of the black liquid onto the back of my

hand, then licked them up.

It had a vegetable or fruit flavor and a spice-like fragrance. There was

no doubt, this was what we'd called sauce in Japanese. However, unlike

ordinary Worcestershire sauce, it had a strong sweetness and sourness,

along with a depth of flavor.

This was definitely the sort of sauce that went with yakisoba, a sauce for

flour-based dishes.

"The taste of sauce... is a boy's flavor," I remarked, quoting a certain

gourmet manga.

"What kind of nonsense are you talking now?" Liscia said with a roll of

her eyes, snapping me back to my sense.

"It's just, the sauce we have been experimenting with is finally

complete, so I was filled with emotion."

"I-Is it that big of a deal?" Liscia asked.

"Of course! Because, with this, I can make yakisoba, okonomiyaki,

monjayaki, takoyaki, and sobameshi. It's good on fried dishes on its own,

too."

"I barely know what any of the dishes you just named are..." Liscia

murmured.

"I'll make them for you sometime soon. I mean, even if there are

leftovers, I'm sure Aisha will make them disappear for us."

But, still... at last, we had perfected this sauce for flour-based dishes.

It had been a long process. There had already been a sauce similar to

Worcestershire sauce in this world, but it hadn't been the sort of thick sauce

that would work well with yakisoba. I had thought I could create one

somehow, and I'd been working on it through a process of trial and error,

but with no real knowledge of sauces, it had proven to be beyond me. That

was why I had ended up creating those spaghetti buns before yakisoba buns.

I had half given up on the development, but it looked like Poncho had

continued it for me.

"I'm impressed you were able to recreate it," I told him. "You'd never

tasted it yourself before, right?"

"I had Your Majesty's words, 'It's thicker than ordinary Worcestershire

sauce, sweet, and I think it felt a little sour,' the knowledge that there was a

noodle dish, 'yakisoba,' which you would pour the sauce over and mix, and

the memory of the pasta dish you call Spaghetti Neapolitan, which gave me

the hint I needed."

"The spaghetti did?" I asked.

"Yes, it did, yes. That spaghetti uses the tomato sauce called ketchup

that I developed with you, right, sire? I knew that ketchup went well with

noodle dishes, so I thought something similar to ketchup might have been

used with this noodle dish called yakisoba, yes."

"Ahh!" I cried.

I saw now! This sweet and tangy flavor came from fruits and

vegetables! In other words, this sauce for flour-based dished was made by

adding tomato sauce and other ingredients to a thick Worcestershire sauce,

then? Poncho had an incredible sense of taste to be able to figure that out on

his own.

"Then, in order to give the Worcestershire and tomato sauce mixture a

greater depth of flavor, I tried adding the soy sauce and mirin produced here

at the Kikkoro Distillery. Um... How do you think I did?" he asked

hesitantly.

I put my hands on Poncho's shoulders. "Poncho... you did well."

"Sire! You are too kind, yes!"

"Now, can this sauce be mass produced?" I asked.

"It seems the Kikkoro Distillery will take on the job for us."

That was wonderful. Now I could write another page in the culinary

history of the kingdom. When Poncho and I started excitedly talking about

the topic of sauces, the other members of the group... particularly the

women, Liscia, Hilde, and Carla... looked on, rolling their eyes.

"Souma's not a big eater, but sometime, he can be pretty picky about the

strangest details," Liscia said. "I wonder why that is?"

"That's just what men are like, Princess," said Hilde. "They pour

needless passion into things women don't understand, and they think

nothing of the trouble they go to doing it. They're such bizarre creatures."

"You speak like you have personal experience with this," said Carla.

"Do you know someone like that, Madam Hilde?"

"Don't ask about things you shouldn't, dragonewt girl," Hilde snapped.

"I'll stitch your mouth shut, you know?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am! I won't ask you anything, yes!" Carla hurriedly saluted,

seemingly having been infected with some of Poncho's speaking style as

she did.

And, well, I was excited by the unexpected result, but it was about time

to accomplish my real objective here. I parted with Poncho and then, in the

director's office of the Kikkoro Distillery, I met with the elder of the mystic

wolves who was also the director of this place.

