How a Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom

It was a few weeks after the first episode of The King’s Brillunch had been broadcast.

That day, a petition was delivered to Prime Minister Hakuya Kwonmin.

The personnel department had been the ones to organize it, but it included names from the royal guard, the maid force, and every other group within the palace. Marx, who was now the chamberlain, and Ludwin, the head of the royal guard, had put their names on it, as well.

Wondering what it could be, Hakuya quickly perused the contents to find...

“...Ah, I see.”

Hakuya agreed with the petition despite himself.

“So, there you have it. I will be insisting you take time off, sire,” Hakuya said.

“There I have what, exactly?” I asked. “I still can’t make heads or tails of what’s going on.”

While I had been working in the governmental affairs office, Hakuya had suddenly come in and said, “Take time off.” Then he’d casually dropped the bundle of papers he was holding onto the desk I’d been working at.

“This is a petition I received from the personnel department,” he informed me. “According to it, ‘When those at the top do not rest, those below them find it difficult to take time off.’ You will find Sir Marx and Ludwin’s names on here, and I, your humble servant, have added my own name, as well.”

Ah... Now that he mentions it, I haven’t taken time off since being summoned here, have I? I thought.

It wasn’t that I wasn’t resting at all. Recently, now that I had gotten used to using Living Poltergeists, I’d sometimes left the paperwork to my ability and gone to do things like make dolls in Liscia’s room. If I let part of my mind work while part of it rested, I could work 24/7 without feeling the slightest bit exhausted. However, according to Hakuya, it seemed that wasn’t the issue here.

“Even if you are resting, you are always in the palace, correct?” he asked me.

“Yeah, just in case anything happens.”

“I am telling you that it does not look like you are resting when you do that. And, because it does not look like you are resting, everyone else finds it difficult to rest themselves. Please, understand that.”

“That’s easy for you to say...” I said.

“Normally, I would want you to take a large block of days off to rest,” he said, “but...”

“Do we have that kind of time?” I asked.

“We do not.”

“I figured...”

As a matter of fact, there was a mountain of things that needed doing. Expanding and strengthening the military, meeting with VIPs, creating documents for external use, pushing forward all sorts of reforms... the list could go on forever. Even Aisha’s request that I go to the God-Protected Forest as soon as possible was on hold at this point. Though I had at least told them how periodic thinning worked. In this country beset by internal and external issues, there was no time we could afford to waste.

“However, if this lowers morale, and as a result work efficiency, I believe your hard work may be self-defeating,” Hakuya explained.

“Well, what do you want me to do, then?” I asked.

“Somehow, I will find time to give you a day off,” he said. “Why not use it for an outing somewhere?”

An outing, huh...

“Since I don’t get many days off, what if I said I want to use it to lie around in my room?” I asked.

“That request is rejected. I must ask you to take your vacation in a way that your subjects can see you enjoying it.”

“...You still call that a vacation?”

In my opinion, it’s only a day off if you’re able to do what you want with it. I gave Hakuya a meaningful glance to try to convey that, but it was met with utter indifference.

“Is this not the perfect opportunity? You can use the time to see the castle town with Princess Liscia.”

“You’re sending me out on a date?” I asked.

“You two are betrothed, so please go out and show the people how close you are.”

“Oh, come on, now this is just turning into part of my official duties,” I protested.

Do you want us to do stuff like they do on the Imperial Family Album TV show?

“...And what’ll we do about guarding me?” I added.

“Is that not what you have Aisha for?” he responded.

“First you tell me to go on a date, now you’re telling me to bring another woman along?!”

“Why, it will be like having a flower in each hand,” Hakuya commented. “I am most jealous.”

“You don’t mean that...”

Sigh... Well, it’s definitely some long awaited time to rest. I guess I can enjoy it with the mindset that I’m going out to have fun with friends. I can go around to all the places in the capital I’ve been interested in. Let’s see... checking out that singing cafe that Juna works at might be nice.

“...Okay. Fine, I’ll take a day off,” I said.

“Your understanding is appreciated.”

As Hakuya bowed reverently, I gave him a cold look.

“Now then, where’s Liscia at?” I wondered.

I wanted to let her know we had a day off, but she wasn’t in her room. Usually, that meant she was somewhere in the palace’s training facility. When I had ascended the throne, Liscia’s position as royalty had gone up in the air. Now all that she was left with was her military rank, so acting as my advisor (which, mind you, was pretty hard work) was the only job she had now. She’d been complaining lately about how she had nothing to do other than join the royal guards for training, hadn’t she?

First I visited the shooting range, then the indoor training grounds. Finally, when I visited the inner garden, I found Liscia in the middle of crossing blades with Aisha.

“Hahhhhhhhhh!”

With a loud cry, Aisha swung a sword that was as tall as she was.

In contrast, Liscia silently read her opponent’s attacks, striking with her rapier.

It was hard for an amateur to tell which of them had the advantage. Was it Aisha, who was unleashing an attack that would be crippling if it landed? Or was it Liscia, who dodged that attack, unleashing three sequential thrusts with her rapier?

Was it Aisha, who knocked those thrusts aside using nothing more than the gauntlet she wore? Or was it Liscia, who used the opening that left her with to step on Aisha’s great sword, preventing Aisha from lifting it up?

...Is this really a practice match? Their swordplay was so intense, I couldn’t be sure how serious they were.

“Sonic Wind!”

“Ice Sword Mountain!”

Now they’ve started using magic and skills!

Aisha’s Sonic Wind was apparently a skill that released a “cutting wind” from her great sword. When Liscia dodged, it cut the tree that had been behind her in half with a diagonal slash.

Meanwhile, Liscia’s Ice Sword Mountain seemed to be a skill that instantly froze the ground like a skating rink and shot icy spikes out of it, but Aisha cut down all of the spikes that looked like they might hit her using her great sword.

...What’s with this battle to the death?

I had already seen magic in this world. Recently, in order to practice my ability to manipulate dolls, I had been using a mannequin to go out and hunt monsters, so I had often seen the adventurers it encountered use magic (though it was usually when my mannequin got mistaken for a monster and attacked).

However, with the magic that ordinary adventurers used, the most they could do was things like shoot flames, shoot ice, or heal minor wounds. I’d never thought magic used by someone experienced would be this incredible.

Aisha was strong, but Liscia seemed pretty capable herself. As the two fought, their eyes were filled with life, sparkling even, as if they had discovered a worthy rival.

So these are warriors, huh... Wait, if I let them keep going, they’re going to wreck the castle!

“Both of you... cut that out!”

““Yes, sir! Wait, wha?!”” The two of them returned to their senses, landed on the ground, then both slipped on the ice and fell on their rumps in unison.

“A-A date?!” Liscia exclaimed.

“Yeah.”

When I explained to her that I had a day off, and that Hakuya had recommended I spend it going on a date with her, Liscia looked dumbstruck.

“Wait... Is that something we should be doing because someone else told us to?”

“I feel the same way, but... in Hakuya’s mind, royal dates are probably a part of our duties.”

“What an inhumane way of thinking,” she muttered.

“‘Before I am a human being, I am the prime minister.’ That’s probably something he’d say.”

“Ha ha ha!” she giggled. “He would.”

“So, before we’re human beings, he wants us to be king and queen, basically.”

“...Sorry. That one I can’t laugh at.”

The two of us sighed in unison.

Hakuya was sharp, reliable, and he took his work seriously, but he could take loyalty to his post too far sometimes. Well, that wasn’t to say he didn’t have a soft side. Recently, he had started tutoring Tomoe at her request.

“Well, I’m happy for the day off, and I figure heading out somewhere is okay, right?” I asked.

“I suppose so,” she agreed.

“Oh, oh! In that case, please, come to my forest!” Aisha raised her hand, trying to get our attention, but I shook my head.

“I still have a pile of official work to get through. It has to be somewhere we can make a day trip to.”

“Ohh... Even by horse, it takes three days each way to get to the God-Protected Forest...”

Yeah, that’s out of the question.

“You’ll have to give up on it this time. But I did teach you how to do periodic thinning, didn’t I?”

“Yes. However, there are some among the dark elves who are blindly stubborn... ‘What is this nonsense? How can you suggest that we dark elves, protectors of the forest, cut down trees?’ they say.”

Ah. Yeah, you get types like that in every world.

I respected their desire to protect nature, but when that desire goes too far, it reaches a level of arrogance, and it can actually be a problem. Nature isn’t so weak that that it needs humans to look down on and “protect” it. If anything...

“That’s why I want you to come, sire,” she explained. “To give them a good shouting at.”

“...I get it. The moment I’m free, I’ll go.”

It feels like the number of things that I need to do is only going up, but... saying that won’t help matters, will it? I thought.

“Please do. If it will help, please, use my body, my life, in any way you see fit,” Aisha said, bowing her head.

“Well, then I’ve got a favor to ask right now...”

“Yes, sire! You want me to see to your needs?” she asked immediately.

“Why is that the first thing that comes to mind?!”

“Well, I did just finish pledging my body to you.”

“Souma...” Liscia said dangerously.

“Of course I’m not going to ask for that! Liscia, stop giving me that look!”

When Aisha got worked up, it seemed she had a way of letting herself run wild.

“I just wanted to ask you to be my bodyguard while we go into the castle town,” I explained.

“Y-You want me to join you two on your date?” she asked.

“Well, if it were just me and Liscia, we’d be in trouble if anything happened,” I said. “We may be calling it a date, but really we’re just walking around town together, so you don’t need to let that bother you.”

“...It bothers me, though.” For some reason, Liscia was pursing her lips.

Maybe she’d wanted to go on a date alone together? ...Nah, couldn’t be. I mean, even though we were betrothed, that was just a formality.

“Well, that’s how it is,” I said. “I’ll be counting on you two when the day comes.”

“Yes, sire! Understood!” Aisha said enthusiastically.

“...Fine, I get it.” In contrast to Aisha’s enthusiasm, Liscia seemed dissatisfied somehow.

And so, our day off came.

