Month: September 2020

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29. In the meantime, It’s hard to live

It was just past dusk when I came back from the expedition. I bring Illias and others to ‘Dog’s Bone’ and then I head to Marito’ place alone.

In my hand, I have an alcohol put in a leather bag that I got from ‘Dog’s Bone’. I take it to a place before heading to the castle. Proceed along the back alley at the boundary between the ordinary and the wealthy. There was a person I wanted to met.

“Yo, Gazen.”

“Oh, it’s just you.”

Gazen, He is a homeless who does not have a house in Tiez.

He’s about 40 years old, but because he don’t care about his appearance, he looks way older than his age.

He usually wanders in the back alleys, collecting trash for living. At the same time, he also collect garbage thrown improperly and receive a small wage from the kingdom.

If Illias didn’t take care of me, I might have started my life here from the same life as this Gazen. And if that happened, I think that I might have done a lot of thing together with him, when I think like that, somehow it make me feel deeply moved.

Gazen, as he usually wanders around the city, is familiar with the situation in the city. At first I tried to treat him alcohol, then He tell me a lot of useful stories. And from then, sometimes I buy information from him this way.

Gazen is a man with principle, who follow give and take rule. That’s why I hand over alcohol as a payment in advance.

“Has you seen some unfamiliar people within this city lately?”

“The only new one is that Sister, who is hanging with you lately. Other that her, nope.”

“Do you know about Lacra? Well, I don’t care about her. Because, Her identity is clear. Other than that is there any changes that you noticed?”

“Nah, It’s the same Tiez as usual. Oh, and you, who sometimes treat me alcohol is really a big deal for me.”

Gazen laughs while drinking the alcohol given to him. A temperament man who keeps a distance from other homeless people, but if you didn’t makes a mistake in dealing with him, he’s actually not a bad guy.

However, sometimes he is difficult to handle, because he is not someone that can be used as I like.

“Gazen, a dangerous person may be lurking in this city these days.”

“I can’t see it though.”

“But the city at night might become more dangerous. Could you restrain yourself on wandering at night for a while?”

“Huh!? Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“Don’t say like that. Gazen give me useful information. So, I just don’t want you to encounter any danger in the dark.”

“I need to keep walking around this city in search of things even at night. Without doing it, I will starve and die.”

I throw a piece of gold coin to Gazen.

“What do you want, huh?”

“It’s okay even just for a while. Please restrain yourself at night.”

“Tch… what an odd kid.”

Gazen curses and puts the gold coin in his pocket.

“I’ll do it until this money runs out.”

“Sorry that it makes you feel constrained. I’ll bring you alcohol again next time.”

That said, I parted from Gazen. To me, Gazen is like an air in this city.

No one needs him, he also don’t want to be needed. That is why he is accumulating information that he see with his own eyes.

If Gazen says he hasn’t seen it, it’s probably the same for others.

But does Yugura Religion really think that just by sending Lacra is enough? Definitely not. I’m sure Lacra is a decoy, if not their mistake in selecting person is too terrible. I need to get a little more information from Lacra.

At night, I going with Marito to a special room in the castle. Needless to say, the purpose is to decipher the book.

According to information from Lacra, the book contains mana. Should that mana adhere my body, the barriers that are unfolding in the city will react to it. So, just in case, this special room has been given some protective measures.

By the way, I changed my clothes and even put on custom gloves. I feels like a forensic officer.

Marito and Lord Ragdo are in the room.

“Well, now don’t get so nervous, me. You won’t be cursed by reading this, right?”

“I couldn’t read the letters, but I look what’s inside it. And rather, I’m more energetic these days.”

“Right, I feel like you getting more active day by day.”

“I’m sure he thing that everyday is fun.”

“Do you have problem with that?”

Well, I can’t help being scared. Anyway, Let’s look inside this book now.

I reread the cover of, Sample No. 4 ‘Green Demon Lord’ Investigation Records.

The content of this book can be guessed to some extent from the title alone. Can we get more information?

“By the way, should I read it aloud?”

“Yeah. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I can’t say that you could be scared of the content and abandon your cooperation.”

“Thanks, with this I’m ready. Anyway, don’t complain later, okay?”

And then I open the book, it’s definitely written in Japanese. However, the writing style is a little old.

“It’s look hard to read…. From the letter, it’s looked from Taisho Era.” [TN: Taisho era is, three different era before reiwa (Present era), it’s around an era from 1912 – 1926]

“Taisho?”

“I mean the letter, It’s from somewhere about 100 years ago. When the Demon Lord appeared here?”

“About 50 years ago.”

Hmmm, the credibility of this book suddenly declined. However, there may be a difference in the way time flows between this world and the Earth.

But, from the moment I got transported to another world, my common sense is died. I need to be more flexible.

Anyway, let’s read the content for now and compare that fact with history.

“It’s not that I can’t read it. But, Well, I’ll read as much as I can.”

Then, the most dangerous reading session in my life begin.

◇

“Lacra said that she talked about the book to Tiez’ Candidate of Department of State Affairs…”

After receiving Ukka’s report, The Pope inadvertently hold his head.

“It, it’s okay! According to Lacra’s report, she has a very close relationship with him as to keep his mouth shut…”

“She should explain the situation to that kingdom itself rather than asking the officials of another kingdom for cooperation! Do she want to develop it into a diplomatic problem!?”

The fact that the book about Necromancy is sealed in Mejis should be hidden. If information about Forbidden Magic is spread, there also must be a person who wants it.

However, a person named Dokora, who is worked in the dark part of Mejis, stole one of the books and escaped abroad. More than anything it’s better if she can collect it in secret. However, as long as she made a mistake, it is natural that the Pope and the Religion should be prepared to suffer a certain amount of damage.

Announce the identity of the book to Tiez and request the cooperation of the investigation. But, it’s a fact that Mejis kept secret until now. So, It is inevitable that it will be criticized by other kingdom.

In the first place, there is no doubt that other kingdom have might have considered the possibility that Yugura Religion conceals its knowledge of Forbidden Magics as a countermeasure against them.

The question now is whether to expose it by oneself or by the hands of others. It goes without saying which one will worsen relations with other kingdom in diplomacy more.

“Never mind. If it became like this, it’s might be too late already, but.. Contact King of Tiez!”

“B, But!”

“This is no longer just a matter of clearing suspicions about Maya. As the person responsible for sending Lacra, you’ll report it openly to Tiez. Understand?”

“Y, Yes!”

“If things get complicated, please contact me immediately. At that time, I head for Tiez myself.”

“But! There’s no need for Pope-sama to go personally…”

“If you think like that, do it right!”

Ukka jumps out in a hurry. The Pope think, ‘If you really think about me, please do your job better’.

Tiez has just changed their king into a young and wise king, their generation has changed. The Pope also heard the goodness of that new king governance.

If the Pope face him in sincerity, he sure that he will be able to maintain a good relationship.

But their new king is young. If he make him vigilance to this side, that king may start sharpening his nails.

“Apart from this case, I wonder if it’s necessary to visit Tiez once…”

The Pope have heard that Tiez has many herbs and dishes that rich in fragrant. So, He wonder that there might be a need to think about a travel plan as well.

◇

Ukka run until he get out of breath, and prepare to contact with Tiez in a hurry.

He was too overwhelmed by the idea of outsmarting Maya, and endangering the position of Yugura Religion… No, the position of the Pope.

“First, let Lacra explain the situation to King of Tiez, and then ask for cooperation… Oh, right, the assassin was already sent to Tiez!”

Ukka think he need to hurry up and get in touch with him…..

“Hey, who were you sent to Tiez?”

“Ukka-sama, what happened?”

“Y-You! Actually, the situation becoming bad.”

Ukka explain the situation.

“I see. you should contact Lacra immediately then.”

“Right? And, the assassin too…”

“Wait a moment. Lacra don’t know anything about the assassin. So, there’s no need to tell them about it too.”

“But, but…”

“Lacra is a Yugura priest, who has the responsibility of hiding her purpose, but given her position, that should be no problem. But when it comes to the Assassin, the story is different. Even if you tell them about it, it’ll be just a problem.”

“That’s… true.”

“Don’t worry, Those assassin are still hiding. I will contact them. So, Ukka-sama, please concentrate on the instructions to Lacra.”

“I, I see. Then I’ll leave it to you!”

Ukka think, ‘with this, there will be no problem’. Oh yeah, he almost forgot one more important thing.

“By the way, who were you sent…”

Ukka looked back, but no one was there.

“…. Well, what was that, hmm? Wait, this not the time to think about it! I need to contact Lacra now!”

◇

I’m having trouble in decoding the book. First, It’s hard to read. But more than that, It’s because Marito and Lord Ragdo stops me a lot on while I’m reading the book.

Sure, the content of this book is full of problems. In fact, everyone in the room right now is holding their heads.

“Do you think Mejis know what’s written in there?”

“No, It’s more likely that they only know it as a book about Necromancy. If the content of this book is true and they know about it, Yugura Religion would come to recapture this book with all their might.”

That’s right, If they knew it, they will not sent someone useless like Lacra. I’m sure they will sent someone with the same skill or better than Maya.

Even just by the fact that this book reveal the concealed Forbidden Magic like Necromancy, this book is worth to be recovered as soon as possible.

“As I continue decoding this, Marito should think about the future.”

“Even if you’re not saying it, I know. To be honest, this, I think it’s gonna be okay if we just return this with a face like we don’t know anything.”

“Oh, what a coincidence. I was thinking that too.”

“Both of you, that’s not good you know….”

All of us, sigh. I don’t want to read this book anymore, it’s really painful to read because it’s full of information that no one else suppose to know. And, it still have so many pages.

“Oh, and, just keep in mind how much more information wou will know that can endanger your life….”

I flip the rest of the pages. A lot of letters flows into the field of view. This.. all of this will be in my head in the future.

And a bitter sigh leaks. Then I reached the last page…. What is this?

What was written there was like a simple postscript. It’s not something complicated, it’s just a simple information that doesn’t need to be considered deeply.

However, the problem was the sentences that could be understandable at a glance.

“Marito, Don’t you think the chances that they don’t know what’s written is high? No, definitely they don’t know.”

“What’s wrong? Did you find something?”

“Yeah, If they know about this, this book, I’m sure they’d already burn it.”

I share what I found to them. Both of them stiffen.

“Wait a moment. I don’t want to hear that information!”

“Me too, I don’t want to know! What should I do, huh!?”

“Both of you, calm down…”

“Lord Ragdo, isn’t he trembling like a newborn foal!? Since I was born, it’s my first time seeing him like this, you know!?”

The incredible facts made the strongest knight, the wise king, and the another-worlder flutter in a hurry. [TN: Wait, is another-worlder even a word? Never mind, I’m just gonna translate it like this.]

After that, I closed the book temporarily and returned to Marito’s office.

“Your Majesty, this book, I don’t want to keep it in my pocket…”

“Bear with it. Even the fact that Lord Ragdo, who stand by my side, keeping that book, make me uncomfortable.”

“Your Majesty, that is harsh.”

“However, for the world, isn’t it better for us to return this with a ‘I don’t know’ kind of face?”

“Hnm, That might be true, but… if we do that, the thing about the Demon Lord… Oh, Right! Why don’t we just told them that it’s only you who decoded the book?”

“Huh!? You ask me to go die by myself!?”

“I have a duty to carry the future of the people….”

“Your Majesty, what a splendid idea.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to drag you guys with me!”

The tension is about to rise again, so I drank tea and took a break.

“But this, it’s not a problem that be left alone isn’t it?”

“If the contents of the book are all true, it would be very bad.”

“Alright, let’s put off that problems for the time being… First, I need to finish decoding it.’

“That’s right.”

Maybe, there will be something like ‘The content of this book is fiction. It has nothing to do with real people or groups.’, written somewhere in the book. If no, then it just mean than we will have more dangerous knowledge, right?

Well, we just can escape from reality, but even if we can escape from the matter about how important the thing written in the book, other issues still remained.

“Marito, does Tiez have something like assassin group?”

“There is. Those who are searching for the book too, are someone like them. But, for your safety, I can’t give you the detail of the member.”

“Please do that. Or else I’m confident that I can spill everything if I got tortured.”

“Well, since the moment you know the contents of the book, there’s nothing I can do.”

“I wonder if there’s Magic to make you forget something. If there’s I want someone to cast it on me.”

“Oh there’s that way too, huh… Lord Ragdo!”

“It’s a problem that we can’t just left alone. Please give up and accept it, Your Majesty. I’m sure he will go die with us together.”

“And that’s what he said, so let’s die together, my fried.”

“Can I cut any ties I have with you?”

After all, when it comes to the topic of this book, our calmness is gone. Anyway, let’s get back to the main subject for now.

“What I want to know is about the assassin group. How it was formed, How they work, I want to know something like that.”

“I understand why you want to know. But, I think it’s okay to just leave that kind of matter to Tiez, though….”

“My mental is not strong enough to trust the guy who just said ‘let’s die together’.”

“Hmm, is it bad to prepare for the worst from now? But, I understand, I’ll introduce one member of the assassin group.”

“Thanks. when I can met that person?”

“That person is behind you, you know.”

Suddenly, a hand placed on my shoulder from behind.

“….!?”

An voice that can’t be called a voice leaks. A gloved hand is placed on my shoulder.

When I try to look back in a hurry, Marito stops it.

“Oh, don’t look back. It’s better to not know his identity as much as possible.”

“I, I see. But, at least let me prepare my heart first. I thought that I was gonna die.”

“Please forgive me.”

I can’t tell if the voice I hear from my back is high or low pitch, man or woman. But since Marito said ‘his’, maybe it’s a man…

“Sorry for my late introduction. I’m guarding Your Majesty…. Yeah, something like that.”

“From the way you introduce yourself, somehow you seems friendly.”

“Thank you very much. If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them.”

“It’s a bit weird to call this a question before the real question, but, do you usually guarding Marito?”

“Yes. Usually, I’m guarding Your Majesty while casting Magic to erase my presence.”

“It’s no exaggeration to say that he is the most capable in Tiez. When he is nearby, you can feel relieved.”

“Yes, it’s no exaggeration to say like that, Your Majesty. After all, he is the strongest”

“They seems very confident in your ability huh. But, you join the assassin group and your name can’t even be spread…. In the past after you judged as someone promising, you are okay to be promoted as someone work behind the scene even though you may die in duty, is it right?”