We sat across from him in the same arrangement as when we'd visited

Ginger. The elder's white hair, white eyebrows, and white beard were all

long and thick, reminding me of a Maltese. Except that inside all that hair,

there was an old man.

The elder bowed his head deeply while still remaining seated. "We, the

mystic wolves, are endlessly grateful to Your Majesty for your protection,

the construction of this Kikkoro Distillery, and all of your other support. I

thank you on behalf of my people."

"It's fine," I said. "Little Tomoe's done a lot for us, too. Besides, it was

fortunate that people like you who knew how to grow rice and produce soy

sauce, miso, mirin, sake, and more came along. I get to eat tasty food, and I

can feed it to other people, too."

"You are very kind to say that," said the elder. "Now, sire, what manner

of business have you come here on today?"

"Yeah... I was thinking it was about time we resolved the issue outside."

"By 'outside,' you mean... the refugee camp?"

I silently nodded.

When I'd been summoned to this world, this country had been facing a

large number of problems. The food crisis, corrupt nobles acting against the

state, neighboring countries plotting to invade, how to deal with the Demon

Lord, its relationship with the Empire— the list had gone on.

However, I felt like the vast majority of those problems had been

resolved now. We had gotten through the food crisis somehow, and the

domestic situation was looking good. Our foreign enemies had been swept

away, and when it came to the Demon Lord, we had formed a secret

alliance with the Empire to handle that matter together. I had worked

through all those problems one by one, and the last one left was this refugee

camp issue.

Outside the castle walls that surrounded Parnam, there was a village of

refugees that had drifted here from the north after the appearance of the

Demon Lord's Domain.

I called it a village, but it was really just a group of tents and hovels

concentrated in one place. Of the many races that made up the refugees, I

had been able to lift up the mystic wolves in the name of putting their

special talents to use, but they only made up a small percentage of the

overall refugee population. Even now, many refugees still lived in that

refugee camp.

Technically, even when things had gotten chaotic, basic food relief had

been provided to them the whole time, but they couldn't stay like this much

longer. There were issues of hygiene, and if I supported them for too long, it

was bound to create friction with the people of this country.

If possible, I wanted the rest of them to choose to live as people of this

country, just like the mystic wolves had, but... it seemed that would be

difficult. Their wish was to return to their homelands. If they accepted

citizenship in this country, that would be the same as giving up on returning

to their homeland.

To these people who wished for the threat of the Demon Lord's Domain

to someday be swept away, allowing them to return to their homelands, it

was simply not something they could accept. I had sent my vassals to the

refugee camp a number of times to negotiate, but they had always been

rebuffed.

"We want to return to our homeland," they said. Or, "Let us remain here

until that time comes."

I understood how they felt when they said these things, so I couldn't be

too firm with them. However, there was no time left now.

"The chill of winter will only grow more harsh from here," I said. "If

they stay in crude tents and hovels, the weakest among them, the children

and the elderly, will be the first to freeze to death. Before that happens, I

want to go there personally and press them to make a decision."

"Sire..." said the elder.

"In order to do that, I'd like you to send a messenger to the refugee

camp for me first. Have the messenger tell them I'm coming. It's unlikely

that chaos will break out that way."

"I understand." The elder rose from his seat and then knelt on the floor,

bowing his head deeply to me. "We mystic wolves have already been saved

by Your Majesty's hand. If it is possible... we ask of you to save the rest of

our fellows, as well."

"Yeah... I plan to do everything I can to," I said as the elder ground his

forehead against the floor and beseeched me.

"How about you more clearly say, 'Leave it to me'?" Liscia said, but

that seemed like it would be taking the task on lightly.

"I'll try to persuade them, but... the one who'll make the final decision

isn't me," I explained. "They are the ones who should decide their own

futures. Once I receive that decision, that will decide how I'm going to deal

with them. Even if that means forcing them to see the harshness of reality."

"Souma..." Liscia had a worried look on her face, but there was no

avoiding this.

Hopefully... they would look to their reality, not an ideal, when they

made their decision.

Heading outside the castle walls that surrounded Parnam, the refugee

camp was in a field about a hundred meters away. The tents and hovels

were scattered around haphazardly, and there were crude vegetable fields in

some areas. This was where the roughly eight hundred refugees were living.