Liscia, Aisha, and I were walking along a shopping street in the castle town of Parnam. Hakuya had said, “Please go out and show the people how close you are,” but apparently that had been a joke, because when the day came, he asked us to be discreet. Well, for the king going down into the castle town, Aisha alone probably wasn’t enough security, after all.

So, I wore a uniform from the Royal Officers’ Academy in Parnam and passed myself off as a student. ...Which I actually was, given that I had been in university back home.

By the way, Aisha and I were just wearing school uniforms, but we’d realized people would recognize Liscia, so she had her hair in braids and was wearing vanity glasses, giving her an honors student look as a disguise. With this, if anyone looked, all they would see was three students out on the town for their day off.

“Heya, buddy, you’ve got some real beauties there with you! If you’re a real man, how ’bout buyin’ them some of my wares as a present and showin’ off how generous you are?” a middle-aged guy at a stall with accessories on display called out to me in a Kansai accent. Apparently, the merchant slang from this world got translated as a fake Kansai accent to my ears.

While turning the man down with a tactful smile, I talked to Liscia. “Liscia, you sure do look good in glasses.”

“I-I do? ...Thanks.”

“Sire! What do you think of me in a school uniform?” Aisha quickly raised her hand. Lately, she’d been downright aggressive about doing that.

“...Uh, yeah, it doesn’t really suit you,” I said.

“Why not?!”

Yeah... the Officers’ Academy’s uniform was something like a blazer, and that didn’t go with her brown skin and silver hair at all. I don’t know how to say it, but it felt like I was looking at someone cosplaying as a character from a school anime. Like how there aren’t pink haired girls in real life, and even when girls dye their hair that way it just looks completely unnatural? There was a clash between the realistic and the fantasy here, you could say...

“Personally, I don’t think it looks that bad on her, you know?” Liscia said.

“Princess!” Aisha exclaimed.

“Yeah. Well, I’m sure it’s probably just because I was judging her by the standards of my own world,” I said.

Really, this is a diverse world with many races. I should try to get used to it as quickly as I can.

Rattle, rattle, rattle...

“And, anyway, Souma, it’s not Aisha that’s bothering me, it’s that thing you’re dragging behind you,” Liscia said.

“Hm? This rolling bag, you mean?”

“That’s a bag? It has wheels on it!”

“Yeah,” I said. “There are caster wheels underneath, which makes it easy to carry heavy things.”

“My word, what a convenient thing to have.” Aisha’s eyes were wide. Not surprising, since these weren’t common in this country yet.

I had special-ordered this one from a craftsman in the castle town. The person who’d made it for me had said he wanted to sell them himself, and I’d allowed it so long as he didn’t try to keep a monopoly on the concept. If there turned out to be demand for them, they might not be so unusual a few years from now.

“But sire, if you want your luggage carried, you need only ask...” Aisha protested.

“We’re supposed to be disguised as school friends. It’d be out of place for the guy to be making a girl carry his stuff,” I said. Besides, a bunch of my self-defense equipment was in there. I couldn’t let go of it. “Also, Aisha, stop calling me sire. Technically, we’re supposed to be incognito here.”

“Yes, sire! But what am I to call you, then...?”

“Just address me normally, no formal title. If you’d like, you can even use my given name, ‘Kazuya.’”

““Huh?”” both girls exclaimed.

Huh? Why is Liscia confused, too?

“But... Souma, isn’t your given name ‘Souma’?” Liscia asked.

“Huh? Souma’s obviously my family name. Kazuya’s my given name.”

“But you said you were Souma Kazuya, didn’t you?”

“...Ah.”

Shoot. In this country, they follow the European style, where given name comes first. I should have given my name as Kazuya Souma. Oh, I see! That’s why everyone’s been calling me King Souma. Now that I think of it, it’s weird to have “king” attached to a family name. In a hereditary system, you’d have a large number of kings with the same name if you did it that way.

“I-Is it too late to correct it?” I asked.

“Probably? Everyone thinks you’re Souma, and I think all your external correspondence has been under the name Souma Kazuya.”

“Augh! To think I was making such an awful mistake...” I moaned.

“Well, maybe it’s not so bad?” Aisha asked. “Why not use one name in public and the other in private? So, on private occasions like today, I’ll call you ‘Sir Kazuya.’”

With Aisha finding ways to cover for my mistake, I just got more depressed about it. “Now I have Aisha, of all people, having to cover for me...”

“Just what do you think of me as, Sir Kazuya?!”

“What are you, you ask...? A disappointing dark elf?”

“That’s just mean!” she exclaimed.

“Honestly, cut the stupid banter, you two, and let’s get going,” Liscia urged while I was still dealing with the teary-eyed Aisha.

Yeah... It’s fine to say let’s get going, but we haven’t chosen a particular destination, I thought. “Is there somewhere you girls want to go?”

“No,” Liscia said.

“Wherever you go, I will follow, Sir Kazuya,” Aisha added.

“Yeah. At least pretend to think about it, you two.”

If they pushed the decision off on me, I wouldn’t know what to do. Now that I thought about it, this was my first time walking around the castle town. The last time I had come here, we had just galloped straight through on horseback, after all.

Hmm... In that case, maybe that’s all the more reason why I should take a good look around. Even if we just meander around, it’ll still be new to me.

“Well, let’s just take it easy,” I said.

Parnam Central Park.

A large park in the center of the royal capital, Parnam.

Though it was called a park, there wasn’t a playground or anything like that. There were just trees, shrubs and flowers that had been planted there, but the grounds were three times the size of Tokyo Dome. In the center of the park was an impressively large fountain with a Jewel Voice Broadcast receiver. When there was a broadcast happening, it could project a massive image that was large enough to be seen from 100 meters away. There was amphitheater-style seating around the fountain, and during the last Jewel Voice Broadcast, a crowd numbering in the tens of thousands had apparently gathered there.

You know, it might be interesting to hold a live concert there, I thought. As soon as Juna’s broadcast program using the Jewel Voice Broadcast gets up and going, I’d really like to plan something like that. Someday, this fountain plaza might become a stage singers from across Elfrieden aspire to stand on, like the Budokan or Hibiya Outdoor Theater.

...Well, that’s enough of my idle fantasizing. Anyway, we had come to Central Park.

“This is a lovely place full of natural beauty,” Aisha said.

“Even though it’s in the middle of the city, the air is so clear,” Liscia commented. “Mmm.”

Aisha looked around full of curiosity while Liscia stretched widely.

“Huh? But I don’t remember the air being this clear before...” she murmured.

“Well, yeah, I worked hard to arrange that,” I said.

“You arranged it? Did you do something to this park?”

Liscia seemed puzzled, so I puffed out my chest and explained. “Not just to the park. I prepared infrastructure all over the underground of Parnam, and I could go further and say I made preparations in regards to the laws, as well. If you compare things to a few months ago, I think you’ll find environmental hygiene has improved considerably.”

To be blunt, before my preparations, the environmental hygiene in this country had been on the same level as Middle Ages Europe. Which is to say: it’d been disgusting.

Horse dung had been left lying out in the streets as if that were perfectly normal, and people had just poured their domestic sewage into ditches along the roadside. I’d heard it had smelled absolutely foul in summertime.

Because the concept of hygiene hadn’t existed, these problems had just been left alone. But when horse dung dries out, it turns into dust which is lifted into the air. When that gets into people’s lungs, it causes a variety of respiratory diseases.

That was why the first thing I had done was set up an aqueduct and sewer system.

“An aqueduct and sewer system,” Liscia gasped. “When did you have the time to make those?!”

“Actually, there wasn’t that much effort involved,” I shrugged. “There were underground passages running all over Parnam to begin with, you see. All I had to do was run water from the river through them.”

“Wait, those were escape tunnels for the royal family!” she cried in outrage.

As Liscia had said, in the event that the capital came under attack, and the fall of the royal family became unavoidable, those tunnels had been meant for the royal family to escape through. Even if the enemy discovered them, they had been built like a maze in order to hinder pursuit, and they covered the entirety of Parnam. What was more, they had been built in three layers. All of that had been very convenient for repurposing them as an aqueduct and sewer system.

First, water from the river that ran near Parnam had been drawn into the first layer, which served as an underground aqueduct. That water was now being used in wells and public bath houses that once relied on underground water. The third layer was used as a sewer, ultimately emptying out into sedimentation ponds outside the capital where the sewage would be filtered before being returned to the river once more. The system had been designed so that the water that made the full trip around the city in the first layer would ultimately drain into the third layer. We had filled in the second layer and set things up in a way that bad smells from the third layer wouldn’t rise up into the first.

“If you’ve turned them into an aqueduct and sewer system, what do you plan to do if there’s an emergency?!” Liscia demanded.

“If we get to the point where the royal family needs to flee the capital, the country’s already finished, isn’t it?” I asked. “If it were up to me, I’d probably surrender at the point when the enemy was closing in on the capital.”

“That easily?” she exclaimed.

“Liscia, so long as a king has the people on his side, he’s safe.”

This was another lesson from Machiavelli. According to him, The best possible fortress is not to be hated by the people.

A prince has two types of enemies. Traitors within, and foreign enemies without.

If you have the support of the people, traitors can’t gather supporters or incite the people into rebellion, so they’ll just have to give up. On the other hand, if you’re hated by the people, there will be no shortage of foreigners willing to assist them in your eventual downfall. So Machiavelli says.

“Even if I lose my title, so long as the people are still there, there’s a chance for revival,” I said. “On the other hand, if the king is the only one to survive, without any people left to support him, he’ll just be eaten up by another foe himself.”

“...It’s a hard world, huh,” Liscia murmured.

“That’s reality. Well, anyway, the aqueduct and sewer systems were easy enough to make, but when it came to the sedimentation ponds... Ah, let’s go sit over in the shade.”

There wasn’t much point standing around while we talked, so we went over to sit in the shade provided by some trees in the park.