“As expected of best friend who will live together with Your Majesty, you’re so wise.”

“I won’t do that, though? Really, I won’t!”

“I’ve been observing by you ever since you first talked to Your Majesty. You’re a person who can be trusted. When you tried to surprise Your Majesty, I was in dilemma about whether to cut you or not, but I’m glad I could restrain myself.”

“Stop saying scary thing, please?”

I don’t know at all whether this guy is saying it seriously or jokingly.

“Is the Magic that you used to erase your presence affected by the Magic Sealing Stone? As I know, there’s a lot of it in this castle.”

“Yes, the Magic Sealing Stone will cancel this Magic. However, I can perceive the mana of the Magic Sealing Stone, so I can basically avoid it.”

“I see. As long as you not get caught it in, huh. have you never get caught?”

“If I could be seen, it’s also hard on me, because I have to kill everyone who is there.”

“Good luck then. Oh, and don’t ever show your face in front of me.”

“I have pride in my face, though? even man can be captivated by it.”

“I just don’t want to die yet…. Wait, by any chance, when I decoding the book, was you there too?”

“Yes, I couldn’t accept the shocking facts and almost swung my sword several times to slash you.”

“I praise you for enduring it, but can’t you not killing people just because you want to escape from reality, please?”

With this, it’s time for the real question. Then, He explains the knowledge of the dark part and what can be done in there. Hmmm, I learn a lot.

The nostalgic feeling that I forgot because I’ve been hanging out with straight and honest people like Illias, Wolfe, and Lacra recently comes back.

…. Ah, The same way of thought as when I hunting down Dokora is start to come up.

“You, it’s not good to just go back like that, you know?”

While I was thinking about what to do from now on, Marito talk to me with serious face.

“Hm? Did I make a strange face?”

“Yeah, especially your eyes, it’s look so cloudy. If Lady Ratzel see it, she will worried you know?”

“That bad?”

“That bad.”

“Do you want to see in the mirror?”

“Yeah, thanks…. Hey, it’s dangerous!?”

That guy, who was behind me, just for a moment I almost could see his face through the mirror. What’s more, he said ‘Oh, shit.’ in low voice, you know!?

“Ah, I was careless, sorry.”

“Yeah, and you could just die carelessly too! Anyway, go away from me!”

“Don’t say like that, you make me want to cry hearing that.”

“Just use your Magic and disappear from my sight!”

I look in the mirror again. I don’t think my expression will change, but …. Alright.

“Well, I’ll have a light chat for a while and then go home.”

“I think that’s better. Would you like to hear my joke?”

“Please do it next time.”

“The joke level is where you can laugh and die by it, you know?”

“Do you want to kill so much, huh!?”

That assassin guy who is teasing me, I know that he is a honest guy. He’s straightforward, more than Illias.

It’s feel strange, to get to know the strongest Tiez in this way.

However, I don’t want to deal with living land mines every time. So, Let’s have a clear relationship with this guy.

“But at this time, I still didn’t think that I would’ve an inseparable relationship with this guy.”

“You could read someone mind!?”

“It’s written all over your face, your face was easy to read.”

“And you think it will just end by me saying ‘I see’, huh? Don’t ever stand in front of me without using Magic!”

---

28-2. In the meantime, I feel sorry (Part 2)

“Meanie! Shosho-sama is a bad person!”

In the barracks, Lacra sits in a chair and complains while being dried by Illias’ Magic.

“I pointed out the shortcomings of the barrier that you’re so proud of, why’re you saying like that, huh.”

“Still, that kind of way is a bit…”

“Shisho, mean, not good.”

“Maybe it’s a bit mean, but Lacra is far superior in terms of ability. So I just showed her, what will happen if she face someone using their brain.”

“The real problem is after that! When I was in trouble, you didn’t even in a slighest care about me at all! Right!?”

“Because I feel satisfied by doing so. Hm-hm, it feels good.”

“I wanted to spent more time with the gentle Shosho-sama that I met on the first day….”

“Oh, what a coincidence. I also miss the adult and charming Lacra.”

“What a sad story…. Anyway, I’m done drying you, Lacra.”

“Illias, Thank you very much!”

By the way, aren’t these two people getting closer? There may be something that attracted each other.

Since Muscle-Brain and Airhead are kind of similar, but not the same. And if I can’t differentiate it, a disaster will come to me… especially that Illias.

“Well, well, why don’t we go to ‘Dog’s Bone’ for dinner? Lacra, What about you?”

“Erm… I have to meet some….”

“Don’t worry, it’s on me. More than that, is it okay for priest to eat meat?”

“Well, yeah, is there a reason for us to not?”

Oops, my bad. I forgot there nothing like Hindu that consider cow to be sacred or Muslim that detest pig.

“I had a prejudice that people with faith were reluctant to kill and eat animal.”

“Certainly every life is precious. That is why I always grateful for my life so far.”

Is that there is no religious meaning when they pray before eat? is it just simply gratitude for the food? So, it’s really like the ‘Itadakimasu’ culture of Japan.

“Then there is no problem, right? If you come to Tiez, that place will be one of the shops you should stop by at least once. Let’s go!”

Lacra tilting her head, but I take her hand and half-forcefully take her to ‘Dog’s Bone.’.

Tiez which is surrounded by nature, and the neighbouring Kingdom, Garne, which is mostly plain, even more Mejis, which is located beside Garne and mostly wasteland…. All of them have no access to the sea.

However, it seems Majis have some neighbouring Kingdom which in contact with the sea. So, the price of salt there a lot cheaper than in here.

But the fact that it’s a luxury and rare item is the same as here.

Lacra is looking forward dishes that take advantage of the characteristics of salt. Of course not only the salt, compared to other Kingdom, Tiez which is surrounded by mountain and forest have a wide variety of herbs and spices, so the food here has a wide variety of flavors.

And recently, a rare forest with a lot of mana has been discovered in where the Black Wolf tribe lives. If the rare herbs circulating on the market, the food culture here will be further improved.

Therefore, I bring Lacra to enjoy the food in Tiez, which the culinary is still developing. It’s good that she enjoyed it.

But she didn’t really drink the alcohol, it’s not that Lacra is weak to alcohol, she just forgot to control herself.

Delicious food, delicious alcohol… These people who’s now enjoy it a lot, forget that it’s not using their own money and keep ordering more.

As a result, I was forced to carry a drunken priest on my back and take a detour route via Maya’s church when going back home.

Only her body that’s more mature than Illias or Wolfe, but her inside is still like a child.

“She’s dead drunk.”

“How ever I seen it, it doesn’t look like her first time go drinking. When I took my eyes from her for a while, she’s already dead drunk.”

“From how she look like, it doesn’t seems that she drink too much, just the way she went drunk. I guess she’s the type that goes high until middle and when the line crossed, she’ll starting to get sleepy.”

Certainly, She sleep in good way rather than bad way because of drunk. In other words, if I wake her up, she might have open her eyes…. Oi, return my suffering.

“It’s okay to bring her back to your place, though.”

“There’s no more place for her.”

“Why not just let her sleep in your room, Boy. Hm?”

“I’m not a hungry beast that will even do with a girl who is dead drunk. Especially, considering the future relationship with her. That’s why, don’t stare at me with that kind of eyes, Illias.”

“Without a doubt you’re a man. So, It’s okay to have a deep relationship with a woman, but I don’t think I can sleep well when your room is next to my room.”

I know. Me too, I don’t have some weird hobby of letting my neighbour hear it.

“It’s been a while since we started living under one roof, and I didn’t cause any problems until now. So, can’t you trust me a bit more in that matter, huh….”

I always being careful in a lot of thing, you know. After all, I lives with two girls around my age.

I always knocking before entering the toilet, bathroom, or others room. Also, every time I use it, I always careful not to cause any trouble to others.

If I try to get some ‘lucky’ events, I’m sure it’ll be a dead end by Illias full power punch.

“Well, That’s… True.”

“I don’t bother the landlord as I rent the room. So if I want to do it, I’ll spending the night somewhere else.”

“I’ll keep that in mind…. By the way, I’m sure you ever spending the night somewhere else… is it just that I remember it incorrectly?”

“Then, Wolfe, let’s go back.”

“Yes, Shisho!”

“Hey, Why you suddenly end the conversation? Oi, Wait me!”

I’m not a child, so please refrain from snooping on my private time.

◇

Somewhere in Tiez, In a vacant house. After the death of the old man who was the old owner, there will be some time until a new resident live there. But, now there is someone there.

The man slips through the closed door without even touching the door

The man walks without footprints on the dust on the floor.

The man, whose whole body is covered with a black cloth, go into the vacant house like a ghost.

The place he go is a place that used to be a bedroom. However, there are no traces of people sleeping on the bed, and only one crystal is roughly placed.

It’s the same as the secret art used in Yugura Religion, which Maya and Lacra use to contact headquarters in Mejis.

The man’s hand touches the crystal, and the crystal gives off a faint glow.

“Let’s hear the report.”

A voice echoes from the crystal, which is the voice of the person who spoke to Ukka after Lacra’s report.

“Today, Lacra with her collaborator set up the detection barrier on the city gate and wall.”

“I see, it takes time but it’s a good method. It seems true that she met a decent collaborator.”

“Tomorrow, she will search for the site of the base based on the map left by Dokora.”

“She didn’t immediately spread the barrier? Is the preparation of the tools not catching up, or is she planning to expand the range while watching the situation?”

“Do you have any additional instruction?”

“It’s okay to wait and see Lacra for a while. No need to focus on finding the book until you know exactly where it is. I also sent your companion there. So, meet them and make preparation first”

“Thank you for that. Then, I’ll stay in the shadows for a while.”

“Don’t forget to check the wavelength of the mana wave that created by the barrier set by Lacra.”

“I’ve already done it.”

“Oh, I just said something unneccesary then. Do you have anything else to report?”

“The appearance of her collaborators is a little unusual. Black hair and black eyes. I hardly feel his mana, but I do not feel any sign of him hiding it.”

“Hmmm, by your description, that looks like the appearance of a Demon. Hmmm, maybe, it’s just rare case.”

“Also, it seems that a white girl from Black Wolf tribe is escorting him. Her skill is not worth mentioning, but the inherent mana she has is immeasurable.”

“I hear that Tiez recently started interacting with the Black Wolf tribe. Is it a place where you could hired a talented person as an escort?”

“And, it seems he has some connection with Illias Ratzel.”

“I think that’s what you should be most vigilant. Because she is a female knight who won Tiez’ swordsmanship tournament.”

“Right. She is the one who killed Dokora, even if I’m with my companions I don’t want to face head on with her. That’s all for the report.”

“I understand. Contact me if something happen.”

“Yeah.”

The communication was cut. The man threw a cloth over a crystal that left a faint glow.

By the time the cloth completely covered the crystal, the man had already blended into the darkness.

◇

Currently, I’m hiking in the mountains.

Today we are aiming for the cave that was the base of the bandits who first captured with Illias.

It was a bandit gang where a giant man named Gidou leading them.

Since it’s the nearest base, it seems that we can arrive in the afternoon if we go in the morning.

The one participating in this mission are Illias, Wolfe, and Lacra.

Weeds are swept away by Illias, who in the lead, which makes us proceed smoother.

Previously, because it’s a surprise attack, I had to proceed quietly, but this time I am proceeding while making a road.

“However, I can’t remember anything what happened last night from the middle…..”

“Try to imagine the one who carried you all the way back, you’re heavy, it’s hard you know.”

“I, I’m not heavy!”

“Sleeping adult women are heavy enough, regardless of whether they are thin or fat!”

“Uugh!”

In the first place, I would ask Illias to carry me.

However, when I tried to do so, Grandpa Kara’s wife said, 『 It’s a man’s job to carry a girl! 』, yeah, I was scolded and ended up to be burdened with responsibility.

At first it seemed to be fine, but after walking a few hundred meters, I couldn’t do it anymore!

When climbing a mountain while chatting, we arrived in no time. Illias scattered most of the obstructive plants along the way.

Right. The way she silently getting rid the obstructive plants while making roaring sound is like a heavy machinery.

“Alright, Illias, please rest for a while. I’m going to take a look inside.”

“…. Yeah, if something happen, call me.”

When I go inside, it’s a familiar sight. It seems that Dokora collect the corpses because he want to make them undead, so there are no corpses left, but it still smells a little. Hmmm, is the stain on the ground a blood stain?

“The air is a little dirty, should I purify it?”

“Oh, you can do that?”

“Of course!”

When Lacra uses magic, it feels like the surrounding air is flowing. She stop it after a while.

I see, how convenient. Not only the odor, but the quality of the air in the surrounding is changing.

I should have been in a cave, but I feel as if I was in a clean, sterile room.

“The air, feel fresh!”

“In places where people died, the mana in the atmosphere also becomes muddy, so by adjusting it in this way, it is possible to return it to the original environment.”

“By the way, I heard there was a place that left poisoned by the Demon Lord in Mejis.”

“Yes, it’s hard to purify that area, but the range is without a doubt gradually narrowing.”

A Magic for improving environment, huh… It’s one type of magic that I also want to be available in The Earth.

I would like to spread it mainly to the countries that have a lot of factories.

Anyway, she set up the barrier and of course the book not detected here. Since, she finished her job, now it’s my turn.

I look around the cave and take notes of the ore that come up from the wall. As expected, since it used as a base, I can’t find anything valuable left here. It can’t be helped then.

There was no new resource discovery, but I found some of the bandits’ equipment left behind.

It seems that most of the used miscellaneous goods are not collected. Only those that are likely could be turn into money were collected. I also found a wooden box full of Magic Sealing Stones.

It might costs some money to buy all this much, but many of them are small and have poor quality.

So, for this to work, you’ll need to throw the Magic Sealing Stone directly into the Magic range.

Even if it’s this small, it’s enough for escape that just need to interferes with Detection Magic, but it seems difficult to use it for other purposes.

For example, the Magic Sealing Stone used in the knight’s armor is neatly cut or polished into a spherical shape.

The one that’s big enough to be processed is…. nope. I wonder if there is any way to use it at once… Maybe I’ll take a little bit just in case, right?

I throw a few into my pocket and join Lacra. Let’s put it in the container for treasure when I get home.

There are few personal belongings that I have since I came here. My partner, this wooden stick, then clothes, and a small wooden box that I uses as a container for treasure that I keep secretly at home.