There were various races here. Humans, elves, beastmen, and dwarves,

too. That was just how many countries had been laid waste by the Demon

Lord's Domain and how many peoples had been forced to flee.

They had set up camp here, and had been living a nearly primitive

lifestyle, sharing the resources and supplies the kingdom provided to them,

then hunting and gathering to make up for what they didn't have.

Normally, hunting and foraging required permission from the country,

but the former king, Albert, had left them to their own devices. I had

continued that approach after assuming the throne myself. I'd had a

mountain of problems to deal with other than the refugees, so my only

choice had been to give them a bare minimum of support while leaving

them alone.

I couldn't, by any means, call what they had proper living conditions,

but they were at least receiving some support, which was better than

nothing.

The situation for refugees on this continent was harsh. The only nations

that could afford to leave the refugees alone were countries like ours or the

Empire, which had some national power to spare. I'd heard that in countries

bordering the Demon Lord's Domain they were forcibly conscripted and

sent to the front lines, while other countries worked them like slaves as

cheap labor in the mines under the guise of sheltering the refugees.

That refugees were drifting to a country as far from the Demon Lord's

Domain as ours only showed that there was no safe haven for them

anywhere else on this continent.

I walked through that refugee camp, following after the young man the

mystic wolf elder had sent as my guide.

The scenery here reminded me of the slums from not too long ago. One

look at the state people were in was enough to make it clear how bad the

sanitary conditions were. Their clothing was tattered and their bodies were

caked with dirt and dust.

And yet, none of them had eyes that looked dead inside. Each and every

one of them had eyes filled with vitality.

"It's squalid, but... they all have this strange strength in their eyes," said

Hilde, who had been covering her nose and mouth with a cloth ever since

we entered the village. It wasn't an easy scene for a clean freak to look at.

Liscia and the others all had pained looks on their faces.

"They came here from far to the north with only the will to live," I said.

"I'm sure the people here are probably far hardier than we imagine."

The people who face hardship they can do nothing about in times of war

or natural disasters, yet still refuse to give in to despair, have a unique

strength. Still, that strength... can also be a danger. While it strengthens

their will to pull together and overcome the situation, the group

consciousness can become too strong and weaken their sense of

individuality.

If a strange leader figure appeared at times like this, the group as a

whole could easily be swayed by that person's opinions. I absolutely would

not want anyone connected to the Papal State of Lunaria to come in contact

with them.

While I was thinking about that, Liscia spoke up.

"By the way... Kazuya. You said you gave them support, but what did

you do?"

She'd nearly called me Souma just now, but this being the sort of place

it was, I had asked her to refrain from using my name (well, it was my

family name, to be precise) as much as possible.

"It wasn't much, but we provided foodstuffs and firewood, among other

basic necessities, and we also commissioned the adventurers' guild to guard

this place as a quest," I said.

"I understand providing food, but why hire the adventurers as guards?"

"These people aren't citizens of this country. What's more, they've lost

their own countries, which would usually stand behind them and defend

them. For instance, if civilians from our country were slaughtered without

cause in a foreign land, and then the culprits went unpunished, I would

submit a complaint to that country as king, and would place sanctions on

them if the situation merited it. It works the other way around, too. In other

words, it would create an international incident. The potential for something

to cause an international incident is a restraining force that keeps our own

citizens from suffering from crimes in another country. But..."

I paused and looked at the people in the camp.

I went on, "There is no such restraining force when it comes to people

with no country of their own. You'll have people who falsely think, 'If it

won't cause an international incident, then it's okay.' Just because it won't

cause an international incident doesn't mean they won't be judged under the

laws of this country, but it can still lower the psychological hurdles for

committing a crime enough for some people to do it. That's precisely why I

want the refugees to hurry up and naturalize as citizens of this country."

If they did that, I could offer them shelter and treat them as my own

people. However, I was well aware that that wouldn't be as simple as it

sounded. Not everything in this world could be approached with reason.

"When people's hearts are involved, things get really difficult," I said.

"They do..." Liscia nodded.

We suddenly heard screams from inside the village. At the same time,

there was the sound of metal on metal.

Liscia furrowed her brow. "It sounds like someone's fighting. Multiple

someones, at that."

"Let's go," I said.