Not long after we sat down, Aisha was leaning against a tree and beginning to nod off. She probably couldn’t keep up with the complicated subject matter. I had to question whether it was okay for someone who was supposed to be my bodyguard to be doing that, but, well, knowing Aisha, she could probably protect me in her sleep. I kept talking.

“I couldn’t let raw sewage drain into the river. Domestic sewage often has pathogenic bacteria and parasites in it, you see. In order to protect against those, we need to let the water sit in a place where it can filter through sand and pebbles... in other words, a sedimentation pond.”

“P-Pathogenic bacteria?” Liscia cocked her head to the side. It seemed those were unfamiliar words for people in this world.

Well, there was probably no need to get too sensitive about it just yet. The people of this country had no concept of pollution. That was because, with this country’s standards of living and level of technology, even if they dumped untreated sewage into the river, it wouldn’t make much of a difference.

However, as the country grew and its technology advanced, there were sure to be problems with pollution. The sooner I tackled that problem, the better. The Japanese people had learned about pollution by experiencing Minamata Disease, Itai-itai Disease, and Yokkaichi Asthma. There was no need for the people of this country to experience anything like that.

“So, did something happen with these sedimentation ponds?” she asked.

“Right, so I used the Forbidden Army to dig holes for the sedimentation ponds...”

“What are you making Sir Ludwin and his men do?” she exclaimed.

Well, if I’d hired workers, that would have been expensive, and I’d wanted to teach the soldiers of the Forbidden Army “combat engineering” skills. Digging holes, filling them up, reinforcing them. It was the perfect practice for digging trenches. It seemed battles in this world were still fought on the open field, so a group that could use trench warfare tactics like in World War I would stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Anyway, I digress.

“While I was having them dig, we came across a large pile of monster bones.”

“Bones?” she asked.

“Yeah, bones. Dragon bones, giant bones, all kinds of bones.”

It’s like a monster graveyard, one of the soldiers doing the digging had said.

Dragons, giants, gargoyles, and more. There had been a large quantity of clearly non-human bones just scattered around haphazardly.

By the way, of the creatures I just listed, dragons were the only ones that weren’t monsters.

Dragons had a degree of magical power that was incomparably higher than what wyverns had, they were intelligent, and apparently they could even take on human form. They had a pact of mutual non-aggression with the human race, and had built their own country in the Star Dragon Mountain Range. The chief of the Star Dragon Mountain Range, Mother Dragon, was strong even by dragon standards. She was said to be an incredibly beautiful specimen, and was even worshiped by some people. Basically, dragons were terrifying god-beasts, but they were also another race, just like humans and dragonewts were.

Anyway, let’s get back to the story.

According to the scholars who investigated those bones, they were in a geological stratum from thousands of years ago.

“So, there was a dungeon there?” Liscia tilted her head quizzically, but I shook my head.

“I said they were in a certain geological stratum, didn’t I? Thousands of years ago, that place would have been the surface.”

“The surface...? No, you can’t mean... Sometimes monsters do come out from a dungeon, but never on so large a scale. Outside of the Demon Lord’s Domain, monsters never swarm over the surface like... Ah!” Liscia gasped, shaking her head as if trying to clear it of the thought that just occurred to her. “Hold on! The Demon World only appeared for the first time ten years ago!”

“In other words, this means, even before that, there was an era when monsters roamed the surface,” I said. “If you think about it, there are dungeons all over this continent with monsters living inside them. For some reason, the monsters that lived on this continent thousands of years ago vanished, and some small portion of them survived by secluding themselves in dungeons. That’s the idea that the scholars came up with.”

This was like discovering that there were dinosaurs still living in some unexplored region of the world. Or like seeing a pandemic of a virus thought to be eradicated. Though, whether that hypothesis was right or not remained to be seen.

“Well, what then?! The monsters and demons that destroyed the Northern Countries didn’t ‘come here,’ they ‘returned,’ is that it?!”

“That, I don’t know,” I said. “It’s dangerous to jump to that conclusion at this stage.”

What were we trying to fight against? What were our enemies? It was a question where choosing an easy answer wasn’t going to cut it.

“Also, there’s one more thing bothering me...” I went on.

“There’s more?!”

“Even setting aside the issue of the bones, I needed to get that sedimentation pool made. So, I had the scholars keep archaeological records of the bones that were dug up. The thing is, a full skeleton’s worth of the largest and best preserved dragon bones has gone missing. Even though I know it was disassembled for display and sent to be stored at the Royal Parnam Museum...”

“So, it was stolen, then?” Liscia asked.

“That would be good news... Well, no, not good news, but still. With a full, 20-meter-tall dragon skeleton, even if you disassemble it, it’s not going to be easy to transport. Despite that, there’s no sign that it was taken out of Parnam. And yet, the bones are still missing now. It’s as if the full set suddenly started to move, took wing, and flew away.”

“Ah! No, it couldn’t be! A skull dragon?!” she cried.

“That’s what the scholars suspect.”

A skull dragon. Apparently, there were monsters like that.

They say a raging dragon can level a kingdom. Dragons have vast stores of magical powers within their bodies, and those reserves remain in their bodies after death. Normally, the magic power gradually drains out, but when a dragon dies with regrets (or, rather, when its body is left in a bad environment for too long), on rare occasions, it may turn into a skull dragon.

These skull dragons are designated by the country as Special A-Class harmful creatures. Winged ones can fly, even though they have no membranes between their wings, and they spread a miasma that brings death to all living things. They can also use the dragon’s Dragon Breath technique from when it was alive, so when one appears, it is a living (unliving?) disaster that requires the full mobilization of a country’s military to defeat. That alone was reason for smaller countries to go to the Star Dragon Mountain Range, where the dragons live, to seek assistance.

However, this time, things were different.

“If that were it, Parnam would already be enveloped in miasma,” I said. “The scholars performed a magical test to make sure there was no risk of that happening, after all. There shouldn’t have been any magic left in that fossil.”

“I see... That’s good.”

“Still, that’s why I don’t get it. Where did those dragon bones vanish to?”

It had already been close to a month since the dragon bones vanished. Despite that, there was still no sign of them, so did that mean they had been carried outside the walls somehow, after all? If so, what was the purpose? There was apparently little use for the bones once the magic left them. They had lost their value as a magic catalyst. The best that could be done with them was to put them in a museum (of course, I would need permission from the Star Dragon Mountain Range for that) and use them as a tourist attraction.

I didn’t get it. That was why it bothered me.

I lay down on my side. Liscia frowned at me, but I didn’t care.

“You’re getting your clothes dirty, you realize?” she commented.

“They can be washed. Besides, considering my position, I can get someone else to wash them for me.”

“A king can’t let himself get dirty all over,” she said.

“Yeah, I’m sure dignity is important and all, but... it’s a pain in the butt.”

“As one of the people who forced this on you, it’s not my place to say it, but give up and accept it.”

“Right, right. Whew, having time where I’m off completely sure is nice.” I stretched my arms and legs wide. How relaxing it was to not have a single part of my spirit working.

Now that I thought about it, I had been working constantly since coming to this world. There were things to do, things I ought to do, things I had no choice but to do, piles and piles of them, and so I had been using my head all the time. Having this sort of time where I didn’t need to think about anything... it was the best.

“Ahh... I wish I could just melt away and return to the soil,” I murmured.

Liscia was silent. After seeing me like that, she seemed to think for a moment, then hesitantly said, “Do you want... to rest your head in my lap?”

I sat with my knees bent, resting Souma’s head on my thighs.

When someone rests their head in your lap, they can either do it with their body lying horizontally or vertically from your perspective. This was the vertical variety.

When I peeked down at him, my face was reflected upside-down in his eyes. Souma’s head was lying between my two thighs, and it tickled a little.

“Th-This is... kind of embarrassing, you know.” Souma’s face was a deep shade of red.

...I was sure mine was, too.

“Who do you think this is most embarrassing for?” I asked him. “The person giving the lap pillow, or the person using it?”

“I don’t know... Maybe it’s ‘for the people watching,’ don’t you think?” he said.

“Ha ha ha! You could be right.”

If Aisha hadn’t been asleep, what expression would she have made?

When she saw us looking like a couple who were engaged, would her face have turned red? Or would she have said, “Princess, I’ll not allow you to do that! If anyone is to be his pillow, it will be me!” or something oblique like that?

When I saw the fondness that girl showed Souma, sometimes I felt there was something more than just loyalty there...

Somehow, I suspected that out of those two options, it would have been the latter of the two.

“...Do you think we look like we’re engaged?” I asked.

“Well, in name only,” he said.

“In name only...”

Any time it came up, Souma always told those close to him that our engagement was just temporary, and he was only holding onto the crown for a little while. Once the kingdom was reasonably stable, he probably planned to abdicate the throne to me. I felt like that was the reason he always carefully explained the reforms he was carrying out to me. I think I understood enough of who Souma was as a person to figure out his intentions there.

Souma didn’t desire excessive wealth or fame. He just wanted to live in peace and quiet. For Souma, being a “king” bound by “noblesse oblige” was the exact opposite of his calling in life. Even though my father had made the decision, I felt awful that we had pushed this burden off onto him.

...But, right now, this kingdom was changing to center around Souma.

This country, which had been thought of by the surrounding nations as a moldy old kingdom that never changed, was now changing. It was thanks to Souma that we had been able to cope with the deepening food crisis. As for Hakuya, Poncho and the others, they had only volunteered to serve because Souma was there. Even if the throne were abdicated to me, could I keep them all tied down here?

But besides that, more than anything, I myself wanted Souma to stay in the kingdom. And so...

“Souma... Does it bother you to have me as your fiancée?” Those words naturally came to my lips.

Souma’s eyes went wide, and he turned his bright red face to the side. “...It’s not fair for you to put it like that.”

“O-Oh, yeah?” I stammered.

“Then are you fine with it, Liscia? Having me as your fiancé?”

“I don’t mind.” I was a little surprised myself that I was able to say it so clearly. Though, after I did, I felt just a little embarrassed. “You know, I think you’re better suited to rule this country than I am, Souma.”