When you see some small but rare in another world, it would make you to want to pick it up and keep it, right? So, that small container is for that, to satisfy my childish side.

For now, it contains large acorns and beautiful stones that I picked up during my walk.

In the future, I want to prepare a large box to collect memento of my adventures in this world. That’s not a bad idea, right?

After that, we headed to investigate a small cave that is put as a landmark in the map. It’s not large enough for people to live in, but there was a place where groundwater was springing up as we proceeded inside.

Let’s put it into a bottle and take it back to check the component of it.

“In the end, no result…. It’s just a vain effort…”

“It’s because, Today’s place was originally a bandit’ base that different from the Dokora’ gang.”

I speak in a low voice with Lacra on the way home. Illias still don’t know about the book.

Lacra said it was okay to tell her, but it’ll troubled me a little.

Anyway, Illias is listening to a conversation I had with Dokora and knows that Dokora left a farewell gift for me.

She don’t know the story of me going to get a book with Grandpa Kara after that, but if she listen to the story of the book, there is a high possibility that she think I’m related to it in some way. In that case, various information might be exposed.

As long as Illias is a knight, she is obliged to report to her upper rank, and even if I just simply explains the situation, she will be forced to report it. That’s why, I explained to Lacra to kept the information hidden from Illias.

The thing that Illias know is that this expedition is for searching a new resource. I’d like to tell her about it someday, but I’m not gonna tell her about the whereabouts of the book, because I want to hide it from Maya too.

Furthermore, the story of deciphering the content with Marito is something that Illias might not happy to hear.

She doesn’t like for me going on the wrong path. Perhaps it’s her feeling as a friend rather than a knight.

However, it is difficult for Illias to complain as long as it has decided by Marito. In that case, she would said that Maya, who is close to her, only her she can consult with.

Maya is tolerant but not about Forbidden Magic such as Necromancy. She also have to fulfill her position as Archbishop of Yugura Religion.

Having a secret is troublesome. If it is exposed before me explaining it first, our relationship may worsen.

Those who want to live safely should not have big secrets. Still, I can understand and sympathize with Marito’s position right now.

Is Mejis simply sealing and managing these books, or are they studying them in secret?

The fact of managing books was confirmed by the existence of Lacra, but even now he still don’t know what kind threat lying ahead.

◇

While walking, Illias sometime seeing him on the way home. He is talking with Lacra in small voice.

She can’t hear what they’re saying. But, she hesitate to forcibly listen them. She think, they must have a secret that only both of them know.

Lacra is a good person. She is straightforward and has the ability as a priest. She is a cute and very attractive woman.

At first they have some distance, but now they have a similar relationship like what Illias had with him.

He changes the way he deal with other like a mirror. Illias relationship with him is now good enough to have a small talk.

Sometimes she get angry, but it’s not bad if she think she can be frank with him.

His relationship with Lacra may have changed in a similar way.

The number of people he can talk to has increased. It’s a good thing, but….

“Illias, tired?”

Wolfe looks into her face and asks her. Maybe because Lacra and him talking in low voice, she came to her side. She thought that Wolfe have a good judgement. No, it’s to good.

Given the history of Wolfe, it is no wonder that she lives more honestly. She must be desperate not to lose the present life she has.

She fear the past so much. In fact, Wolfe, when she sneaks into the futon, was shaking occasionally.

“That’s right. I want to go home early and relax.”

“Illias don’t want to talk with Shisho?”

“Talk? What to talk with him?”

“Shisho, he is thinking a lot of things and trying his best. Like when he bring Wolfe out from that village.”

Hmmm… Illias try to think. She know that he always thinking about various things.

As long as it is not physical labor that he’s bad at, that is probably his way of life.

But judging from Wolfe’ words, is it okay to think that he is planning something?

“Is he thinking together with Lacra?”

“No, Lacra is not thinking anything.”

Illias thought, It’s a terrible words to hear. Anyway, is the plan must include Lacra? If that’s the case, right now he keep contact with Lacra is also…. No, no, they might just on good terms.

“….Hmmm.”

Illias is a bit uneasy, but she know that he tends to dislike excessive meddling. Even so, she is aware that being relied on by him, And the thing that might breaks that relationship is….

She have maintained a close relationship with her mother’s friend, Maya, but she have never had a friend with someone she met herself, like him.

She can’t figure out how far she should go in meddling with his matter. But if it’s okay for her can step on it, she want to step on it too…

She is confident in her swordsmanship, but amateur in this kind of thing.

“If I can get along well just by slashing him, I’ll cut him in an instant.”

“Illias, That’s scary.”

And… Wolfe was scared. At least, just at least, Illias don’t want Wolfe to be scared of her. She was frightened of her after having a bout once, so it could be said that she has quite strong will to endure that past.

Anyway, Illias think that she have to be careful from now on.

---

28-1. In the meantime, I feel sorry (Part 1)

The next day, I bring Wolfe, and decided to help with the search. But, How can I help her to find it so that she can’t find it?

“Okay, so, first of all, when I consulted with Your Majesty about the installation of the barrier, I got permission to install it in the city only for a certain period of time.”

“Oooh!”

“However, the castle already has some other barriers installed, so I can’t get the permission to install there.”

“I see…”

After consulting with Marito, we need to avoid having a barrier in the castle.

But, if we leave them alone, who knows if they tries to install the barrier forcibly in the future. So, it’s better to handle it from now.

“In addition, if an abnormality occurs, it will be removed immediately. And just in case, he want you to avoid set it up for the whole city from the beginning. In public eyes, the reason for the barrier is to get the healing effect it has.”

“But, if it’s not the whole city, it’s gonna be hard to check….”

“You just need to expand it slowly as the day passed by. Lacra, do you know where to install it at first?”

“… Hm? Hm, Hmm?”

“Do you think if you make a cute gesture, I’ll just gonna forgive you, huh?”

Normally I might have forgiven her, but…

“sniff, Please tell me where.”

“Search on the premise that the book is somewhere here. In the process of widening the barrier and searching, it would be a problem if the book was taken out. First, set the gate of the castle wall into the range of the barrier, and then slowly cover the city from there.”

“I see, I see.”

“However, before spreading it inside, first is to cover the castle wall. If you need to bring the book outside, you need to cross the wall, right? Do you have enough tools?”

“Circling around the city huh…. It barely enough, but if I do that, I don’t have enough tools to cover the inside….”

“Anyway, you’re not allowed to install all of it at one time. So, you just need install it as soon as you are ready.”

“I understand. So today, I’ll install it around the gate and walls!”

“If the tools for installing the barrier are prepared earlier, install them on the route from here to Garne too. Do it at the same time as installing the inner part of the city.”

“I need to move around the Mountain and forest too?!…. It sounds troublesome.”

“But in order to clear their suspicions to Maya, it is necessary to confirm the range she searched before. I’ll give you this, so make a copy of it.”

That said, I handed over Dokora’ map borrowed from Marito.

“This is?”

“This is the map of Tiez used by Dokora. It has marks for his bases, such as used bases, unused bases, and potential caves for bases. I could borrowed this, because the knight have already investigated all site.”

“Well, if we have this, we could make progress in searching the book, right!?”

“But, as this map has been borrowed by Mr. Ban, one of the the merchant in here, we could use the pretext that we’re gonna do cave investigation for searching resource like him. But if we do that, we need to check the cave too. There’s a lot of bases and cave that we need to check, so it might take times.”

“That’s right. But, there’s also a high possibility that the book might have hidden inside some cave, so I think it’s good to check the cave too.”

“If it’s the place where base built or a cave, there will be no problem if you temporarily create a barrier, just that you need to afford the tools.”

For the time being, these we got some time, to make Lacra’ search slower.

First, create a barrier around the city and make her take a long time to cover the city.

At the same time, she will head to the bandits bases and caves, All of this is to delay her investigation of the castle.

After that, in my spare time, I’ll decoding the book and try to finished it. The plan is, it would be okay to return the book to Mejis, once it had been deciphered.

Although it takes time for Lacra, on the premise that the book is indeed within the territory of Tiez, but it is necessary to carry out the search with less risk of it being taken out of the kingdom.

Also, although the true aim of Mejis is still uncertain, all known until this point is, it’s to prevent the spread of Necromancy.

And another issue we have is the identity of another searcher, who may be working behind the scenes. There is no choice but to try to make them reveal them self.

“Fuuu, I finished setting it up!”

She set up a barrier in front of the city gate, then we go outside. While riding the horse circling the wall, she set up the barrier without leaving any gap.

We started in the morning and now it almost dusk… Of course I’m tired.

Two horses were borrowed from the barracks. One is for Lacra and the other is for me and Wolfe.

I learned horseback riding at the same time as Wolfe. But only her is able to ride first, and somebody can’t ride it alone yet.

But seriously, I’m scared of this horse. It’s one size larger than the horses I normally see at the racetrack, and even tough like that the speed is still fast, you know?

It is impossible for an amateur to ride it alone. It’s like being told to drive 80 kilometers on a electric scooter and drive it on the highway. Yep, Definitely impossible.

When we returned the horse to the barracks, I saw Illias.

“Illias? You usually patrolling the city. It’s rare to see you here. “

“The barracks outside the walls are under the jurisdiction of Lord Ragdo’ Corps. Although I leave it to the keeper, I occasionally come to see the situation. And what’re doing?”

“I just borrowed the horse to circling the city wall with Lacra. She want to know the different between Mejis and Tiez.”

“I see.. So, how was it?”

“in Mejis there’s no wall circling the city. The cathedral in the sanctuary also does not have walls, it’s to make the believers to see it easier.”

“Even though, Monster appeared often there, you’re being careless, huh.”

“Not really. Instead, the city has multiple barriers that prevent Monsters from approaching it unless it’s a big one.”

I see. There is a lot type of barrier, huh. How convenient. And the huge benefit is that you can cherish the scenery.

“Speaking of which, I’m thinking of cave exploration tomorrow, but can Lacra fight against beasts normally?”

“Yeah, it’s okay. I’m strong after all.”

Even if she said that now, it hard to trust her. My thought come out in my face.

“Ah! Why you make face like you can’t trust it!”

“Considering all what happened up until now, that’s of course.”

“Hmmmph! Let me prove it then!”

Lacra instantly creates a barrier around her.

In almost no time, cubic barrier that stretches around Lacra. It’s like a thick translucent glass.

“This is the Defense Magic that I proud of! Most attacks won’t be a big deal!”

“Then, Wolfe, Try to attack it will your full strength.”

“Okay, Shisho!”

Then Wolfe spin her arm, and stand in front of Lacra. Then she take a deep breath and kick the ground.

It’s a simple rush attack that combined with mana release, but just by the appearance of it, you can tell that the power is strong.

“Haaa!!”

The roar and impact of the fist reaching the barrier are transmitted into the air. But the fist never went beyond the barrier.

“Ooooh!”

“Shisho, my hands, it hurts.”

“Of course.”

I patting and comforting Wolfe, who has a teary eyes. Lacra make a proud face.

“How is it!? This hardness with almost no time!”

“Certainly it amazing. Illias, what do you think?”

“Yeah, it’s splendid. Since the construction of magic is centered on the person himself, it is troublesome if it is allowed to be deployed. I guess, it will be difficult to neutralize it with a small Magic Sealing Stone.”

“The barrier could be neutralized, only if it’s using a bigger Stone, huh.”

“Well yeah. but if it’s the size they normally use for military purpose, as expected it’ll be a little bit difficult…. But, Beasts and Monsters does not use Magic Sealing Stone!”

“Lacra, could try it too?”

Illias seems to be interested in it strength.

“Yes, I don’t mind.”

“But just in case, I’ll do it without pulling the sword from the scabbard, okay?”

Illias raises her sword. Remained in the scabbard. I guess, if she hit the barrier that is too hard with the sword pulled out from it’s scabbard, there is a good chance that the blade will break.

Illias stand in front of the barrier and swing her sword.

“I’m sure Wolfe’ punch is around that much…. So, I guess, around this much is enough!?”

She swing her sword down in a straight line.

Illias vs Lacra Illustration

“Ugh, As expected it’s hard.”

“…..”

Lacra has a stiff expression. Oh, if I look closely, sure, the sword is stuck in the barrier.

The sword swung down against the side of the cubic barrier broke a part of the barrier and lost its momentum due to surface resistance of the barrier.

“It’s an amazing barrier. It’s difficult for me to get rid of this unless I’m serious.”

“Don’t try it! I’m sure Lacra together with her barrier will be blown away!”

“As, As expected of Illias. Who can be compared to be one of the top five in this kingdom….”

If it is a normal attack, Illias will not be able to hurt Lacra. But if she do it seriously, the barrier will be blown away by the attack that even my ayes could not see.

Even from the Lacra perspective, Illias seems to be exceptional.

“However, this should’ve been enough prove to Shosho-sama, right? Aside from Illias, this barrier can’t be broken by something at the level of Shosho-sama.”

Inside the barrier, Lacra turn her way here. I know that, but somehow her words get on my nerve.

“Since in turn like this, might as well try it, is it okay?”

“Fufufu, Of course!”

I look around and discover a good thing. I pick up the shovel that was leaning against the barrack wall.

“You can’t break this barrier with such a thing, though? This barrier also stretched to my feet. Even if you want to dig, It’s no use!”

“Hmm, is this just right?”

I place the shovel on the ground and lift a slightly larger stone nearby.

“Hmm? Do you change to stone throwing?”

“No, no, such a thing is bad for my hips. I’m not gonna do that.”

Put the stone aside and pick up the shovel. Then, I push the shovel to the place where the stone was removed.

“Shosho-sama?”

“Okay, I think this is good.”

I lift the shovel, and walk to the barrier. And throw the contents of the shovel over the barrier. Of course, the contents of the shovel are blocked by the barrier.

“What are you trying to… do!?”

The barrier above Lacra is filled with soil. Since it is a cube, the soil on which it is placed naturally spreads on top without spilling.

The barrier is translucent and has good visibility, so I’m sure she can see it clearly from the inside.

A large number of insects and earthworms that’s lurking under the stone, now wriggling on top of the cube.

“Erm… ermmmm.. that… Shosho-sama!?”

By the way, Lacra was able to move even within the barrier. She don’t have to move herself since she herself as the center, can stretch it instantly. To put it the other way around, this barrier does not move.