Everyone rushed toward the sound of the commotion.

When we reached the center of the commotion, there was a group of

men and women that seemed to be an adventuring party who, alongside a

handful of people from the village, were fighting against more than ten men

who seemed to be mercenaries. The adventurers included a young

swordsman, a macho brawler, a woman wielding a short sword who looked

like a thief, and a beautiful mage.

...Hold on, those were a lot of familiar faces.

So, Juno and her group took on this quest, huh?

Dece the swordsman, Augus the brawler, Juno the thief, and Julia the

mage. They were the members of the party I often worked with when I sent

Little Musashibo out adventuring.

"What is all the commotion about, pray tell?" Owen asked a man who

was quivering nearby.

"Th-Those men suddenly came, and they were trying to abduct the

children! They even cut down the adults who tried to stop them! After that,

they got into a battle with the adventurers who heard the noise and rushed

over here!"

The adults had been cut down? When I looked off into the corner, I

could see a bleeding man being treated by the priest, Febral.

I quickly gave orders. "Carla, Owen, back up the adventurers."

"Understood, master!"

"By your will!"

"Hilde, I want you to help that priest over there," I went on. "Liscia, you

stand by for further instructions."

"Fine, fine. I guess I'll have to," Hilde said.

"Urgh... okay," Liscia agreed.

Carla and Owen immediately rushed forward, and Hilde headed over to

the wounded. I was going to get one of my dolls ready, in case it became

necessary, but then realized I hadn't brought any dolls with me today.

Right... I had left them behind because I'd figured they would be too much

luggage for a trip outside the castle walls. I drew the sword I wore as little

more than a decoration and took a fighting stance.

"Can you fight if you have to?" Liscia asked me, her rapier at the ready.

"I don't know," I admitted. "Owen's been putting me through the

wringer lately, but he says I'm still little better than a fresh recruit."

"That's not very reassuring," she said. "Still, from what I can tell, they

have numbers on their side, but none of them are particularly strong. I doubt

any of them are below the level of a fresh recruit. If it comes to it, hide

behind me."

"Pathetic as that is, I guess I'll have to," I said.

I didn't like being weak, but if I butted in, I was probably just going to

cause trouble for my own people. I was in a position where I couldn't afford

to take getting injured lightly. That was what I was thinking, but...

"Ah!"

"Hold on!" she shouted. "What are you moving forward for, right after

we talked about it?!"

I heard Liscia's voice behind me, but I didn't stop. Juno had been

unlucky and caught her leg on a stick that was thrown at her and tripped.

That's when one of the men who had his hair in a cockscomb tried to attack

her. As I ran toward them, I picked up a scrap of wooden board that had

fallen on the ground.

"Get down! Juno!" I shouted and threw the board at the man like a

discus.

"Huh? Uwah!" Juno yelped and ducked.

Cockscomb slashed at the flying board. Because the attack took him

completely by surprise, he couldn't cut the board cleanly and ended up halfpulverizing it. Thanks to that, it looked like the splinters of wood had gotten

into Cockscomb's eyes.

"Ow! Damn it!" Cockscomb Head pressed on his eyes, flailing his

sword around wildly as he backed away.

I took that opening to step into the gap between the two of them. His

vision must have recovered, because Cockscomb came at me.

Calm down! One exchange of blows! I only need to hold out for one

exchange, and then Juno will have regained her footing! Just remember the

basics that Owen's beaten into me!

Cockscomb raised his sword high over his head. He was going to try and

smash my head open.

I brought my left foot forward diagonally and took a stance with my

sword up above my head horizontally, the cutting edge angled slightly

toward the ground. In the next instant...

Clang!

The sound of metal striking with metal echoed, then, with a scraping

sound, Cockscomb's sword slid down my blade and was diverted to the

ground to the right of me.

I did it... I did it! My hands were numb, but I had somehow managed to

block!

""Don't just stand there!"" Liscia and Juno screamed.

As Cockscomb tried to regain his footing, Liscia and Juno pounded their

swords into him simultaneously. Cockscomb collapsed.

Once she had confirmed her opponent was no longer moving, Liscia

grabbed me by the front of my shirt. She pulled me in close to her face.

"What were you thinking, charging out like that?!"