“Even if I’m suited for it... are you going to get engaged to someone you don’t love?”

“Isn’t that what it means to be royalty?” I asked.

“I’m not royalty. Besides... I’d rather marry for love.”

“Then... do you hate me, Souma? Can you say for sure that you’ll never fall in love with me?” I asked.

“Urgh... I told you, it’s not fair when you say stuff like that. The thing about men is, if a girl shows even the slightest hint of liking them, they’ll fall for her. That’s the sort of creatures we are. If a beauty like you says that to me, Liscia... there’s no way I wouldn’t start to feel conscious of you.”

Souma had said something that sounded like an excuse. He was surprisingly calm and realistic in his duties, so it was funny to see him flustered in a situation like this.

I giggled. “You can make the country move, but you’re hopeless when it comes to this.”

“...I lack the experience. In so many ways.”

“I spend all my time in my studies and military duties, so I haven’t had much experience either, you know?” I said.

“Don’t act like it’s the same for guys and girls. Our base specs when it comes to love are completely different.”

While we were talking about that, a hesitant voice spoke up. “Um...”

When I turned around, Aisha had woken up at some point, and she was looking at us with a wry smile that looked like it had been concentrated to three times the usual intensity.

“How much longer do I need to pretend I’m asleep for?” she asked.

““...””

We both leapt into the air.

After leaving the park, we walked around the castle town some more. It was noon and we were getting hungry, so the three of us decided to head to the singing cafe where Juna worked.

As we walked down a cobblestone path, Liscia said, “So, about what we were talking about earlier...” and asked me a question. “You mentioned changing the laws, as well. What was that about?”

“Oh. What I did was convert the smaller roads into pedestrian paradises and nationalize garbage disposal.”

“...I’m sorry. I have no idea what that means.”

Well, no, I suppose she wouldn’t have. They both tied back into the hygiene and sanitation problem, though.

“Well, first, let me explain the pedestrian paradise thing. This one’s simple. I prohibited carriages from using anything but the largest of thoroughfares. Carriages that carry merchandise receive a special exemption, but only for a few hours in the morning. We’ve been walking in the middle of the street all this time, and nobody’s run us over yet, right?”

“Now that you mention it...” Liscia looked all around, not spotting a single horse.

“This provides an easy reduction in the number of horse accidents, creating a safe environment for people to shop, which helps to stimulate the economy, but... the main goal was to clean up all the horse dung.”

“Horse dung?” Liscia repeated.

“When a horse is on the move, you generally just leave its droppings behind, right? Well, that dung dries out, gets picked up by the wind, and it harms the lungs of those who inhale it. The more unsanitary a place was to begin with, the more likely horse dung is to be left alone. If we limit the horses to the main roads, it makes collecting their droppings easy. This ought to bring down the number of people contracting pneumonia considerably.”

“Huh?! That’s all it takes?!” Liscia exclaimed.

“...Yeah,” I said. “‘That’s all’ it would have taken to save lives.”

“Urkh...”

It may have been a harsh way to say it, but I couldn’t have her writing off something that would mean the difference between life and death for people with a “that’s all it takes.”

“Well, in some ways, I can’t blame you,” I said. “The concept of hygiene doesn’t exist yet in this country. In fact, only two of the medical professionals I’ve met with understood it.”

I think I’ve mentioned before that because this country had magic, its technology was sort of all over the place. Well, that was true in the field of medicine, as well.

As you might expect from a fantasy world, this place had what was called recovery magic. By converting magic into certain wavelengths within the body, it heightened the body’s natural healing ability. It was effective in treating external injuries, such as scratches, cuts, and bruises. Really impressive practitioners could even reattach an arm that had just been severed.

If this was all someone saw of it, it would seem like a miracle.

On the other hand, recovery magic couldn’t treat viruses and infections that the body’s natural ability to recover couldn’t. All people had to lessen the symptoms of those were medicine men and women who could brew herbal remedies. Furthermore, for the elderly, whose natural healing ability had declined, it wasn’t effective in treating external injuries, either.

Once you know how something works, it might be easy to think, “Oh, that’s simple,” but most people in this country didn’t even know about microbes, let alone viruses. When people try to find answers to questions they don’t have the necessary knowledge to answer, they’re prone to finding answers that fall within what’s common sense to them.

“Healing magic doesn’t work” would equate to “Even miracles can’t cure it,” and then turn into “It’s a devil’s curse.”

People put together these sorts of formulas in their heads, then end up using bizarre occult goods in their attempts to treat the illness.

“If you buy this pot, you’ll never get sick” actually worked as a sales pitch in this world, so it was nothing to laugh at. If you’re going to buy something like that, you might as well wrap a leek around your neck before you go to sleep instead.

However, there were buds of hope. The two doctors I just mentioned. If I could have those two lead a reformation of medical practice in this country...

“Hey, Souma, what are you mumbling to yourself for?” Liscia’s voice snapped me back to reality.

“Sorry,” I said. “I got to thinking for a moment there.”

“Geez... Okay, so what did you mean when you said you nationalized garbage disposal?”

“Exactly what it sounds like,” I said. “Liscia, do you know how trash is generally disposed of in this country?”

“Garbage is sorted into ‘burnable’ and ‘non-burnable,’ then burned or buried accordingly, right?”

“Wow, you were able to answer that pretty easily,” I said.

“Did you think I was ignorant of the peoples’ lives just because I’m royalty? Don’t insult me. I lived in the dorms when I went to military academy, I’ll have you know,” she said indignantly.

I see. So she’s not as ignorant of the world as I thought...

“But you’re still wrong.”

“Huh?” she asked.

“I said ‘generally,’ didn’t I? Your answer is still only representative of upper class thinking. It’s a world away from the common way of thinking.”

“W-Well, what is the common way of thinking about it, then?” she asked.

“Aisha, how do your people dispose of garbage in the God-Protected Forest?” I queried.

“Hm? Garbage?” Aisha’s eyes went a little wide when I suddenly turned the conversation to her, but she was able to come up with an answer right away. “Let me think... We burn it.”

“Is that all?” I asked.

“That is all.”

“That can’t be right! What do you do about the things that won’t burn?!” Liscia objected, but Aisha just stared blankly back at her.

“Would you even throw out things that aren’t burnable to begin with?” Aisha asked.

“Of course you would! What else would you do with broken tools?” Liscia demanded.

“We fix them and keep using them.”

“...Huh?”

“We use kitchen waste as fertilizer. With pottery that is too broken to repair, we break it into fine pieces and scatter it over the ground. If metal tools break, we fix them so they can be used again. If they can’t be fixed, we sell them to a used metal dealer.” (A type of merchant who collects scrap metal.) “The only things we throw out are splintered wood and damaged leather armor, but... we burn those in our campfires.”

This time, it was Liscia’s turn for wide-eyed surprise. I couldn’t help but laugh a little at their exchange.

“Ha ha! Aisha’s got it right this time.”

“Soumaaaa...” Liscia moaned.

“Don’t let it get you down so much,” I said. “For the upper classes who have to keep up appearances, and for the military whose equipment can mean the difference between life and death, it’s probably best for them if the things they have are practically brand new. However, for ordinary households, that isn’t the case. Now, Aisha’s example takes it to an extreme, but people in the capital handle things in a similar fashion. The main difference would be that they burn their kitchen waste, too, I guess? Also, for oversized trash, like wooden furniture, they customarily gather it all in the main plaza once a year for burning, don’t they? So they’re the same in that they only have burnable trash.”

In this world, there was nothing like plastic or styrofoam that needed special treatment before it could be reused. Most tools were made of iron, stone, soil (which includes glass and ceramic) or wood. They could reuse iron by melting it down, and if they just left stone lying around, it would blend in with the natural scenery around it. The one exception was artificial substances that were created by mages using magic (magic substances), but these were valuable in and of themselves, so they were almost never thrown away.

As for things made of metal, they could be expensive, too, so the common people did everything within their power to repair them. Beating iron back into shape was easy, after all. When there was really nothing they could do, and it seemed cheaper to just buy a new one, they would sell it to a used metal dealer for small change. Used metal dealers collected this metal and melted it down, recasting it into other metal products.

However, this was being done by individuals, so they didn’t have good facilities for it, or the ability to devote a large amount of time, so they could only produce low-quality metal as a result. All they did was melt it down and then let it harden, so impurities got mixed in in the process. As a result, low-quality metal ended up circulating in the country.

This country was resource-poor. If low-quality metal was all that could be obtained locally, people would be forced to import high-quality metal from other countries. I wanted to limit that spending as much as possible. However, if I tried to tell the used metal dealers, who were acting as individuals, to reuse the metal in high-quality impurity-free metal, it wasn’t going to happen.

“So, that’s why I’ve nationalized garbage disposal... Basically, I had the country take over handling it. Even if it’s difficult for an individual to do, when the state does it, we can afford to spend money on it, arrange for specialized facilities, and we can take the time to do it right, too. We can pull every last nail out of the wooden boards people throw out, then reuse the iron.”

“That’s amazing and all... but what about the used metal dealers? Aren’t you stealing their jobs?”

“Oh, that’s fine,” I said. “For that work, I’m retaining the used metal dealers as civil servants.”

They were low-wage workers anyway. They paid a small amount to buy up scrap metal, then melted it all down to sell to the trade guilds wholesale. However, since they could only produce low-quality metal, their prices got haggled down to almost nothing, and they saw very little profit for themselves. As a matter of fact, used metal dealers were at the very bottom of this world’s hierarchy. Because they dealt in garbage, people looked down on them.

“However, now that it’s a public sector undertaking, the cost of buying the metal will be footed by the country,” I said. “The items to be melted down can be recast as high-quality metal in good facilities provided by the country, and the country will negotiate with the trade guilds, so there’s no need to worry about their prices being haggled down to nothing. What’s more, they will be paid a monthly salary that’s equal to the average monthly income in this country. If you compare that to what they were making before, it’s probably a ten-fold increase, don’t you think?”

“Well... I can’t see them complaining about that,” Liscia admitted.