In other words, in order for the person to leave the place, there is no choice but to cancel the barrier.

“As expected, it hard, huh… Well, let’s go?”

“How could you think of terrible things as a matter of course.”

“Wait, Please wait a minute! Please get rid this! Even just the insect, Please!”

Lacra hits the barrier from the inside and asks for help.

“You see, my hand will get dirty.”

“I will wash it! I’ll put out clean water and clean it for you!”

“Can’t you just make the barrier change from cube to a conical from inside?”

“I can’t make other than this shape!”

“That’s it. Why don’t you blow it off with Blowing Magic, immediately after releasing it?”

“If the timing of ding it wrong, the Magic will burst in this closed space you know!?”

“If you can make a barrier in an instant, you can do it too.”

“Maybe I can, but… As expected, it’s impossible!”

She almost tried to do her best for a moment, but it seems that she have lost her concentration because she keep thinking the risk of failure.

“However, in a cube-shaped barrier, if you encounter a monster that spits out poison, you might get stuck, don’t you?”

“That’s might be true. I can prevent it temporarily, but if it remains above me…”

“You should make a conical or spherical barrier, or make the surface easier to change…”

“Hmm, I think that’s a good idea.”

“Hey! Both of you! Don’t just talking, and help me! Please!”

After that, when I seriously tried to leave Lacra, she started crying, and Wolfe told me that she couldn’t leave it, so I asked Illias to wash it off with water magic.

Well, she was relieved to be able to break the barrier safely, but the water remaining on the barrier poured to her whole body.

Next Ch will be split into 2.

---

27. In the meantime, Worried about the future

It is within my expectation that Lacra aim for what Dokora left behind. It’s already at the level where me and Marito saying ‘I guess so.’.

It might not be the case, since we just being wary of the movement of Yugura religion. But if a person suddenly sent from the headquarters, it’s natural to think so.

A sigh leaks. Even though this the first time for something like this happen to me in this world, but for it to be just that kind of flag.

Just a bit more, if she take a few more days to deepen our relationship, and aim the moment when I begin to trust her, I might have some fun….

“Hm? Hmm? Shosho-sama? Why you sigh…”

“Of course. When I thought that finally it’s the time, but to only being asked for information….”

“No, no that’s not what I mean… By some chance, the Charm Magic have no… effect?”

What is that? Did you cast that kind of thing?

“Well, To be approached like that, in a way, you success in charming me….”

“…..”

Oh, Her face become bright red.

“Forget.. Please Forget it! Please! Forget it!”

It’s been a while since I was grabbed in the chest and shaken. Ah, but the strength that fit a girl, that may be the first time in this world.

“Well, well, please calm down. I think it was really charming!”

“No, it’s not what you thought! That, it just that kind of movement is required!”

Lacra’ face still bright red, she complains with teary eyes. It’s seems she will cry seriously if I tease her more than this.

As an adult, I have to be moderate.

“It’s okay, as I said, I was really charmed you know. You really make my heart beat you know…”

“Uuuu, Uuaaaaaa!”

However, there were times when I lost to the temptation…. In many ways.

“Please, have a drink.”

“Uuu….gulp, Thank you very much.”

Lacra, who seems distraught, finally calms down and sits on the bed. I need to be moderate when doing pranks.

Now, I have to hear a detailed story.

“Then I will summarize the story. Lacra had something to look for, apart from this inspection, and in order to obtain that information, she approached this candidate. She used Charm magic to get information quickly, but for some reason I couldn’t be charmed.”

“… Yeah.”

“By the way, if the Charm Magic succeed, I will not remember anything what happen in the process. And, Normally you don’t want to use that because it’s embarrassing, but you put up your courage and do that. Then, your face became red because your failure was exposed, right?”

“… Yeah.”

“If only you seduce me normally, without using magic, I’m sure it will more successful.”

Ah, she’s about to cry again. Well, if it’s so embarrassing, you shouldn’t use it in the first place. Choosing the easy way, In the end, isn’t it you the one who will suffering the consequences?

“Even though it was certainly casted… why it didn’t work!?”

“Ah, Hmm, Let me confirm it first, Charm magic… is it a type of magic that cast on the target’ head?”

“Eh, Ah, Yeah. Strictly speaking, it is a magic that interferes with the target’ mana through the target’ eyes and make them charmed to the caster.”

“It’s that. You see, I told you about having small amount of mana, right? Maybe you didn’t make a mistake in the preparation, But because my body don’t have enough mana to be interfered, so the magic didn’t activated.”

I remember the Rye fruits. It uses the mana of the eater to be in control state, and then invite the eater to the Slime’ nest.

It’s effective enough even for a beast with a small amount of mana, but somebody who is a beginner in another world, where there is not even sure if that person have one magic point or not, of course it will not have any effect.

At first, I felt lucky, but when I heard that I couldn’t receive most of the healing magic because of that, I felt like I don’t have any insurance.

“Such a thing…. So, what am I supposed to do…. Oh, Right! I just need to put my mana into Shosho-sama!”

“By the way, could you tell me how you’re gonna do it?”

Oh, her face turned even Red than ever. I just roughly guessed, but is it really that kind of method? What, What’s wrong with this unreliable beauty.

“If you need to do that kind of things, isn’t it faster and effective to do it normally…”

“That… How can I do that kind of thing!”

“Didn’t you just do it?”

Well, after that we did a short break for the second time. Anyway, let’s continue the talk.

“But, why you need to force yourself until like this…. If it’s okay, Could you tell me the detail?”

“Uhm…”

The general story was like this.

The Forbidden Magic, and document related to Demon Lord are sealed at the Yugura Religion’ Headquarter.

One day, the Demon Lord may come back to get the Forbidden Magic again. It is sealed as a last resort to counter such a situation.

However, Dokora, who was working at the dark part of Mejis, stole one of the books. Lacra haven’t heard the details, but it seems that there is a description about Necromancy.

Although it’s inferior to Resuscitation Magic, Necromancy is one of the Forbidden Magic. Yugura Religion was following Dokora’s footsteps to avoid it spreading.

And They found the base when he was in Garne. There, they finds traces of Dokora trying to use Necromancy.

After that, they don’t know where he go, his footstep stopped at Garne, but recently there was a request to Mejis for his details from Maya.

A man who is one-armed and may be using Necromancy. It’s definitely Dokora.

By the time he escaped from the pursuit with Mejis, Dokora had already lost one arm. Anyway, Yugura Religion’ Headquarters instructs Maya to search for the book.

The book is likely to have been brought to Tiez because Dokora had a high level of Necromancy.

However, no book was found by searching all the bases. The Headquarters continued to instruct Maya to search, still, no results.

It should’ve hidden somewhere in Tiez, but they can’t find it. From this, some people began to raise suspicions about Maya.

In order to solve it, Lacra, a competent priest, was secretly dispatched from the headquarters.

“Competent?”

“Tha-That’s true. I have learned all kinds of high-ranking Magic, especially I’m an expert in Purification Magic and if the opponent is an undead, I can handle it alone even on an army scale!”

If it’s that’s true, of course you’ll be called competent. Even with dozens of undead opponents, this kingdom’s most proud knights were troubled.

Still, this unreliable side of her…. is she just acting? If so, She’s indeed competent…. No, wait, why she didn’t succeed in seducing me from the beginning then, right?

However, when I hear this kind of story, it make me think that compatibility is important. To be honest, Lacra’s physical strength is honestly weak, probably about the same as me…… This sadness, I must not think of it now.

In that case, She can’t handle the attacks from unusual movements of knights.

However, the knights have no power to finish off undead. But a priest can one-sidedly slaughter the undead. They already dead though.

So, that Gorilla who blow the undead away with a single blow do not fit in the terms of compatibility, so there’s a need to categorize it as an exception.

“Then, you came to Tiez, and when you can get away from Maya’s eyes, you didn’t miss that chance to take action. Even more, when you meet someone who seems to have some useful information, so you use Charm Magic on that person to get the information quickly.”

“Yeah…”

“Aren’t you just impatient and ruining yourself!?”

“But, But, But! Thing going smoothly like this, isn’t that God’s guidance to me!”

“Even if that is the case. All is good until you use Charm Magic. And, How about the fact that you’re neglecting to confirm whether I was successfully charmed after you casted it and straight into talking the main subject?”

“It because, I never failed up until now!”

To be honest, I was very cautious about Yugura Religion. This complexity is painful because I consulted to Marito many times and devised various measures to act with the utmost care.

“Uuuu, My attempt for spying is failed, even my embarrassing figure exposed… I’m failed… Now, that it’s come to this…”

“If you decide to commit suicide, Please do it in your own room. Don’t worry, I’ll talk about your last figure while drinking alcohol.”

“Are you really saying that!? Since you said that to me, I’ll not die even if I die! I’ll become undead!”

It’s pretty dark for a priest’ joke. I want her to sleep peacefully somehow.

However, if I was the cause of her death, I can’t peacefully waking up everyday. So, Let’s follow her talk for now.

“Still, you don’t need to do this secretly though. Maya must have guessed that she would be suspected if someone came from the headquarters at this time. Then what you need to do is to declare it quickly and search for it. Why are you trying to find it in secret?”

“It’s feared that the existence of a book contain Forbidden Magic will comes to light, if that happen, some people will want it.”

“Maybe Maya is explained by the Headquater about the existence of the book?”

“… Right.”

Then Lacra clapping her hands. Hey, give me back my flattery I gave to you this morning! This Bastard! I keep responding like my life depend on it, you know!

“Oh, but what if Maya is hiding the book!?”

“Even if that so, The fact that the book still hidden is not changed. Rather, with you declaring it, her movement will be restrained.”

“… I see.”

Lacra clapping her hands again. Who? Who the fuck appointed this girl!? That person doesn’t have the capabilities in making scheme!

“Sigh… I’m going to sleep.”

“Eh? You’re not gonna help me!?”

“Remember what you did earlier. Hm?”

“Forget that please! Let’s forget it.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll never forget it!”

“Why your word suddenly become rude!?”

“Do you know what it mean to have manner when going out? It’s to the word that fit the others.”

“Ugh, Even though I thought that Shosho-sama was a wonderful person…”

“Thanks for that. Lacra was also a wonderful person… just until now.”

“You hurt my feeling you know, it really hurt!”

“Good grief… I know, I know. I will ‘Help to find the book’, is this enough?”

“Really!? Thank you very much!”

Still, I’m not going to share the information that the book is in Marito’ place.

This flow made me sick, but at least I answered the question, ‘Do you know about books?’.

“Oh, by the way, do you know anything about books?”

…Or not really. A woman who keep betraying my thoughts.

“On the contrary, please tell us about the book. Is there any information about how it looks?”

“Hmm, The title is written in a language that I have never seen in any old book.”

“Even the inside?”

“Yes. It seems that it cannot be easily deciphered.”

“I’ve never read such a book in Tiez.”

“I see…”

Safe, my mouth almost slipped for moment. I’ve already seen the title several times. But, I haven’t read the contents yet.

The problem was that I was about to say, ‘I have never read such a book.’. This will be detected as a lie if I was not careful.

Because I know that it is written in Japanese, I naturally read Japanese books in Japan.

If I add the word ‘In Tiez’ at last, the lie detection sensor may react because I say it last.

I have to try to figure out what is effective and what is not, but in such a dangerous situation, I want to avoid to do anything unconfirmed. Even if there’s countermeasure for it, it’s still a troublesome ability to deal with.

“Don’t you have any way to find it?”

“Hmm, I have. The book contains special mana that will react if you set up a special barrier.”

“I see. So you go around the village to place a barrier mechanism in the village church?”

“Yeah… How do you know!?”

“Wolfe said to me, that Lacra’ luggage was gradually decreasing. The contents did not smell like food, but there was something like a stone in it. And you even prepared a simple altar so that you could at least pray in a village without a church, right? So, I can guess.”

Wolfe’s nose and ears are not that of a normal person. As expected from Wolf Demi-Human.

When I asked her to say the differences and changes of each village, she also said about Lacra’ luggage.

It is easy to predict Lacra’ purpose and what kind of actions she take based on her abilities.

“Is the barrier enough to cover the whole village?”

“Yes. By the way, it’s not harm for the villagers. On the contrary, the mana of the barrier corrects the disturbance of the mana in the body, and it is also have a weak effect of fatigue recovery.”

Oh, It’s been a long time since I saw air purification product… it’s that kind of impression that I get from her saying that.

“Many of the Knights of Tiez have Magic Sealing Stones in their weapons. Is the barrier unaffected by Magic Sealing Stones?”

“Hmm, The core of the barrier will be released under the influence of the Magic Sealing Stone. However, the mana emitted from the barrier only a properties of the barrier, so it’s okay.”

So, it’s okay as long as you don’t bringing weapons to the church, huh?

It ’s similar to the measures that Dokora took. Wait, since they are originally from the same kingdom, it may be natural that the methods they use are similar to some extent.

“Do you know when it react even if you’re far from it?”

“Yes. When the mana of that book and the mana of the barrier come into contact, it causes resonance and emits something like a wave of peculiar mana to a super wide area. If I receive it, I can judge which position of the barrier has reacted.”

It’s quite complicated to use, huh. Still, using the nature of mana does give can be said as a means to escape from Magic Sealing Stones.

However, if you can abuse this method, you can make a pretty dangerous weapon, doesn’t you?

If you can aim what kind of new mana that will be born from two or more mana with unique properties… I’m not an expert so I can’t really say anything about this.

“If it can be installed in all villages and there is still no response, it is okay to say that it is not in the villages for now.”

“Yes. At the end, if I set it up in Tiez’ capital, it means I can check all the places where there’re people.”

“Well, that’s true. But will you get the permission?”

How many countries give ‘Yes’ or ‘OK’ when asked if it is okay to set up that barrier in their own country?

It will give you a benefit like an air purification product, though….

“Shosho-sama… given your position, can’t you help me?”

“I’m still a candidate, so I don’t really have much power. I think I can talk to the king, but I have to ask whether I can get his consent or not.”

“That’s enough!”

“Oh yeah, And even if you get the permission to install it in the city, let’s try to find a good place for it together. Still, if you have all this, you should act more carefully from the beginning.”

“That’s… When I see that Shosho-sama have a small amount of mana, I feel that if it’s you, it’s gonna be okay….”

“Oi, Lacra, I’ll make sure, that one day, I going to betray you!”

“Aaahh!? Are you saying that for real!?”

With this, I ended up forming a strange cooperative relationship with Lacra.

“Huh!? Since when did you called my name without honorific!? Even though I’m older than you!”

“I’m tired of this…”

And the day afterwards, She will go around the village and set up the Barrier. It takes two days to visit the all of western village, and the third day we visit the eastern village.

However, the book was not found even though she finished setting it up in all villages. That’s of course, because it’s in the castle.

Up to this stage, I haven’t really helping her, I just continued my work as a Candidate.

“However, if this many knights positioned in all village, the Knights in the capital will be busy. Are you sure, They have enough manpower?”

“That’s right, right now, in the capital, the knight apprentices are doing their best to do various chores…”

“Lacra, I heard that the appearance rate of Monsters is high in Mejis, how do they deal with it?”

“Hmm, We are asking adventurers to handle it, and give reward depend on the parts of the Monster. Even in the villages, they can be contracted for a certain period of time and hire them as escorts.”

“I see. So, just leave it to the expert huh?”

“My Kingdom also want to imitate it, but, there aren’t many adventurer in Tiez…”

As an adventurer, stable hunting is not possible because Monsters rarely come here.

So, it’s hard to to it like Mejis. First, Tiez need something to bring in adventurers to their territory.

“By the way, since when did both of you became closer?”

“No, no, we are not closer at all…”

“Really? You talk like you could understand each other, and you even call her without honorific.”

“That’s because this damn…”

“That’s because!? When I saw friendly relationship betwwen Shosho-sama and Illias, I wanted to have that kind of relationship too with Shosho-sama, so I force Shosho-sama to call me that way, and also to use informal word when speak to me!”

“Re-really?”

“No, no, it’s just beacuse her value in my mind has fallen.”

“Why don’t you match with my story!?”

“Even if you thanks me after I match with your story, it will not make me happy. Rather, I thought it would be unpleasant to remain misunderstood.”

“How, How can you say like that!?”

“…. I’m sure, something must happened.”

“Shisho, Wolfe too, want to be treated like Illias and other!”

I call Wolfe, and let sit near me and stroke her head.

“Hear this, Wolfe. Certainly Wolfe is in the minority and different from everyone. But, you don’t have to bother to make your value bad. Choose who’re you going to imitate carefully, okay?”

“Okay, But… Shisho, only good to Wolfe.”

“I’m not treating Wolfe specially. It just the others are low compared to you, that’s why, just stay like this, okay?”

“…Yeah!”

“Hey, wait a moment, why you think low of me too!?”

“Do you think, I think highly of you!?”

“Hey, don’t be surprised!”

“I’m more to type that using brain. Don’t think that you who solves everything with brute strength have a high value in my eyes.”

“Ugh, But I’m not stupid you know, I’ve a decent brain.”

“Do you think I could accept you, who always saying ‘But, it’s faster to use force.’, as someone who use brain, huh!? Damn Muscle-brain Gorilla!”

“What does Gorilla mean!?”

Then, we are going back to the capital. Lacra immediately told Maya about the situation.

“That’s of course. It can’t be helped. I want to clear their doubts as soon as possible, So, Lacra, please do your best!”

“Ah, Yes..”

She got permission to do it as she like. With this, there are no obstacles to her activities in the city.

“By the way, Maya, you knew from the beginning, didn’t you?”

“Of course. The one who don’t know it must have something wrong with their brain.”

“Right…”

◇

Yugura Religion Sanctuary that exists in Mejis. It is the place where the Hero vowed to subdue the Demon Lord, and where the Yugura Religion Cathedral is built.

The smallest and simplest room in the huge cathedral is the room of the Pope, Euparo Rosaleo.

The Pope don’t like luxury and extravagance. But Yugura Religion has the most believer in the world.

Therefore, although the cathedral stands out as one of the world’s leading buildings, The Pope’ office is a reproduction of the work room assigned to him when he was a young man.

And now an archbishop was called into the room.

Ukka Kenuk, he is the lest-wing of Yugura Religion, and the one who sent Lacra to Tiez.
[TN: Seriously his name, written ‘ウッカ＝ケヌク’ in the source.]

“And, I sent Lacra Salf to collect the book.”

“Yes, That’s right, Pope-sama.”

“If I remember correctly… she is an elite priest. At that young age, she has mastered almost all the Purification Magic that is the essence of Yugura religion, and she has a solid track record of Demon hunting.”

“Yes, That’s right.”

“And, As if all her talent is just in that, that her other talent is not worth mentioned.”

“Yes, That’s right.”

“Why do you choose her then…”

The Pope sigh. Will a combat-type priest like Lacra really good choice to collect books? No, it’s impossible. Because The Pope have seen Lacra once before. That child is just… a little impossible.

“Maya is in Tiez, Am I the only one who think that she can see that the purpose of sending Lacra there?”

“No, that’s exactly what I was aiming for from the beginning.”

“… I understand. It’s a pain to ask first before you answer, so tell me everything.”

“Lacra intends to search the books publicly. Maya, Archbishop of Tiez, is a smart woman. She’ll probably will be suspicious no matter who are send to there.”

“Right. Her tittle as an Archbishop at such a young age, not just for show.”

“That’s why it’s good to just publicly say it to her. That’s by by sending Lacra who is most likely get caught in her actions, It’ll also means that Maya will realized it faster, and the search will happen faster too.”

“But, must it be Lacra? Isn’t it better to sent priest who are good at investigation…”

“Fu-Fufufu, It must be Lacra. If Lacra who’s careless sent there, She will think that the upper weren’t that suspicious of her, and she’ll eventually let her guard down. That’s what I’m aiming for!”

“…. So, you secretly sent another person?”

“As expected of Pope-sama!”

Ukka praises with an exaggerated reaction. Who was the one who made him the archbishop, huh… oh yeah that’s right it’s the Pope.

Even though Ukka is like that, but his connections are amazing, really.

It is this Ukka that is responsible for most of the Yugura money policy, and he has the advantage to make others lees alert to him due to his character.

In other words, He can get along with most people. Since his achievements in that area are so great, the other archbishops who want to complain have no choice but keep their mouth shut.

“We have already sent Mejis’ Assassin to Tiez. Behind the scenes, a talented assassin gets a book while Lacra stands out in an open and publicly search for it. This, This is my plan! People relax their vigilance while finding the answer. And we poke there!”

“…. Well, Right. If you’re using someone with high abilities, I’m not going to complain. But avoid any behavior that would worsen our relationship with Tiez.”

“Yes, Leave it to me.”

However, although he has a wide network of contacts, did he have a connection to someone who work in the dark part of Mejis?

“Fu-Fufufu, My plan will never get noticed. Why? Because.. it’s perfect!”

◇

“Well, another guy was definitely being sent in.”

“Right. You could only think it that way.”

That night, I visited Marito to report to him, and we was discussing what Mejis might do.

“It’s hard to say that person is the also priest. So it might be a merchant or adventurer.”

“Yeah, It’ll be hard for us to notice is we never seen that person face. Is there any possibility that they will sent someone who work at the dark part of Mejis?”

“Well, if that person have the ability to disguise, that person may sneak into the castle.”

“It seems that we need to devise some countermeasures. Oh, right, I decided to cooperate with Lacra, but is it okay to continue going in their trap?”

“Right. You just need to use her back.”

“Use her, huh…. I understand. So, how we should handle the book?”

“According to the your story, the barrier will be set up outside the castle, right? If that happens, we can’t take it outside. So Me and Lord Ragdo will hold it next after each other.”

“It may be okay to start deciphering it now, assuming that the worst case, the books will be collected.”

“Yeah. However, the guy who sent Lacra has a very bold personality. It’s like announcing to Tiez directly that Tiez have a book about the Forbidden Magic.”

“I would have been prepared to get caught by Maya, but I wasn’t thinking about Lacra leaking information of Tiez….. No wait, that’s not gonna happen.”

“Perhaps it’s to show some compromise and prevent the deterioration of the relationship with Tiez. I’m sure that’s the case.”

◇

“I just talked it to the Candidate of Department of State Affairs!?”

Ukka was astonished to hear the report from Lacra. It is one of the secret art of Yugura Religion using crystals, and it delivers words to a long-distance.

Although the places where it can be used are limited, it is mostly installed in Yugura’ churches where there are someone higher than bishops.

“It, It’s Okay! When I talked about the situation, he said that he’ll help me find the book.”

“Oh, That’s splendid.”

“He is a very diligent person, and he is also very friendly with Maya. I’m sure he understood the seriousness of this matter.”

“I see, I see. You are blessed with good collaborators! Oh, but don’t forget to make sure that he keep his mouth shut.”

It’s a conversation that would have be a headache if Euparo were here, though there’s nothing to retort about.

“Lacra, if the Necromancy described in the book spreads to the world, a catastrophe will be inevitable. Keep that in mind and do your best!”

“Yes, I will do my best to meet Ukka-sama’ expectations!”

And the communication was cut. Ukka is surprised at Lacra’ unexpected action, but is pleased with the results.

He even thought that Lacra might find the book before the Assassin.

“Ukka-sama. Do you time now?”

“Oh, it’s you. Sure.”

A visitor appears. He’s a young man.

“Was it communication with Lacra?”

“That’s right. It seems that things are going well on her side more then I expected. She might find the book before the assassin that you arranged.”

“Well, well. But that’s also fine. It’s better if one of the prominent Yugura priests is the onw who succeed.”

“Yeah, that’s right. So do you have anything to say?”

“Yeah. I wanted to add a few more assistants to him who are working behind the scenes. I came to get the permission.”

“Hmm, Lacra also has a local as collaborator. If it’s the person who work behind the scenes, it will be difficult to get the cooperation of local people. You should arrange it fast.”

Ukka even signs the documents prepared by the visitor.

“Yes, then I’ll do it as you say.”

That said, and the visitor leaves the room. After seeing him off, Ukka stares at the void for a while.

“….Well, Just now, was anyone else here?”

Ukka tilted his head.

My comment for this ch is, well as expected. Oh and the picture in this ch is wow!
Btw, I plan to translate another WN, now I have 3 different WN in mind, and all of them have quite short ch.
I’ll ask opinion from you guys, which one should I translate. So stay tune.
Anyway, enjoy.

---

26. In the meantime, I should’ve expected it.

“Food, Check! Equipment, Check! The other stuff I need to prepare… Well, with this much, I guess it’ll be okay?”

“Shisho, all of this, to the carriage?”

“Yeah, I’ll leave it to you.”

“I understand!”

I put the purchased food on the carriage prepared in front of the church.

I’ll be leaving Tiez for a few days, and you can say that my preparations is almost complete?

This will be my first time planning for spending the night far for home in this world.

Well, how to say this, it remind me my childhood and makes me feels exited. Hell Yeah!

In fact, it makes me feel like when I went field trip. And I got this opportunity when I visited Marito.

“At the request of Maya, a Yugura religion, I was informed that she would like to borrow some of these knights as guides.”

“I see.”

“It was decided to give that role to Lady Ratzel, who is also close to Maya, and Lord Domitorkofkon, who is reliable.”

“Well, I kind of understand that.”

“That’s why you should go with them”

“What do you mean?”

“I guess, I need to explain the detail. A messenger from the Yugura headquarters is coming here for the purpose of inspecting each branch. that person wants to see the churches in each village.”

“Hmm…”

“And the messenger also plan to visit a village without a church, listened to the local stories, and said that the religions would like to build a church if requested.”

“I see, So the messenger asked the knight of the kingdom to act as a bridge and guide, and chose Grandpa Kara, who is a veteran and has a good reputation in the villages, and Illias, who is close to Maya, a Yugura religion. And, you want me to take advantage of this to see around, right?”

“Yeah, what impresses me about you every time you give your opinion is the part where you are aware of the difference between this world and your world. But, You haven’t visit other place other than this city right?”

“It was this city that I first noticed when I went down from the mountain. As for The Black Wolf Village… Well, I can say that it’s part of the culture of this Kingdom, I guess?”

“You’ve accustomed to the appearance of castles and town, right? And if you look at the lives of those who set up houses outside the castle with your eyes, I think it will be easier to express your opinions in the future.”

“That might be true.. But is it okay for me to go even though I’m not a knight?”

“Don’t worry about that. While I talked about the conditions, I added that the government will sent a Candidate for Department of State Affairs to come along for study purpose.”

“Thanks for not calling me Court Jester.”

That’s why I’m in Maya’ place with Illias and Wolfe now.

“Oh, I didn’t expect the Candidate to be you, Boy. You’ve come a long way huh…”

“I’ve still got a long way to go. That’s why, I was told to study the differences with another world, so that I could easily give useful opinions.”

“I see. I think it’s better than teaching in a classroom. It looks like it’s okay to take Wolfe too.”

“Study, My best!”

“That’s the spirit!”

“Ehehe!”

“Grandpa Kara is preparing the carriage now, He will come soon.”

“So, Who is the messenger from the headquarters?”

“It’s Me!”

And, a young woman appeared.

She’s around mid-twenties, I guess. The hair that hangs on the shoulders look so soft, and the front part is blunt bangs.

“My name is Lacra Salf. Let’s work well in this journey.”

“I’m Illias Ratzel.”

“I am, Wolfe!”

“Please treat me well in this journey. Hmm, how sould I call you?”

“Just call me Lacra, Shosho-sama.”
[TN: In source, it’s written, ‘尚書’ (Shōsho), which roughly mean Department of State Affairs, so at first i wanted to translated it as official, but I guess I’ll leave it as it is. and why ‘-sama’? it is added to someone that you respect or if the person have a respectable position.]

“I’m still a Candidate, though. I’ll be careful not to get in your way, but feel free to tell me if I’m doing something rude.”

I shake hands with a smile, because I’m excited to go. Hey, Illias, don’t make a strange face! Maya too!

“…. Even so, Shosho-sama have some unusual appearance. Black hair and black eyes… Besides, the amount of mana in your body is very small… May I ask you where you are from?”

“Unfortunately, I’ve been moving from one place to another…. After parting with my parent, I started living alone, and it was Tiez, the first place I choose to settled in this continent. I was born with a small amount of mana in my body, so I am not very good at physical labor, etc.”

“Well, that’s unfortunate… Hmm? Shosho-sama, it seems that you’ve been possessed by spirits.”