As a matter of fact, we hadn’t received a single complaint. Quite the contrary: when the minister of state who had been given the garbage disposal portfolio had gone to survey the reprocessing facility, he had been greeted with tearful thanks by all of the workers.

“But, if you aren’t careful, couldn’t that be more expensive than importing it from another country?” Liscia asked.

In response to Liscia’s point, I nodded and said, “Yeah, kinda.”

Elaborating, I added: “At this stage, we’re probably a little worse off doing it this way. However, money spent inside the country has a completely different meaning from money spent outside the country. If we spend money outside the country, that’s an outflow of capital, but if we spend it inside the country, it stimulates our own economy.”

“Th-The economy again, huh...” For Liscia with her military background, it seemed she wasn’t as strong with this sort of topic. The military had its own bureaucracy, so officers probably only needed to think about maintaining supply lines.

“Okay then, I’ll give you the military angle,” I said. “Let’s talk diplomacy. If we can conserve the resources in our country, other countries can’t use the resources we import from them as a card in their diplomacy. For instance, what would we do if the Principality of Amidonia, which has been eagerly eyeing our country, were to halt their export of iron to us?”

“...We’d be in trouble,” Liscia said. “There’s no telling what demands they might present us with to reopen trade.”

“That’s right. I did it with an eye to preventing that sort of situation, too.”

I’m not going to name names, but in my world, there had been a country that used the rare resources they produced as a diplomatic tool to pressure other nations. Though, once a certain island country got serious, they found new import routes from other resource-rich countries, and they developed alternative technologies, which caused the other country’s rare resources to plummet in value.

“If we can be frugal with our resources, that will limit the damage if another country halts its exports to us, and if we store the excess we have in peacetime, we can be prepared for that if it comes to it,” I explained.

“I see,” Liscia said. “So even if it puts us in the red, there’s still meaning in nationalizing it.”

Liscia was a quick learner when it came to military and diplomatic matters. She was probably the type whose ability or inability to learn a subject was a faithful reflection of her personal preferences.

Incidentally, while we were talking about this stuff, Aisha announced, “Forget about that, I want to eat!”

She looked ready to cry, like a dog that had been forced to wait for a long time.

The singing cafe, Lorelei, stood on a sunny street corner. This was the place where Juna worked.

When I had heard the words “singing cafe,” I’d imagined a place with a karaoke machine, where the customers could sing freely, but the singing cafes in this country were a place to enjoy your afternoon tea while listening to the loreleis sing. In the evenings, it stayed open and turned into a jazz bar. Were there places like this back in Japan, too?

“You’re going to show your face in there, right?” Liscia asked. “Let’s hurry up and go in.”

“I’m hungry...” Aisha moaned.

With both of them urging me onward, we went through the door and into Lorelei.

From the moment we entered the cafe, I could hear Juna singing. When I heard that voice, I went weak in the knees.

Oh, right. I did teach her this song, didn’t I? I realized.

That was Juna for you: she had mastered singing the English lyrics that even I wasn’t so good at.

“Oh, what a wonderful singing voice. I really must hand it to Madam Juna,” Liscia said.

“I don’t know what the words mean, but it’s a nice tune,” Aisha added.

Aisha and Liscia both seemed deeply impressed. Well, of course they were. It was a good song.

I had promised to teach Juna the songs of my world, but once I thought about it, I only knew old songs I’d learned because of Grandpa’s influence, and songs that had shown up in anime and tokusatsu, because I was into those. I was hesitant to go teaching her anime songs right off the bat, so I’d chosen this song, which was like an anime song, but not: Neil Sedaka’s “Better Days are Coming.”

You might know it better as the song that Mami Ayukawa covered as Z — Toki wo Koete, the opening to the mecha anime Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. Now, this is only my personal opinion, but I thought for ordinary music, Hiroko Yakushimaru, and for anime songs, Hiroko Moriguchi’s songs would suit Juna’s voice well. I wanted to hear “Tantei Monogatari” and “Mizu no Hoshi ni Ai wo Komete” with her voice.

The cafe had a relaxing, retro-modern style to it. Sitting ourselves down at one of the tables, we listened to Juna sing for a while. A few minutes later, Juna finished her song and came over to us.

“Why, Your...” she began.

“Hello, Juna,” I said quickly. “You may not remember me, but I am Kazuya, the successor to a crêpe fabric merchant from Echigo!”

In order to cut off Juna, I started talking a mile a minute. Being the smart, talented woman that she was, Juna recognized what was going on just from that. “Oh, yes, Kazuya. Right. It’s been so long. How is your father these days?”

“Why, he’s too energetic for his own good. Just recently, Mother found out he was having affair. Now wasn’t that trouble.”

“I see. Kazuya, do be careful about how you handle women yourself,” she said, going along with my story.

I couldn’t very well have her bowing and calling me “Your Majesty” in a place like this with so many people watching, after all. I was supposed to be in disguise. Still, I had to be impressed with her ability to instantly ad-lib a response to my random nonsense. I definitely wanted her at the castle.

“I’ll pay you five times what they pay you here, so will you come be my personal secretary?” I asked her.

“I appreciate the offer, but I think this job where I can let the customers enjoy my songs is my calling, so I’ll have to decline.” She let me down lightly.

Yep. Even the way she rejects me has class.

“That’s a shame. But, they do say that rather than put wild flowers on display in your room, the flowers are more beautiful left blossoming in the fields.”

“Oh, but if you love and adore them, not just put them on display, flowers will shine even in a vase,” she retorted.

“I see. I must endeavor to be worthy of loving and adoring them, then.”

“Yes, worthy enough to convince the flowers they want you to take them.”

“Ha ha ha ha ha.”

“Hee hee hee hee hee.”

Juna and I laughed together.

As she watched us, Liscia seemed slightly taken aback. “Somehow, when you two talk, it’s like you’re each probing the other’s intentions.”

...Or so she thought. You’re wrong, Liscia, I said silently. Most likely, this was Fig. 1: A younger brother who wants to act more mature than he is being gently chided by his big sister for it.

...I’ll bet that’s how it was. Even though we were practically the same age.

“Slurrrrrp... Gelin udon truly is delicious, isn’t it?” Aisha said happily.

We had decided to stay at Lorelei and have lunch there.

Polishing off her gelin udon as fast as you would a bowl of wanko soba, Aisha shouted “Seconds, please!” thrusting the bowl out towards our waiter.

A cafe isn’t the place to be eating like that, you know... I thought.

“Still, gelin udon at a cafe...?” I wondered.

“Did you not like it?”

Juna looked worried, so I shook my head, saying, “Oh, no. I just thought it was odd to be slurping udon in a classy place like this.”

“Ever since that broadcast, there have been a lot of people wanting to try it,” she explained. “Besides, we aren’t through the food crisis yet, so we’re grateful to have these sorts of inexpensive ingredients we can use.”

“I’m working on it, but... sorry I’m not doing well enough,” I said.

“No, Your... Kazuya, I think you’re doing well.”

When Juna gave me that gentle smile, it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Kick! Kick!

Okay, Liscia, stop kicking my shins under the table, please.

“Don’t you think Souma treats Juna differently from how he treats everyone else?” Liscia asked.

“Ahh, slurp... I had... slurp... noticed that, too,” Aisha agreed.

“...Hey, I can’t help it,” I protested. “I get nervous when I’m talking to a beautiful, older girl. Also, Aisha, eat or talk. Pick one.”

“Slurp.”

What, you’re choosing to eat? I could have poked fun at her, but that comedy routine’s too overdone, so I just let it go.

“...This after he told me I was beautiful, too,” Liscia said.

“Actually, Liscia, I think you’re beautiful in a different way than Juna is, you know?” I said.

“Wh-Why were you able to hear me?!” she exclaimed.

Uh, if you don’t want to be heard, lower your volume a little, would you?

...Part of it was that I was strangely conscious of her because she’d let me use her lap as a pillow.

“Y-You could have pretended not to hear,” she stammered.

“Like I could let it go by,” I retorted. “I’m a healthy young man, so don’t say things that are going to make me so conscious of you so often.”

“Oh, my, your faces are all red. You’re both so innocent.” Juna watched us bickering with a smile.

Next to us, Aisha slurped her udon like she was pouting. “Slurp... Why does he notice the princess’s affections... Slurp... but mine get ignored...? Slurp. Ah, I’ll have another bowl, please.”

“It may not be my place to say it... But perhaps he doesn’t take you seriously because you act like this?” Juna suggested.

“Madam Juna?! What have I done wrong?!” Aisha exclaimed.

“That appetite of yours. When I first saw you in the castle, you looked like a brave and dignified woman who was willing to address the king directly, but recently you’re just a disappointment who’s eating all the time.”

“Wh-Whaaaaat?!” Aisha started to look at us with eyes that seemed to plead, “Tell me she’s lying, Your Majesty, Princess.”

Liscia and I smiled, then both raised our arms in front of us in an X.

After all, I agreed with Juna 100%.

“Poncho’s clearly been stealing everyone’s attention from her,” Liscia said.

“Where did that dignified Aisha go, I wonder?” Juna asked.

“Wahhh! It’s the forest’s fault for not having so many different types of food!” Aisha wailed.

“Besides, what do you think you’re doing trying to seduce a guy who’s already betrothed...?” I added.

“““Huh?””” All three stared at me blankly.

Did I say something strange?

“Um... Souma? In this country, polygamy is tolerated, so long as you have the wealth to support multiple wives, you realize?” Liscia said.

Juna nodded. “It works the other way around, too. Polyandrous arrangements are possible for powerful women, as well. It’s uncommon, though.”

“If men were limited to one wife, the house could die out if something went wrong, after all,” Aisha agreed.

Liscia, Juna, and Aisha told me this with straight faces.

Are they serious...? Ah, no, I guess they probably are serious.