“Yeah, I have Maya cast Possession so that I could talk with people who speak different language. Have you heard of the recent discovery of a Black Wolf settlement in Tiez?”

“Yes. That white-hair child is from there, right?”

“That’s right. This child has already learned the language here, but I uses this Possession to interact with other Black Wolves. It was my acquaintance, a merchant who discovered the village, and I was his collaborator.”

“Is that so? You’re young, but you’re doing your best.”

“Isn’t Lacra the same? It ’s really a blessing to be able to work with a beautiful person like you.”

“Well, fufufu.”

I have fun chatting with Lacra. Hey! both of you, stop seeing me with that eyes! Learn from Wolfe!

“Let’s start the meeting. Lacra will visit the village in turn with me, and you and Wolfe will do the preparation.”

“I understand!”

Illias and Lacra enter the back room. Now, let’s go shopping.

“Boy, how can you nonchalantly doge her question.”

“As expected, you can’t tell all the detail of your origin right?…. From your view point, do you think I got caught?”

“I think no, I didn’t feel any lies in your talk.”

Right, I haven’t mixed any lies in the current conversation. From the point that Lacra is a priest like Maya, I thought that she might have the same power to detect lie like Maya, and I acted according to it.

I don’t know the specific theory of it, but I could guess the mechanism.

One of the characteristics of these priests is that they have an excellent ability to distinguish mana.

In the past, I had eaten a nut that possesses a special mana called Rye’s fruit, and Maya guessed it only by observing from the outside.

If there is a way to detect a lie as an extension of that ability, that method may be observing fluctuations in the person’s mana.

People have some habits when they lie. If you’re a skilled liar, you probably won’t show it outside, but what about the inside?

The consciousness of telling a lie may bring some movement to the person’s mana, and the priest who can observe it…. That’s my theory of how it works.

If she say that she can see everything I think like a ghost…. I’m sorry to say this, but I decided that the possibility of that was low.

The reason is Wolfe. This child’s past is terrible. However, When Maya in contact with Wolfe, there is no reaction like she can see such memories.

Maya, who was clearly disgusted by the topic of Necromancy, should’ve made some kind of expression when she reads Wolfe’s feelings.

That’s why I was thinking about measures for the ability to detect lies based on this speculation.

If I tell a lie, it will definitely get caught in the sensor. At first glance, it seems like an impossible game, but it’s not. I just have to distort the truth with another truth.

It is true that when I was in Japan, I moved a lot. After starting living alone in Japan, it is arguably the first place I choose to settle on this continent is Tiez.

It is also from birth that the amount of mana in my body is small. And the Possession is certainly used for “also” interacting with the Black Wolf.

“As expected, it was that kind of mechanism.”

“Did you think that answer beforehand?”

“Yeah. I though that the messenger might be a priest, could do what Maya can do. And if I visit the church, there’s a probability of meeting that messenger there. Then that person will asked me a lot of question, right? So, I’ve been repeating that answer in my head for a while.”

What I said is truth. I keep thinking that this question might be a ‘Common thing’ that someone will ask to a stranger. It’s good that it’s one of many question that I simulated in my head.

But what Maya really wants to know is, ‘Is it possible to behave that way to answer other questions?’.

The answer is maybe yes. If you come up with something you want to hide, you can behave that way during the conversation.

And why I said maybe? Because, based on how I got shaken by the question, She might notice it, and feels suspicious.

If possible, I didn’t want Maya to know it, but it can’t be helped as long as someone like Lacra here.

Rather, it’s better to let her understand that there are countermeasures for it. And be careful when try to get something form someone.

“Ah, But, When I said that Lacra is a beautiful, it’s just a fact that slipped from mouth at that moment.”

“I know, I can tell just by looking how happy she is.”

Then Maya sighs. Why though?

“By the way, DO you think Illias is beautiful?”

“I think her strength is bad news for me.”

“… Pity on her.”

After that, I went shopping and now I am here.

Grandpa Kara with the carriage arrived to the church, he seems talking with Illias and the other for a while. Then, all of us go out from the church together.

“Oh, it’s you, Kid. Thanks for coming along. I almost can’t held my head high, you know.”

“It’s the same for me, Thanks for coming. In the first place, all of them would be like a child or a grandchild to you, aren’t they?”

“That’s true. And they look like a blessing to you, Kid.”

“Just that there is thorn… No, a growing spear that mixed in there…”

“Hmm, and who is that?”

“Ouch! My shoulder! It hurt! See! You know who I mean!”

My mouth slipped because of the sense of security I get from Grandpa Kara. I almost injured even before the departure.

One of the characteristics of the Tiez territory is that there are many forests and the area is surrounded by huge mountain ranges.

The only border with other Kingdom that exists is that of the neighboring Kingdom, Garne, in the east.

In Tiez territory, Tiez Castle located slightly to the east and many village spread from there to the west side.

So, even if a war happen and being attacked, most of the villages are not exposed to the war.

Also, the only way to advance from Garne to here is to go through a narrow road in the forest.

And, you know, it will be a lot of burden to advance through the forest.

Moreover, on the narrow roads, the few elite knights that Tiez proud of, have overwhelming advantage. Right, even if someone beg me to attack Tiez, I’ll not go.

Anyway, the village we are currently heading is the one in the northwest. From here, we will go around the village with a straight route.

The Black Wolf Village will be an exception. They just started having interaction with outside world after a long time, so we can’t ask them to have a great change so suddenly.

However, it is a village that hides in fear of the Demon Lord. Maya says that they may be compatible with Yugura religion.

The Yugura from Yugura Religions is the name of a brave man who was blessed by a god, and who is said to have saved this world. So, it’s okay to think that they are like Christian.

Demon Lord who were born from the Forbidden Resuscitation Magic and terrorized the world. And a brave man who received the blessing of God overthrew them and saved the world.

And it was Yugura religion that tried to leave the teachings of the brave man to the future generation.

I often hear stories of fantasy in which the name of a hero remains even in the future generation, but there are relatively few examples of it developing into a religion. It can’r be helped, because usually the hero is just a boy born in a small village.

I guess, as a black wolf, it is easy for them to like the hero who defeated the Demon Lord, which is a symbol of fear.

Lacra said that, once they becomes familiar with outside world, it might be a good idea to convey the Yugura religion as a first step to further friendship.

Well, the Black Wolves are starting to come and go to Tiez, where Yugura is already the most predominant. Even without forcing them, It will spread if they think it’s necessary.

“By the way, I haven’t heard of the damage caused by the bandits in the villages, but was there any attack?”

“I guess so. Tiez’ knights are stationed in each village. So, The bandits who wanted to avoid fighting the knights never approached the village. Even when moving from village to village, escorts were attached.”

“So, mostly the victims were the merchants from outside who couldn’t afford the escort, huh?”

“Right. But as precaution, the villagers were instructed to refrain from moving to other village as much as possible.”

It’s good that Dokora refrained from using Necromancy. If the village had been attacked by the undead, it would have been difficult to protect it with only the knights that being stationed there.

And if he did that, it will just expose Dokora’ cards.

“What kind of facilities are there in the village?”

“First of all, it’s a field. There are many other facilities such as livestock facilities that are necessary to produce food. If, It’s located near the forest, so there will be facilities for lumbering, And if it’s near the mountain, there will be more facilities for mining.”

Upon arriving at the first village, I decided to ask Illias a lot of things while Grandpa Kara and Lacra were going to talk to the mayor.

The village is like that countryside in Medieval era. Probably due to the fact that they are in territory with many forests, a lot of building is built using wood.

“Is it a form of clearing the forest while increasing the home for people?”

“Right. The village is expanding as the village’s population grows.”

“If there are many forests and mountains, there may be some villages that can’t access the river, right?”

“In that kind of place, they use groundwater. Most of the water in the fields depends on rain, but in case of emergency, they rely on groundwater or someone who can handle magic.”

“In that aspect, Magic is really useful.”

“Still, the amount of water that can be produced by magic is proportional to the amount of mana. And, depend on place, some villages have waterways drawn from the river.”

“Most of the houses my world hev no problem with water, so I don’t feel the something fresh seeing this.”

“I see… That’s amazing.”

Then, I noticed the watchtower. It’s the first time I’ve actually seen a wooden watchtower.

“They have watchtower, huh. I don’t think it’s necessary if only for looking out Beast…”

“That’s for a countermeasures against Monsters.”

By the way, I haven’t touched this topic until now, but there are Monster and Demons. Since, she bring this, I going to ask her about the monster.

The area that was dominated by the Demon Lord in the past is full of special mana, and unlike beast, the creatures that are born there have a lot of mana. That is what they called a monster.

No details are known about the Demons so far. Although they are look like a person, they are acting as a subordinate of the Demon Lord.

Even now, it seems that Monsters may born in the land poisoned by the Demon Lord, and it seems that other countries frequently purify the land and subdue the Monsters. And the most active on doing that in Mejis.

There are such places in this Tiez territory, but the frequency of Monsters appearing in front of people is quite low. The reason is ‘Black Demon Lord’s Killer Mountain’ is there.

The former Demon Lord territory where Monsters will be born exists on the other side of this mountain, and most of the Monsters that come here are processed by The Slime that lives in the Mountain.

The Slime is so dangerous that the most dangerous Dragon among the Monsters avoids it. It’s killed the Demon Lord in the first place, so there’s no enemy for it.

However, there are someone who came from other world, who are lucky enough to break through the Mountains that have Monster, furthermore without being injured by The Slime.

Most of them are flying Monsters, such as Wyvern.

Since the dragon has excellent ability to detect danger, it does not even approach the Mountain, but other crazy Monsters often challenge itself to cross the Mountain.

So, Knights are stationed in the villages to prevent damage from such Monsters.

“In general it’s like that.”

“Wyvern came out in the Tale of Grandpa Kara, and I was wondering where he fought, but now I can guess.”

However, it is a scary story that I understood late. The first place I thrown in, It was such a dangerous zone, huh.

I might have encountered a Monster if I wasn’t careful there. It’s too scary to think.

Well, I’ve already encountered that most dangerous Slime, though?

“The fact that watchtower are installed in each village means that there was some damage done in the past, right?”

“Yeah, there was a large-scale Monster attack about ten years ago. It ’s rare occurrence in the history of Tiez.”

Illias make a harsh expression. Given Illias age and life until now, it’s probably the cause of her parents’ death. I won’t pry it further for now.

Basically, there is no mechanism that use a lot use magic in the village. The quality of education in the village is lower than that in the capital of Tiez, but it seems that some degree of reading and writing is being taught. In that respect, it seems to be a higher standard than around the same era on Earth.

What is noticeable is the existence of a small knight’s garrison and a church.

For now, I asked them to show me a facility that seems to be the agriculture and forestry of the villagers, and investigated the how it works.

While doing so, Lacra and Grandpa Kara are back. It seems that she has finished talking about the management of the church, the participation of the villagers, and the budget that seems to be necessary.

Then we board the carriage and head for the next village.

“Consultation on church administration costs, huh… Does the headquarters will provide money to cover the cost?”

“Yes, in places like the capital of Tiez where there are many worshipers, there is a certain amount of donation, but when it comes to the size of the villages, forcing such a burden will hinder the one who want to worship. Therefore, we are making it possible to use the donations collected from volunteers.”

“So, It’s an inspection to decide the allocation?”

“Yes. how about you, Shosho-sama?”

“We are also checking the standard of living of the villages. Even if the disparity in capital is hard to eliminate, I want to at least eliminate the disparity in villages.”

I talk to Lacra in the carriage. I was also able to learn a lot about the relationship between Yugura and Mejis.

Although Mejis is a monarch, it is no exaggeration to say that the pope of Yugura holds the real power.

The King of Mejis has the role of communicating with the Pope and spreading the policy to the people.

It is not a perfect Yes-Man, he makes suggestions in consideration of the current situation of the country, but the King himself does not implement his own policy.

Well, most of them are believers of Yugura religions, So, if there’s a friction with the pope, the Kingdom’s management could be hard to maintain.

Although it has the drawback of being in control, the reason why the king’s position seems to be somewhat comfortable is probably because someone does not want the position of such a responsible person.

However, If that’s true, the way I look at Mejis changes a little. The will of Yugura religion strongly intervenes in the actual situation of Mejis, which does not allow the Forbidden Magic or the Taboo.

Dokora, who was work at the dark part of Mejis, has a close relationship with Yugura religions, and it is also Yugura religions who hunted him down.

With that in mind, Maya’s generosity is substantial. Isn’t it different from the will of Yugura?

“By the way, Illias mother was also priest like Maya. That means…”

“Yeah, my mother was originally from Mejis. She came to Tiez with Maya. And she married my father, who was a knight in this country.”

On Earth, Catholic’ Sisters don’t get married. I wonder if there aren’t such issues like that in Yugura Religion.

Although it is a connection with the savior, there are likely to be various differences when it comes to the teachings of heroes.

“What do you think about the teachings of Yugura?”

“I haven’t had a chance to come into contact with such teachings so far, so I didn’t belong anywhere. However, I have learned a lot from Maya recently, and I understand that the existence of Yugura Reigion is very important and valuable to those who have been hurt by the Demon Lord in the past.”

“Oh My!”

“I can’t just blindly believe in Yugura Religion at this point, but I’m not concerned with the religion of the minority. So, if I want to have faith in the future, I would like it to be Yugura Religion.”

“Even if you don’t have deep faith in us yet, we are always waiting for you.”

Hmm, I feel nostalgic for this kind of flattery. After that, there was no problem in visiting the villages, it went smoothly.

Find out the name of the village, the existence of facilities, the degree of aging, etc. The facial expressions of the villagers and the way they live are the same.

It’s not exactly the same. There is a reason why there is a difference.

Aside from the individuality of the village, the difference is mostly at the village’ disadvantages and problems, when it comes to it, we need consider a lot on how to deal with the main cause of it.

“Didn’t you come to learn the difference between a village and a city?”

“It’s no use just learning. There are many things you can get by just trying something like this. Maybe it might work and sometimes it’s not. You need to make the most of the opportunities you have been given, you know.”

“I see, today is a serious day.”

There is nothing such as not-serious day. Even if it is fooling around, it is decided to be seriously fooling around.

And today, Wolfe is also included. I have to show my dignity as her Shisho.

I also ask Wolfe to compare the villages and say what she noticed.

“This village is smaller than the previous one!”

“Oh yeah yeah Aside from individual differences, if there are overall differences can be seen, it is possible that there are differences in the breeding environment. The climate and sunlight are basically the same. If so, the size of the breeding hut, the rhythm of the cows’ lives, the quantity and quality of food can be expected. There’s a need to observe the environment of the cow and try to find the cause of those differences.”

“…. Hmm?”

Yeah, I should’ve tried to avoid too difficult words.

“Try to imagine that you’re the cow, and think why you’re small.”

“I understand!”

Thus the time passed by, and it’s evening now. We will secure beds at the church in the village we visited last today.

Illias and Wolfe are in the same room, and the others are having their own room.

But, Grandpa Kara was invited to the village mayor’s house and decided to stay there.

Even outside, in the village, Grandpa Kara who is a veteran knight is more popular than Illias.

It can’t be said that there is no prejudice or discrimination against Illias, a woman, but it is quieter than in the city.

I could have slept quickly, but I’m heading to my desk to organize the data I’ve got today.

This ‘Luminescence Stone’, which Illias put in her mana, hangs from the ceiling of the room, and I rely on the light to do desk work alone.

Then I hear a knock.

“Come in.”

It was Lacra who came in. Unlike her appearance at noon, she is wearing a loose robe in white. To be honest, It is quite stimulating.

“I’m sorry to come late at night. I couldn’t sleep and decided to have a short walk, Then I could see the light from the room … Am I bothering you?”

“Don’t worry. I’m organizing the data I got today.”

“Shosho-sama is a very enthusiastic person, isn’t it? May I see it?”

“Sure. Go ahead. Please sit on the bed.”

I asked Lacra to sit and hand over the document I have finished.

Lacra is quietly reading the document. So, I will quietly resume work so as not to get in the way.

After a while, there was a reaction from Lacra who was reading the documents.

“I see that you’ve put a lot of details, hm? You even wrote down how the children play in the village…”

“There is a reason for even the smallest things. It is quite possible that it will lead to the information you are looking for. The only thing an inexperienced person like me can do is try not to miss any visible thing that happen as much as possible.”

“I see…”

“For example, some villages have children playing with homemade toys, while others do not. The makers of the toys are probably parents. Even though they’re already busy every day, some have the time and spirit to make homemade toys for the children. Form that, it can be guessed that there may be differences in the amount of work, efficiency, and skill between villages that have time for their children and those that do not.”

“….”

“You could look deeper in that guess by looking at their work, equipment, skills, etc. Eventually such differences could be seen…. That’s is what I think.”

“….If someone like Shosho-sama…. is in a responsible position, I’m sure the people will be reassured.”

“Haha, Thanks yo-!?”

Suddenly there is a sign of someone behind me. Looking back, I see Lacra was walking up to my side.

I could smell a sweet fragrance tickling my nose, and I could feel her body temperature coming near. I feel that my heartbeat is getting faster and faster.

“Ehmm, That…”

“Shosho-sama, In fact, I earnestly would like to consult something with you.”

“Y-Yeah, yeah, if I could be help to… T-That, erm, near…”

Lacra’ hands reached to my cheek and thigh. Her face gradually approaches, and her breath reaches my face.

Lacra Illustration

“This inspection has one more, another purpose….”

“Wh-h-a-a-t is it!?”

Lacra shows a glamorous smile, and says.

“That is to find a certain book. It is a book about necromancy, do you know such book?”

S-Shit! O-Of course it is that!

And… I decided to release this today. Why?
Why not? Since starting next week, I’ll be busy with RL again, so I’ll have lesser time to do this. But, I’ll try my best to not stop and release at least 2 ch per week.
Anyway enjoy. q(*u*)p

---

25-2. In the meantime, Here is the report (Part 2)

“For now, I think it’s enough about politics. Next is knowledge of the development of civilization. Let me hear about ‘electrical appliances’ for cooking you have there.”

“Okay. Last time, I explained the functions and uses of rice cookers. next…. microwave, I guess? Hmm, this is…”

There is magic in this world. It’s a world without electricity, but the night isn’t dark at all.

Magic stones and other items that have the characteristics of luminescent paint that emits light at night in response to sunlight are installed as street lights.

There are many things that cannot be used without electricity, but became possible because of magic.

Then, if I explain the functions of electrical appliances used in the earth, He can judge whether he can do something similar with magic or not.

However, if you do not specialize in magic itself, you cannot put that theory into practice.

It seems that even Illias could use basic magic. I remember when she ignited fire without using flint when cooking.

It is currently impossible to make people’s lives full of home appliances, but this dialogue has great implications for finding effective ways to use magic.

“Hmmm, when it comes to explaining the principle, it’s a bit vague.”

“I have the basic knowledge, I don’t have much scientific knowledge.”

“I’m not that familiar with magic either… Do I need to find an expert that I can trust?”

“I think yeah.”

Research is essential for the development of civilization. Then, when is the research conducted?

Now it is natural to do research in the field that you wanted, but in the past it was different.

The main purpose of research is to gain an advantage in international affairs. Therefore, if war happen, research that conducted at that time will have a rapid progress.

But, that’s not the case in the history of this world.

Of course, magic is used since long time. However, only a small part of magic research is done.

The reason is the existence of ‘Magic Sealing Stone’. This has greatly reduced the path to magical military use.

If the value of magic decreases, it will be excluded from research. That is the reason why there are few applications of magic in this world with magic.

However, it seems that there’s still some experts in that field.

Even though it is an unappreciated profession, many are fascinated by the magic that has infinite possibilities.

“Wolfe, isn’t it time for your training?”

“Yeah, I’m going!”

Whenever Wolfe comes to the castle, she takes the initiative to join the training of Lord Ragdo’ corps.

After learning how to release magic and control, Wolfe then began to learn to move her body in battle.

I specially move from the office to a place where I can see the training scene.

Desks and chairs are provided near the wall, so I could overlooking the training ground below.

Marito also finished his desk work, since it’s break time for him, so he followed me.

Below, Wolfe and the members of the Ragdo corps are doing some bout.

“Still, Wolfe-chan’ grows at a terrifying speed.”

“Yeah.”

Wolfe spares no effort, but her talent for combat is outstanding.

A beast-like body of the Black Wolf, and a huge amount of mana that can be used to strengthen the body.

Just her normal speed and strength, it is already comparable to the Ragdo corps.

In this world, the difference in the amount of mana possessed greatly leads to this difference in performance. This is because you can strengthen your body even without using magic.

Wolfe, who has extraordinary mana, is superior to others in terms of individual talent.

However, at this stage, she never win when spar with Lord Ragdo’ corps.

She tried to spar with other corps, but mostly she lose.

This is simply the difference between skill and experience. The knights are constantly training their mana, weapons, and movement.

Wolfe that moves intuitively like a beast, her opponent’ skill is good.

Furthermore, Lord Ragdo’ Corps has more old knights than other corps.

They have already passed the peak of their bodies. But, they have the experience and skills that have been accumulated up when they’re still active.

If she is against another knight corps, she can use the push-and-pull tactics that take advantage of the difference in physical strength, and sometimes she can land her attack.

However, when the members of the Ragdo’ corps are the opponents, Wolfe has not even been able to make a blow.

It can’t be helped, Wolfe. Those old men, they’re moving to evade your attack, even before you make a move, you know?

They’re not against the bandits, was it even necessary for them to use that technique, huh?

I know, when you see the opponent’s stat increased at frightening level, it will make you astonished.

The old soldiers of Lord Ragdo’ corps, their old appearance is a proof that they have continued to hone themselves, and call it as their weapons.

“But, Well… ‘That one’ is just exceptional.”

“I agree.”

I move my gaze a little further. There is a figure of Illias swinging sword alone.

She is swinging down a big sword that is several times larger than her own body. Along with that, the surrounding trees are greatly shaken by the wind pressure.

Really, that Gorilla is really scary. Illias’ strength is exceptional even in Lord Ragdo’ corps.

Her skill alone is the same as that of Lord Ragdo’ corps, which mostly is skilled old knights.

And she has overwhelming amount of mana that exceeds Wolfe.

If it’s just the talent, Wolfe seems to be better. However, by spending her life in training, the total amount of mana she has is literally out of the standard.

And with the skill of physical strengthening by mana….. I can’t imagine it. It just doesn’t make sense.

You know, they said, when she seriously strengthened her body, I heard that when Grandpa Kara try to pierces her with his spear thrust, she broke it with her raw strength of her body.

She’s not just a ‘Gorilla’, she’s a ‘Metal Gorilla’.

Illias is usually training alone. This is because even if the members of Lord Ragdo’ corps are the opponents, she need to control her strength.

And other corps can’t even count as opponents.

Only some of the leaders of the Knights can fight Illias, who is said to be the top five in this country.

But the fact that there are few who are evenly matched with Illias, it’s just a bad news for me.

By the way, Lord Ragdo seems to be able to beat Illias with a big margin. The bottom of this country is deep, huh.

One day, Wolfe spar with Illias, and that same day she didn’t went into Illias’ bedroom.

Considering that, even though it was only for a short time, Dokora who was fighting Illias with one arm was also an amazing guy…

Marito seems to like swordsmanship, and sometimes he bout with the members of Lord Ragdo’ corps.

“How is the strength of this Kingdom compared to others?”

“If it’s just the quality of the individual, I’ll definitely can be proud of it even compared to the continent.”

“But when it comes to strategy…”

“They’re a good knight that even deal the bandit straightforwardly. Still, This country only have that few individuals. Oh, and I have confident in our horses.”

In addition to the strength of knights, horses are also strange in this kingdom.

After all, If you move in this large territory by horse, you can reach the destination in less than a day, you know.

When we go to the first base of bandits, they go by foot because it was closest base and it also for the purpose of surprise attack, but we use horses when going to subdue Dokora.

This kingdom can deploy knights throughout the territory of Tiez in the evening. You can understand the horror of that mobility, right?

And even though I didn’t know how fast the horse can run, but that speed is just strange.

“Ah, Lady Ratzel’ eyes is looking this way.”

“Yeah, I know. She stare this way since a long time ago. I just pretend that I didn’t saw it.”

I understand what that mean. I’m sure She would like to say to that someone, who has Wolfe participate in the training and is watching from above, to come down and join.

When Marito waved his hand in my stead, she hurriedly reply it with thanks and returned to swinging.

I think I’ll be told something on my way home… No, please no.

However, the image that I have about the discipline that they envision here, is like that in Kendo Hall.

At least in here, it will not be like when you get thrown to mysterious place and could die by accident.

“However, it’s painful to be complained every day if I don’t participate in training.”

“Isn’t it okay? It’s not a bad thing to train yourself and be able to protect yourself to some extent.”

“I know that.”

『 First of all, how to use mana, concentrate it like this, and like this 』

When I saw Illias crushing the stone with her bare hands, I thought it was not good.

『 Like this!1 』

And when I saw that Wolfe could do it in one shot, I thought it was really not good.

“The fact that I have no mana to handle, my training is fundamentally will be different from their training.”

“Then isn’t it okay if you just ask Lord Ragdo’ Corps to take that into consideration? It’ll be good even just learning the technique, right? Or, do you want me to train you?”

“Right. I can see that in the future I will be forced to participate in that…. Sigh.”

A sigh leaked. Anyway, Illias seems to have a complicated face, but … what’s wrong?

For the time being, I was glared at by Illias, so I resumed another world exchange with Marito.

On the way back, I walk the streets at dusk with Illias and Wolfe.

“How about you just join in training already?”

Illias tells her dissatisfaction today with a scornful eyes. Well, see? I’m already being told.

“I was told by Marito too. Even if I can’t have the same amount of time as Wolfe, I’ll have to make time to participate.”

“Right, right? As expected of His Majesty, he understand.”

She nods happily. That would be the case if even the number one in this country affirmed what she said.

“Personally, I wanted to learn magic rather than swordsmanship.”

“Magic, huh? I’m proficient in the basic, so I think I can teach you.”

“If you could explain in theory, I definitely want you to teach me.”

“I can do that! Hmmph! First, you just do this to the mana…”

“Didn’t you hear what I just said? Hey, you who could learn by intuition, the Incarnation of Practical Warrior!” [TN: Yeah, I know it doesn’t make any sense. lol… So basically she’s that type, you know what I mean.]

Yesterday was a holiday, but today is the day when ‘Dog’s Bone’ is open. That’s why I head for ‘Dog’s Bone’.

“Wel-come!”

Saira, the waitress, welcomes us cheerfully. In this world where most of the essential nutrients are supplemented by ingredients containing mana, salt is only a luxury item.

Therefore, in this world where even only lightly seasoned dishes are popular, ‘Dog’s Bone’ that can serve salty dishes are still very popular today.

But unfortunately, no other store seen to have menu that use of salt yet.

This is because the salt supply in Tiez is not good.

Although the salt supply of ‘Dog’s Bone’ has been secured by Mr.Ban, a leading merchant in this kingdom, other stores is difficult to establish a means to obtain it.

It is expected that the amount of salt flowing into this country will steadily increase due to word of mouth, but the spread will need more time.

By then, I must work hard to reduce the price of salt.

“Hey, Lad, I made some sample, try it.”

That said, the store manager, Gozz, appeared. The dish he served is a noodle dish in which noodles made from wheat flour are added to plain hot water soup made using chicken.

I consulted whether he could make ramen or not, and this was made.

Anyway, let try it now. Hmm, The taste of the soup is very good. The taste is modest because there is no bonito flakes or kelp stock, but it is being make up with vegetables and spices. However, the noodles feels like it out of place.

Illias and Wolfe are eating deliciously. In this world where you don’t have a habit of using chopsticks, it seems a little difficult to eat this.

There are spoons and forks, but … maybe it’s better to have a special fork and spoon.

“If you could change the hardness of the noodles to the tastes of the people in this kingdom, I think this would be okay.After that, consider what kind of ingredients to put on top, and it will ready to be added to the menu.”

“Isn’t this more than enough already?”

“Delicious!”

“It is a standard in Japan to put various kinds of grilled meat, spices, or vegetables that go well with the soup, and also seasoned boiled eggs in it.”

“Hmm, I see. And all of that is count as one meal, huh?”

“Yeah. There are no rival who use salt now, but in the future they will eventually come out. If that happens, many menu will be same. If that happens, it will be a game of ingenuity. It will be easier if you try various things and make variation now.”