This world’s society still hadn’t gotten out of the Dark Ages. They didn’t have a stable birth rate, and their hygiene and medical knowledge were underdeveloped. On top of that, they were living in these troubled times, so there were probably few people living to the average life expectancy. Furthermore, in a Middle Ages-type society, where the “house” is an important concept, provided you have the wealth to support them, the more potential heirs the better. That was probably the reason why they allowed polygamy. Even I could understand that.

“But Liscia’s mother is the only queen I’ve met...” I objected.

If it was a polygamous system, wouldn’t Liscia’s father, the king, have had more wives? I mean, I was getting hassled by Hakuya to hurry up and produce an heir, too.

“Oh, actually, my mother was the one who held the royal authority,” Liscia explained. “She’s the daughter of the man who was king before my father, you see.”

“Hold on, that king married into the family?!” I burst out.

“Yes. After they married, she left ruling the country to him, though. That’s why my father could never have slighted my mother by taking another woman as his queen. ...I can’t say for sure that he doesn’t have any bastards, though.”

“Huh? Was it okay for me to take the throne when he abdicated it to me?” I wondered.

“There’s no issue. Father was the one who stood out, but he couldn’t have abdicated without Mother’s consent.”

In other words, that abdication hadn’t been an arbitrary decision by the king, but something he had had the queen’s understanding for as well, huh?

“Besides, I was the only one with the right of succession, and I would have had to take a husband anyway, so it’s not that big a difference, really,” Liscia added. “It’s just a matter of whether I hold the royal authority or my partner does.”

“...Well, couldn’t you have been the ruler then, instead, Liscia?” I asked.

“You’d have needed to seek my approval for each and every one of your reforms, you know? Wouldn’t that be a pain?”

“Well... Yes.”

Now, Liscia wasn’t pigheaded in any way, but if I had needed her approval for every little thing, my reforms would have been going much slower. Besides, if the person with ultimate deciding power and the person driving the reformation were separate people, there would be no guarantee that the members of a counter-reformation faction wouldn’t try to get between the two and stir up unneeded trouble.

“Your father made a brave decision by transferring everything to me at once, huh...” I said.

“You’re right... I’m sincerely able to see how impressive that was now.”

Though, it did mean the burden had been shifted to us.

We both sighed in unison.

“So, if you wanted it, Souma, a polygamous relationship is... possible,” Liscia said.

“You’d be okay with that, Liscia?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t be happy about it, but if it keeps you on the throne...”

“That’s being way too understanding...” I murmured.

“I’ll tolerate up to eight, myself included.”

“That’s a lot! I couldn’t take responsibility for that many!”

Now, when she told me I could have a harem, it’s not like the idea wasn’t appealing, but... I dunno, I could only imagine it being a lot of work. I wasn’t the type that could bear to disagree strongly with women, and I could tell that the more of them there were, the more constrained I’d feel.

“By the way, why did you choose that number?” I asked.

“I can have you all to myself for one day a week,” she said.

The weeks in this world were eight days. Incidentally, there were four weeks in a month, making each of them 32 days. There were twelve months in a year, so this world had a 384-day year.

Wait, that’s why?! I realized, registering what she had said.

When she said that, Juna and Aisha started whispering about something.

“If there were eight of us, do you think we would only get it once a week?”

“It doesn’t have to be that way, I’d think? If you and another wife each invited the other on your days...”

“I see. It’s not necessarily just once a week! You’re brilliant, Madam Juna.”

“...But wouldn’t you want to have him to yourself?”

“Ooh, there’s a conundrum.”

No, no, Aisha, Juna, why are you getting so into talking about this?!

Having them at the same time... I can’t say I wouldn’t be into that, but I’d have to become king for that. I was torn between my realistic personality, which wanted to avoid the hard work involved if I took the throne, and my desire to pursue that masculine ideal.

Just then, as I was starting to feel incredibly awkward...

“No, you can’t do that! Absolutely not, Hal!”

“Why won’t you understand?!”

At a table far away from ours, a young couple in military outfits were having an argument.

The man was a tall human with distinctive red hair. He looked like he was over 190 centimeters tall. He was broad-shouldered, and even through his uniform, I could tell he had a solid build.

The girl, on the other hand, had blonde hair in a short bob, with two triangular ears up top, and was a little on the petite side.

Is that girl a mystic wolf, I wonder?

“That girl’s a mystic fox,” Liscia told me, but I couldn’t tell the difference. “You can tell by their tails. She has a fox tail, see?”

“They’re both canines, so can’t we just lump them both together as mystic dogs?” I asked.

“If you say that, you’ll get both the mystic wolves and the mystic foxes angry. Kobolds are mystic dogs, so it would be like lumping humans together with apes.”

“...Tell me about all these things I shouldn’t say to certain races later, please.”

That’s another world for you. You never know when you’ll step on a landmine like that, I thought.

As I was thinking that, the mystic fox girl was pleading. “I’m begging you, Hal. You can’t go to the Carmine Duchy right now! Army General Duke Georg Carmine is hostile to the new king. There could be a civil war!”

“That’s exactly why I’m going. If there’s going to be fighting, that’s a chance for me to get promoted, isn’t it?” The one called Hal, who seemed to be a young man of about 18, gave her a dauntless smile.

The mystic fox girl, on the other hand, wore an expression clouded with anxiety. “Hal, the way you think about war is too simple. Your father called you back home because he was worried about you being like that!”

“It’s none of my old man’s business! He’s served under Duke Carmine for years, but now that things don’t look so good, he’s hiding in the capital, the coward! I don’t need to listen to him!”

“Your father understands what’s happening. Duke Carmine is rebelling without just cause.”

The two kept quarreling.

As she was watching them, Liscia clapped her hands together in recognition. “I thought I recognized him! The man is Officer Halbert Magna.”

“Is he someone you know?” I asked.

“He’s the eldest son of a distinguished family in the army clique. Since his academy days, his combat abilities have put him well above the rest of his peers. He entered the land forces after graduating, but... I guess he’s returned home since then.”

“He sounds surprisingly well known,” I mused. “Well, how about the girl, then?”

“I don’t know... I’ve never seen her in the army...”

“That girl is Kaede Foxia,” Juna answered on Liscia’s behalf.

Huh? Why does she know? I wondered.

“Because she’s a regular here,” Juna said without my asking. “If I recall, she mentioned she’s a mage serving in the Forbidden Army.”

“If she’s in the Forbidden Army, is she an earth-type mage, then?” I asked.

This world’s magic could be divided into six elements: fire, water, earth, wind, light, and dark.

Fire, water, wind, and earth manipulated their respective elements for attack spells, while light was generally healing-type magic. Dark was unique in that it didn’t, strictly speaking, manipulate darkness. All the unique spells that didn’t fall under the previous five elements were lumped together under the “dark-type” categorization.

In terms of magic type, my Living Poltergeists would have been dark.

Every person in this world was aligned with one of these elements, and they could use magic to some degree. As you would know from Liscia and Aisha’s training, people could imbue their weapons or attacks with magic of their element, as well.

Those who could cause greater magical effects than ordinary people were called mages. Mages could manipulate flames, cause whirlwinds, form craters in the ground, and sink battleships with their incredible powers.

When mages joined the military, their type determined where they were sent. Fire users went to the army, wind users to the air force, water users to the navy, and earth and dark users (not that there were many of the latter) went to the Forbidden Army, while light users were distributed equally and played a similar role to combat medics.

Honestly, I was opposed to this inflexible way of distributing them, but the army, navy and air force were under the control of the Three Dukedoms, so I couldn’t mess around with them.

Someday, I want to reform that system.

While I was thinking about all that, Kaede and Halbert kept arguing.

“Duke Carmine would never lose to that inexperienced king!”

“Duke Carmine’s been acting strange lately! If we start fighting amongst ourselves, only our neighbors stand to benefit! Amidonia wants to reclaim the lands they lost to Elfrieden two kings ago. And as for the Turgis Republic, with more than half their territory frozen, they want fertile land and a warm water port. If there’s a civil war, they’re sure to intervene. Duke Carmine must know that...”

Huh, it sounds like Kaede has a good understanding of the situation in the neighboring countries.

The country to the west of this one on the world map, the Principality of Amidonia, had seen roughly half of their territory stolen from them under the expansionist policies of Liscia’s grandfather. That was close to 50 years ago, but they were still eyeing this country for any opportunity to regain their lost land. For this country, it was clearly an enemy state.

To the south of Amidonia, on the southern edge of this continent, was the Turgis Republic, which, like Kaede said, was a frigid land that was mostly frozen.

When you looked at this world’s map, the further south you went, the lower the temperature dropped. I didn’t know whether that was because (speaking from a Japanese person’s perspective) this continent was in the southern hemisphere, or if their concept of north and south was reversed, or even if it was because of some mysterious magical effect, but the further south you went in Elfrieden, the colder it got, and the further north, the warmer it got.

Because of the kind of country they were, “Go north” was a national policy for the Turgis Republic.

However, of the countries they bordered, the Gran Chaos Empire was massive, so they could ill afford a conflict with them, while the mercenary state of Zem was their ally, meaning they couldn’t invade there, either. That narrowed their potential targets for northward expansion to Amidonia or Elfrieden.

In other words, both Amidonia and Turgis were like ravenous wolves, ready to pounce on this country at the soonest opportunity.

“What is Duke Carmine thinking when the neighboring countries have designs on our territory?”

“...This is Duke Carmine you’re talking about. I’m sure he has a plan.”

“Aren’t you going to think for yourself, Hal?!”

“The fact of the matter is, many nobles have given up on the king and they’ve gone to serve under Duke Carmine, haven’t they? His failure to keep them here is proof of the king’s ineptitude.”

“I don’t know if the new king is competent or not, but up to this point, I’ve seen no misrule under him! Besides, most of those nobles gathering under Duke Carmine are those who’ve lost rights under the new king’s finance reforms, or who were investigated for corruption and are discontented over having their assets seized, you realize?! Even if you restored their rights, do you really think that would make this country a better place?!”

When Kaede pressed him on it like that, Halbert’s gaze wandered. “I’m sure Duke Carmine is thinking this all through.”

“There you go, talking about Duke Carmine, again. Don’t you have an opinion of your own, Hal?”

“J-Just shut up, okay! What, Kaede, do you think you can see the future?! Well, I can!”

“I can!” Halbert lashed out defiantly, but Kaede answered him firmly. “I can see what’s coming! That man scares me. I’m sure that the new king will...”

“Okay, and stop,” I cut Kaede off, inserting myself between the two of them.

Both of their eyes went wide at the sudden intrusion.

I ignored Halbert’s surprised “Wh-Who do you think you are, buddy?!” with a smile to the Kaede who was sitting there with her mouth agape.

“If you keep running your mouth, I’ll use my authority to have you arrested, you know?” I said.

“You’re...!” Kaede seemed to have immediately realized who I was.

“Yes I am, so keep quiet, okay?” I said. “Honestly, I don’t know how much you understand, but if you talk so confidently about it in a place like this, it could harm the country.”

“I-I’m sorry,” she stammered. “But... what are you doing here...? You’re not here to seize Hal for his rebelliousness, I hope?! It’s not like that! Hal’s just a little weak in the head, he would never rebel...”

Kaede completely misunderstood what I was doing and started to make excuses. Who knows where the analytic ability she’d displayed earlier went, but she was desperately trying to defend Halbert.

“No, I don’t care what one single soldier thinks,” I said.

“Th-Then why are you here?” she stammered.

“Because I was suddenly given time off,” I explained. “I was just checking out Juna’s place.”

“I-I see...” Kaede was clearly relieved.

Halbert, on the other hand, had been glaring at me this whole time. “You punk, who do you think you are, butting into our conversation and then threatening Kaede?”

“U-Um, Hal? He wasn’t threatening me, you see...”

“Shut up! You be quiet, Kaede!”

“Yipe!”

When Halbert slammed his hands on the table and stood up, it frightened Kaede.

“...What good is frightening her yourself going to do?” I asked.

“I said, shut up!” He reached out, trying to grab me by the collar, when...

“Urkh!”

...he stopped halfway. In an instant, Halbert was surrounded by the three women who were with me.

Normally, being surrounded by three beauties would be a fantastic situation to be in, but... I wasn’t jealous of his position in the least. After all, Liscia had drawn the rapier from her side and was pointing the tip of it at Halbert’s neck, Aisha (who had left her great sword behind because it was too bulky) was holding his face in a claw hold, and Juna, still smiling, had a fruit knife pressed against his back.

Whoa... Their power levels are way too high...

“Wait, even you, Juna?” I asked, surprised.

“Violence is strictly prohibited in this establishment,” she said with a grin.

“Uh, sure...”

Having found himself in that situation, even the assertive Halbert was sweating. He couldn’t move an inch, so he glared at me in frustration through the gap between Aisha’s fingers. “You punk... That was dirty! If you’re a man, how can you hide behind a bunch of women?!”

“Complain all you like, but it’s kind of their job to protect me,” I said. “Actually, if I were to stand on the front line without bodyguards, I think that would be a bigger problem.”

When I said that, the girls nodded in agreement.

“If you understand that, I wish you wouldn’t stick your neck into trouble like this,” Liscia scolded me.

Uh, sure, sorry, I’ll be more careful.

Halbert’s irritated gaze stabbed into me. “...You punk, just who are you?”

“Hm... Allow me to respond with that great line from a samurai period drama. ‘Halbert, have you forgotten my face?’”

“Huh?”

“Why do you suddenly sound so full of yourself?” Liscia slapped me upside the head.

Aw, come on, I’ve always wanted to say it.

Then Aisha raised her voice and spoke on my behalf. “On your knees! Who do you take this man for?!”

Yeah, that’s another line I wanted to use. Wait, Aisha’s saying it?!

“You stand in the presence of the (provisional) 14th King of Elfrieden, His Majesty Souma!” Aisha declared.

It felt like I could hear that show’s theme music playing, but I’m sure I was imagining it.

Regardless, I gave the disappointing dark elf a light bonk on the head. “You’re too loud. We’re supposed to be incognito, remember?”

“Ah...! I-I’m sorry, sire!”

“‘Sire’...? Don’t tell me you’re the king?!” Halbert acted surprised long after he should have figured it out. He was the only one present who didn’t know by this point, so he seemed pretty slow-witted. Regardless, with him being menaced with a rapier, a claw hold, and a knife, we couldn’t have a calm discussion, so I had everyone stand down.

Fixing my gaze on the relieved Halbert, I asked him a question. “Now then, Halbert Magna, you were saying something about attacking me?”

“Th-That’s...” Halbert averted his eyes.

Oh, come on, was your determination that weak?

“Should I take that to be the will of the House of Magna as a whole?” I asked.

“Wha?! My old man’s got nothing to do with this!”

“Of course he does,” I said. “While I might be able to overlook a soldier who was just following orders, traitorous nobles must be tried under the law. They show a clear intent to rebel, after all. In those cases, the charge will be ‘treason against the state,’ you know... That’s a serious crime. At the very least, those within three degrees of consanguinity will be considered complicit in it.”

“Wha...?!” Halbert was at a loss for words. All I was doing was forcing him to face the facts, though.

“No... That’s too harsh...” Kaede tried to intervene, but I raised a hand to stop her.

“Now, let me just say, I’m not doing this because I hold a personal grudge against you,” I said. “That’s what the laws of this country dictate. Honestly, I know with long-lived races, it’s not unusual for them to have great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren around, but, even so, the range of people implicated in the crime is way too large. Personally, for a law like this which even punishes innocent young children, I’d like to reform it right away, but I have so many things to do that I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.”

He was speechless.

“Halbert Magna,” I said formally. “You were born into the House of Magna, a proper noble house. So, if you side with the Three Dukedoms, they rebel, and I win, all of your kin within three degrees of consanguinity will be executed. That’s what the law says, so there’s nothing I can do about it, right?”

It would be the law that judged him, not me. There would be no room for me to use my own discretion.

“Now, let’s consider what happens if the Three Dukedoms win,” I continued.

“Hey! Y-Yeah, that’s right! As long as we win, it’s all good!”

“In the event that happens, what will happen to her?” I placed a hand on Kaede’s shoulder.

Halbert was clearly shaken. “No, you wouldn’t dare take Kaede hostage!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t do something like that. However, she’s a member of the Forbidden Army. If the Three Dukedoms rebel, she’ll be sent to the front on ‘our side.’ In other words, she would be your enemy.” Here, I looked closely at Kaede. “By the way, what is your relationship with Halbert?”

“W-We’re childhood friends.”

“Childhood friends... I see.”

From the way they’d been talking and acting, I had seen signs of their affection for each other, but... Well, there was no reason to point it out here.

“If you’re childhood friends, you must care more for one another than you would just any other person,” I said. “And? If you join the Three Dukedoms, what do you plan to do about her?”

“What do you mean, what will I do...? About what?”

“We’re imagining that the Three Dukedoms win. In that case, I may have been struck down, and you may even have been the one to take my severed head.”

“Hah! I’d be guaranteed a promotion, then!”

“...I suppose you would,” I said. “So, what of Kaede? A cute girl like her, in the losing army. When they find out, what will the soldiers of the winning side do...? As a soldier yourself, I think you can imagine, can’t you?”

When I pointed that out, Halbert visibly turned pale. Most likely, he was imagining “that sort” of scene. After the conclusion of a war, it wasn’t uncommon to see the defeated ravaged by the victors. Looting, arson, rape, slaughter... The madness of war was in that it allowed these acts of barbarity to happen.

Even so, Halbert raised his voice, as if trying to shake off his doubts. “Duke Carmine’s forces are well-organized! They would never do something so indecent!”

“I don’t know what the situation is within the army, but Duke Carmine has more than just the regular forces in his duchy,” I said. “There are also those I stripped of their rights or investigated for corruption. Those nobles who’ve raised the flag of rebellion against me. They have nothing to lose. If they lose, death for both them and their family line awaits. So they’ll throw away their personal assets, hiring a large number of Zemish mercenaries.”

The mercenary state, Zem.

West of Amidonia and north of Turgis, it was a medium-sized country, founded by the mercenary commander Zem, who had used his wits to destroy the country which had hired him and then build his own nation of mercenaries in its place. They had declared themselves to be “eternally neutral,” but their primary industry was dispatching mercenaries to other countries, so what that really meant was, “If requested, we will dispatch mercenaries to any country.” Their mercenaries were ridiculously strong, so most countries recognized that it was better to have them as an ally than an enemy, and so they had formed mercenary contracts with them.

“That’s absurd! There are Zemish mercenaries under contract with the Forbidden Army, too! If they send mercenaries to the Three Dukedoms, as well, they’ll be fighting against their own!”

“Oh, that won’t happen,” I assured him. “I terminated their employment contract with the Forbidden Army a while ago.”

Now seems like a good time, so let me talk about the military system of this country.

This kingdom had a total manpower of around 100,000 troops. They were divided like so:

40,000 in the army, led by Duke Georg Carmine.

10,000 in the navy, led by Duchess Excel Walter.

1,000 in the air force, led by Duke Castor Vargas.

(However, one wyvern knight was said to be equivalent to 100 soldiers from the army.)

Of these, only the air force had a knightly title bestowed on every one of its members (it was composed entirely of units of wyvern knights, i.e. “1 wyvern + 1 or 2 knights,” so that was obvious), but more than half of the army and navy were made up of career soldiers. They trained day and night in the three duchies, and they received a salary from the three duchies.

You could say that the right to self-rule and the tax exemption on the profits from their lands, along with the many other special rights given to the three duchies, were there to support these troops.

Now, the remaining troops, numbering a little over 40,000, belonged to the Forbidden Army, but they were further divided beyond that.

There were the Royal Guard, who reported directly to the king, and the career soldiers who were attached to the Forbidden Army. Then there were the noble estates (which had less rights than the three duchies) and their personal forces on top of that. Also, due to our contract with the mercenary state, Zem, there had been a unit of mercenaries under the command of the Forbidden Army, as well, but I had already terminated their employment.

The reason that the Forbidden Army was smaller than the forces of the three duchies had to do with the concept behind this country.

This country had originally been born through many races working together. As a result, a member of the race with the largest population, a human, became the king, but in order to protect the rights of the other races, the commanders of the army, navy, and air forces would be chosen from the other races.

So, if a tyrant took the throne and began oppressing the other races, the system had been set up so that the armies of the Three Dukedoms, being larger than the Forbidden Army, could remove him. Turning that around, if one of the Three Dukedoms was plotting to usurp the throne, the system was set up in a way that if even one of the armies were to side with the king, the rebellion could be put down.

In a peaceful era, this might have been a good setup. However, now the Demon Lord’s Domain had appeared, and these were troubled times with every country looking for openings to take advantage of. With this sort of divided command structure, it was possible that we might not be able to respond quickly enough to a sudden crisis. As a matter of fact, I was trying to move forward with reforms, but the Three Dukedoms were giving me the silent treatment.

Now, let’s get back to how I released the mercenaries from their employment contracts.

“Hold on, what do you mean you released the Zemish mercenaries from their contracts?!” Liscia shouted.

“Oh, yeah, I hadn’t told you about that yet, had I?” I smiled wryly at the fact that, rather than Halbert, it was Liscia who voiced her surprise this time. “It means exactly what it sounds like. Mercenaries are useless and just eat up money, you know.”

Machiavelli had said, “Mercenaries and mixed armies are not to be trusted.” According to him, “Mercenaries are tied to you only by their own profit; if presented with greater profit, they will easily betray you. Yet even when they fight, they protect their employer only for their own benefit, and so their loyalty is not to be expected. There is no reason to hire incapable mercenaries, and yet capable ones will always use their wits to seize their employer’s position.”

In fantasy novels and RPGs, protagonists with the mercenary job often appear, but the way the mercenary business actually worked was wildly different from the image you’ll have seen there.

Basically, they were people who made their money on the battlefield. They held no loyalty to country or prince, quickly changing sides when the balance of benefits shifted.

In a losing battle, they fled immediately. Even when victorious, they would run wild. Compared to standing armies of the same size, their upkeep might cost less, but they were a negative in the long term.

“We don’t have the money to pay useless people like that,” I explained.

“Even so, the mercenary contract was also proof of our friendly relations with Zem, you realize?!” Liscia shouted.

“True, things have become tense with them since then, but you yourself said, ‘Spend always on defense, never on tribute,’ didn’t you, Liscia? Unlike the empire, they can’t afford to invade us themselves. Paying them tribute to bide our time is pointless with them.”

The country was getting back at me by dispatching mercenaries to the Three Dukedoms, though.

I looked straight at Halbert. “Those blood-thirsty mercenaries are on the side of the Three Dukedoms. Do you think they’ll leave a girl in the defeated army like Kaede alone? While Kaede is being tormented by the mercenaries, and they’re about to kill her because they’re done with her, where will you be, and what will you be doing?”

“That’s...” Halbert hesitated.

That indecisive attitude of his got me steaming mad. “Will you be lifting my head aloft in joy?! Singing songs to celebrate your victory?! Meanwhile, your childhood friend may have been made their plaything, then left dead at the side of the road!”

“Urkh...”

When I shouted at him, Halbert’s legs seemed to give out and he had to put his hands on the table for support. He had no comeback to that, and his mouth was closed tightly. Kaede watched him worriedly.

When I saw them like that... I calmed down a little. “Halbert Magna. The path you were about to choose is a dead end. If I win, you will be executed. If the Three Dukedoms win, Kaede will... Well, she may not come out of it all right. If you’re going to make the gamble of a lifetime, at least make sure the future you want is on the betting table.”

He said nothing.

“Before you do anything rash, always think back,” I told him. “Think about what is it that you wanted, what for, and for whom? Look around you, and think about it.”

“What for... And for whom...” Halbert looked around.

His eyes met with Kaede’s, who was looking at him with concern. There were no words between them, but Halbert looked like a man released from whatever had been possessing him.

...What happens from here on is for them to decide, I thought.

“Sorry, Juna. We were getting in the way of your business, weren’t we?” I asked. “We’ll be leaving now.”

Just before we left, I went to apologize for making a scene, but Juna shook her head. “No... Sire, your words carved themselves into my heart.”

After saying that, Juna seemed to hesitate for a moment. She clearly had something to say, but was unsure whether it was okay to say it.

I waited a little while, and finally Juna looked up, her face resolute. “Sire... I have something to talk to you about.”

“Hey, Souma, there was something I wanted to ask,” Liscia said.

“Hm?”

We were inside the carriage we had called to take us back to the castle when Liscia, who was sitting beside me, asked a question.

Aisha was acting as the driver, so we were alone together in the carriage.

“About what happened earlier,” she said. “You were trying to persuade Halbert, right? When you said traitors would be judged by the law, you seemed kind of serious.”

“...Because he still hadn’t acted against me, yet. If he still does after this, I’m not going to show any mercy.”

“In the end, you’re still a nice guy, huh?” she said.

“Be kind to your allies, severe with your enemies,” I said. “That’s the kind of king people want to support. It’s not like I’m being severe because I enjoy it. The fewer enemies we have, the better.”

“Just like I thought... You’re a nice guy.” Liscia rested her head on my shoulder.

—The next day.

When I was in the governmental affairs office getting some paperwork done, Hakuya came in. Then, “The head of the House of Magna, Sir Glaive Magna, has brought his son, Sir Halbert Magna, and Forbidden Army Mage Kaede Foxia, and is requesting an audience with you,” he reported to me.

...Sounds like there’s still another dispute to solve, I thought.

When I arrived in the audience chamber accompanied by Liscia and my bodyguard Aisha, there were already three people there kneeling. In front of the other two with his head lowered was a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair. In his armor, he truly looked like a warrior who had seen many battles. Behind him were Kaede Foxia and Halbert Magna, who I had met the day before. That being the case, I deduced that this man in front of them with his head lowered must be Halbert’s father, Glaive.

“Raise your heads, all three of you,” I said.

““Yes, sir.””

When Halbert and Kaede raised their heads, I found myself transfixed by the sight of Halbert’s face. I mean, he had the marks to show he’d been punched several times. His cheeks were swollen, and he had two black eyes. Those hadn’t been there when I’d seen him yesterday, so it must have happened after we’d parted.

“Halbert... You’re looking even more handsome than last time I saw you,” I commented.

“Urgh... Yes, sir!” A look of frustration crossed his face for a moment, but he didn’t fight back the way he had yesterday.

I wonder what happened to him after we parted yesterday.

I spoke to Glaive, whose head was still bowed. “Glaive Magna, raise your head.”

“I humbly, humbly, beg you, show mercy for my son’s recent misconduct!” That was the lamentful response that came back. He was pressing his forehead against the floor. It was hard to tell since he had one knee up, but he was doing what we’d probably call a dogeza in Japan.

“By misconduct, do you mean what happened yesterday?” I asked.

“Yes, sir! I heard the details from Madam Kaede. While he may have been off-duty, he insulted you, sire, and what’s more, boasted that he would join the rebellious Three Dukedoms, which is utterly outrageous! ...However, my son is yet immature. He said those things because of his underdeveloped brain. Your anger is entirely justified, sire, but, please, let the blame fall on me for failing to educate him properly!”

Um... That was a little long winded, but what he’s saying is “I’ll take the punishment, so please spare my son’s life,” I guess? I’m not even angry, though.

“Yesterday’s events happened when I was there in secret,” I said. “I don’t intend to make a big deal out of it. From what I see here, he’s already been punished appropriately.”

“Sire, you are too kind.” Glaive apologized profusely, prostrating himself before me.

Halbert and Kaede hurriedly bowed their heads once more.

Finally, Glaive lifted his face. “Now then, sire. I realize this is incredibly rude, but I have come to tell you something.”

“What?”

“Well... It is something best not heard by many people...”

A secret, huh? I had Liscia, Aisha, Hakuya, Glaive, Halbert, and Kaede remain, then dismissed everyone else, including the guards. Aisha seemed out of place, but so long as she was here, if it turned out he was using the promise of secret information as a guise to assassinate me, I had someone to deal with that.

“I’ve cleared the room,” I said. “So, what is it you needed to tell me?”

“Yes, about that...” Glaive began to talk at a relaxed pace.

When we heard what it was he had to say, Halbert’s eyes went wide, Kaede looked down, gripping her fists tightly, Hakuya closed his eyes in silence, while Aisha looked around bewildered by everyone else’s reactions...

Liscia, meanwhile, had gone stiff and expressionless, not saying a word. There were tears streaming down her face.

As for me, it was a complicated feeling. Anger, exasperation, resignation, sadness... All those feelings got jumbled together in my chest, and I worked my hardest to keep them there.

I spoke in as calm and even a voice as I could manage, so as not to betray my feelings. “Now that you’ve told me that... what do you want me to do about it?”

“Nothing. I just wanted you to be aware, sire.”

“...It’s heavy.” I stood up, giving orders to Kaede and Halbert. “Forbidden Army Mage Kaede Foxia. This insight is too valuable, and dangerous, for me to leave you as a mere mage. I order you to serve under Ludwin of the Royal Guard as a staff officer.

“Huh? Y-Yes, sir!” she exclaimed.

“Army Officer Halbert Magna. I order you to transfer to the Forbidden Army.”

“Huh?! Me, join the Forbidden Army?!”

“That’s right. You will be Kaede’s second-in-command and report to her. Her rank effectively makes her Number 2 in the Forbidden Army. Because she is still a young woman, there is the risk that her subordinates won’t take her seriously. In the event that that happens, you are to make sure they do as she says. Understood?”

“...Yes, sir!”

Thus, a new, young officer joined the Forbidden Army.

However, I wasn’t feeling emotionally at ease enough to be happy a new ally had joined us. As I forced down my violent emotions, my true feeling seep out through my gritted teeth just once.

“Honestly, these people...”