“I see. Then how about consulting with the ladies and changing the ingredients on a weekly basis?”

“That’s also good. You will be able to hear the impressions of customers and they will not get bored.”

I was talking lightly with Gozz, but he hurriedly returned to the voice of the ladies calling Gozz from the kitchen. This relationship will not change for the time being, I guess.

I wanted to talk to Saira, but in this situation would just be a nuisance. Let’s check her schedule of holidays and invite her to a meal at a later date.

Then I go home and take a bath. Normally, it is necessary to store water, start a fire to prepare hot water. But, it can be solved with the excellence of Illias.

By using magic to collect water and making a fire, the hot water can be prepared several times faster than before.

These magics are not useful in battle due to the influence of Magic Sealing Stones, but they are useful in camps.

It seems that there are many knights who learn basic magic for these advantages.

Well, if you can prepare water that you can easily drink, prepare a fire, eat food safely, and prepare a bath, there is no problem in terms of hygiene.

Illias has a high standard of magic. She is indeed a ‘Magical Metal Gorilla’.

By the way, when Illias isn’t there, I just boil the water myself and wipe my body with a towel.

When I got out of the bath and went to the living room, Illias was brushing her sword alone.

I also prepare parchment and a pen, and start work. The surroundings can be seen with the light emitted by magic stones, but it is a little dark.

With that in mind, Illias put her mana into the magic stone and strengthened the light.

“Thanks… is Wolfe going to bed already?”

“Yeah, She wanted to say good night to you, but she fell asleep so I took her to my room.”

“It good that she is enjoying the day. It even makes me envy.”

“If you train, you can sleep in the same way.”

“It’ll be good, if I don’t wake up because of pain the next day.”

“That’s depends on your growth.”

“I wonder how much growth of an adult who can no longer grow tall can get.”

We spend time by a light chat with each other.

While doing so, Illias finished the maintenance of her armor.

“Well, I guess, I going to sleep. How long are you going to stay up?”

“Hmm, I will stop when it’s in a good place to stop… about another hour, I guess.”

“I see…. is this enough?”

Illias put her mana into the magic stones again.

“Then, Good night.”

“Yeah, Good night, Illias.”

Illias returned to her room. After seeing her off, I resume my work.

And get the job done in an hour as I declared.

I wanted to do a little more, but the magic stone’s light has diminished, so let’s do stop here.

Then, I return to my room quietly and sink into the bed.

……Dear my acquaintances in earth,
For now, I’m living safely like this.

Okay, so this is the start of arc 2.
And, I decided its better to split into 2 parts.

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25-1. In the meantime, Here is the report (Part 1)

The months and days flow quickly.

Ten years have already passed since I came to this world from another world.

….It’s a lie. It’s only about two weeks.

I wouldn’t say I could live without problem to the extent that it’s okay to skip time for that long.

I wake up slowly, wash my face and head to the kitchen.

First, I need to make a fire. Well, I’m familiar with making fire using flint, so it’s easy.

Then I warm up the soup that I made a lot during yesterday’s supper.

In the other pot, I boil the water to boil the eggs.

To be honest I like it to be half boiled, but… Sigh I miss the quality control of Japan.

I’m sure it will be difficult to develop antibiotics, but what about pasteurization technology?

If I can keep the temperature of the hot water constant, I can use it to make slow-boiled egg… But, I can’t. In here, there’s no thermometer.

“Is there nothing I can do….”

I throw the boiled egg in cold water and leave it for a while.

Then, place a pot in the center of the table, then washed three wooden bowls before I put it on the table.

While draining the boiled egg, I transfer it to a colander and also put it on the table.

Finally, some fruits and fruit knives.

Hmm, seeing this makes me want yogurt too.

I want to make bacon and eggs rather than boiled eggs, but the cost of making bacon is….

Really, people who cook Japanese food in the morning are amazing. [TN; Why? because it takes a lot time to prepare]

I pour the soup onto the bowls. And joined my hands like when someone who want to pray.

Peel the boiled egg and sprinkle a bit of salt.

The outside that was chilled is a little cold, but the inside is a little warm.

And before the soup getting cold, I take a sip to my mouth.

Huuu, I take a breath, and eat one egg.

And, one of my housemate came.

“Shisho, Good Morning!”

“Morning, Wolfe. Today too, you’re so energetic.”

“Wolfe always energetic!”

Wolfe’s learning speed was very fast.

She doesn’t need Possession anymore.

She can’t speak difficult words yet, but she’s already able to speak the common language of this world.

Just the other day was a wait-and-see period after canceling possession, but she seems to have no problem.

Hm? What about the person from the another world doing?

Hahaha, still on progress.

To be able to communicate with another person were very appealing to Wolfe, So, her effort and motivation to acquire them was great.

On the other hand, because I sill used to Japanese, it’s hard for me to get rid the gap between the languages, and since the convenient magic like Possession exist, I want to keep rely on that. Te-he [TN; Te-he is… search yourself if you don’t know. Te-he]

But it’s only a week or so since I started learning, you know?

So, isn’t it enough if I can say ‘Hello’ or ‘Nice to meet you’, right?

At least I made some progress. There were many times when some words were not translated correctly using this Possession.

For example, the word ‘Sample’, at first, Grandpa Kara didn’t understand the meaning of this word.

The reason is simple, because the meaning of that ‘Sample’ is ‘Sample’ that is stuck in my head.

It seems if, when I speak that ‘Sample’ when thinking strongly that the meaning is that ‘Sample’, Then they will understand that.

I noticed that there are a lot of troubles like this when writing using western language.

I tried to write ‘Agenda’ and ‘Resume’ in western language, and no one understand it.

Well, that’s it.

[TN: so, what the MC mean is, If he said the word ‘Sample’, in this case he said it in English, and keep thinking that the meaning is also ‘Sample’, no one could understand it. So, what he need to do is when he speak the word ‘Sample’, he need to think the meaning in Japanese word.]

“Hmmmm♪ Hmmmm♪ Hmmmm♪”

Wolfe pours more soup with a humming and join her hand.

Originally there is no need to join hands in this world. But, the prayer with hands together is exist in Yugura religion.

“Itadaki-masu!”

Of course, the language she spoke is Japanese. I didn’t forced her to say it, but she had completely learned this Japanese.

Still, she eat this simple meat so deliciously.

It makes me want to cook her something better.

“Shisho, where will we go today?”

“Today we will go to Marito’ place. So, Wolfe should train with Grandpa Kara and the other knights, okay?”

“Okay!”

And finally, my last housemate woke up.

She should have washed her face, but she can’t hide her sleepy face.

“Illias, Morning!”

“… Morning, Wolfe.”

Illias pours the soup in the same way and starts eating.

While staring at me, She reached out to the fruit and talked to me.

“When I first saw it, I thought you were a person who wouldn’t get up once you slept.”

“I was in extreme fatigue at that time. I usually wake up if I feel the morning sun on my skin for an hour.”

Because when I sleep, I always have a deep sleep, so it’s hard for me to suddenly wake up.

And the way I sleep at that time was rather close to fainting, you know?

I need to hide this grudge to her.

“And here I thought that Illias always energetic from morning.”

“I’ll be like that after I changed clothes. That’s why I always try to wear armor even at home.”

I can understand it if wearing an armor in home is like an office worker wearing suit. But, it’s feels more like a fire brigade that wearing their firefighter clothing, you know?

I decided to think it like that. And I’m sure Wolfe will be like that too… Anyway, I begins to peel the fruits for Wolfe and Illias.

“But wasn’t that the reason why a strict image was planted to you by the people?”

“That’s… I can’t deny it.”

According to Saira, who is a national representative of someone who familiar with the knight situation, the image of Illias that the citizen have are “Strict”, “Serious”, “Dignified”, “She can’t make a joke”, “I’ll die if She get angry”, and may other else.

When She heard the last one, she makes a very depressing face.

Me and Saira agrees that such an image must be dispelled to some extent, so now, we are making plan for it.

“It’s important to make achievements. But, You also have to be careful about what kind of impression should you give to other people.”

“Hmm… could you tell me in detail what should I do?”

“When someone greeting you, give it back with a smile. That’s enough for you.”

“Smile… Smile.”

Don’t tell me that it was smile?

If the greeting is returned with such a face, the citizen will think ‘Hm, did I made a mistake?’. It’ll scare them!

“First of all, practice laughing naturally. Sometimes you could do it.”

“Isn’t it hard to smile while conscious of it?”

“Of course it’s hard. Especially if rarely do it. Anyway, there’s no loss in doing it, so practice hard.”

“….Can you do it?”

“Of course, I can.”

I showed a refreshing smile. But, she drawn away.

This damn gril. My smile and yours is like heaven and earth you know!?

“What? Do you have any problem with it?”

“No, nothing, I just thought that ‘you can make that kind of face too huh’… Anyway, I need to try hard on it.”

After that, Illias changed into her armor and headed to the castle first.

I cleaned the dishes and do a simple cleaning too. Of course Wolfe will also help.

Now Illias even asked me to clean her room too. It’s not that Illias doesn’t like cleaning.

Normally, I would like to do it every day, but after returning home, it’s evening or night. So, as long as I can’t do the cleaning and washing satisfactorily, I try to do it all together when I’m off duty.

In addition, I usually asks for laundry at a place like a laundry shop.

After cleaning and washing, head to the castle. I’m walking because I don’t have such a thing like personal carriage.

In order to make things easier, I tried to have Wolfe carry my body like what that Gorilla did before, but I gave up because I was worried about the eyes of the people. So, Let’s just accept it as a walk after a meal and a light exercise.

Wolfe also follows me while humming. When Wolfe was taking a nap before, someone who was making lunch was singing a humming song, but she heard it, so that guy decided to teach it to her.

Since then, I’ve often heard phrases that I’ve only heard somewhere in Japan…

The eyes of everyone around me…. It seems that they’re getting used to it.

In the past few days, Some people from the Black Wolf tribe had been coming to Tiez frequently.

And The kingdom also officially announced it. So, it was no wonder that there were Demi-Humans walking around.

However, their reaction is not as much as the reaction of the people in Japan when they see a foreigner in Tokyo.

If anything, it’s about the same as when you look at something that seems a little unusual when you visit a rural area.

By the way, Wolfe stands out in her whiteness. It makes me want to ask which brand of bleach that she used…. Don’t worry, I haven’t used any.

If they get used in seeing her a little more, she will be accepted as a popular beast girl in the neighborhood, but it seems that she is a little reluctant to talk to others who she didn’t know their name yet.

Oh, and because someone with black hair and black eyes are rare, so I sometimes feel that they are looking at me like a foreign tourists.

Finally we arrived. I show the pass to the soldier in front of the bridge and enter the castle grounds.

This pass certificate was given by Lord Ragdo. it is an excellent item that allows you to have an audience with Lord Ragdo and Marito with almost no procedure.

The reason I said almost is because, I’ll have to wait when they are busy such as during a meeting or while dealing with foreign guests.

Continue on the pathway to the office. I say hello to the guards and they let me go inside.

Inside, there is a figure of Marito facing the desk and the documents.

“Your Majesty, Good Morning!”

“Morning, Wolfe. Morning, my friend.”

“Is it going to take a while?”

“That’s right. So, sit down for a while and wait me.”

I sit on the chair that prepared for me. There is a private book on the desk.

Marito is cleaning up the paperwork in the office during this time. Because he need some times to finish it, he provided me such a space to keep me busy.

That’s why I spent some time reading and studying with Wolfe. After that, it’s time for the original purpose coming here.

“Has anything changed?”

“Yeah. It is generally popular to let people choose what they want to learn at the school. It seems the program will start after selecting a few candidate. However, as expected, raising the education level of the entire kingdom did not get much support.”

“Well, I guess so. Children who cannot work, if their learning period is extended, they will grow to the point where they can work. It’s a pity to not use such a labor force.”

“If anyone can aim for a high-ranking official like your world, I think we can have expectations. However, many people listened to the story of giving incentives to allow ordinary children that are promising to attend the school where the aristocrats attend.”

“Did the aristocrats show no reluctance to add the ordinary people to the aristocratic-dominated work?”

“There are not a lot to say about that. However, there was also an opinion that aristocratic children would be motivated by stimulating their pride.”

“I see. But when it’s finally introduced, I feel like they’re going to be harassed by the aristocratic class.”

What I’m doing so far is to answer questions from Marito.

Why? Because when he ask me to speak about Earth, I don’t know where should I start with, so we decied like this.

How is your gorverment look like? Or, When citizens is like this, what move do your goverment take?, and other question too. So I just need to answer what he want to know.

Of course, there are many area where I’m don’t have the knowledge about.

So after hearing the answer, we always debate ‘Why they do like that?’.

Then, if he convinced, Marito will think whether that idea will be help to the kingdom or not. Because even if it works on the Earth, doesn’t mean it will works here too.

There’s also a need to consider the history of the era, what kind of changes happened and will happen in the environment.

To give an example, the election system. This is a system in which people who perform politics are selected by voting.

But, this can be applied if ‘The Citizens also understand politics’.

The citizens will vote for the one who declared that they will implement the policy that they desire.

The problem is the people of this world are ignorant of politics. The education system is underdeveloped, they receives only the minimum education necessary to lead a daily life.

They will have the knowledge to do work, but other than their work, mostly they don’t understand anything.

In that case, there is no meaning to implement voting system. Because, They will just vote without knowing the meaning, and the kingdom will be ruled only with people who are very good at getting vote.

So, In this world, it is more efficient for kings and intellectuals who have learned politics correctly to judge with their own eyes and select the next successor.

In other words, the hereditary system is more suitable.

But not all the system and structure from the Earth are useless here. The wisdom that the people on earth gain after so long is not just for show.

Even if the times are different, there are effective policies.

It is the king of Tiez himself that will selects it. It will be the work of Marito, a professional of the policies of this world.

“Even so, if just because the world is different, there are many ideas that feel brand new. Admitting gay marriage is difficult in this world, but I’m quite interested in it.”

“There are various reasons, such as the fact that the world has become a world where people can express their opinions, the world’s population has grown and it is no longer necessary to seek productivity, and as a result, the number of homosexuals has increased and it has become easier for them to express themselves. Of course, the biggest factor is that we have spent a tremendous amount of time and effort fighting discrimination in the process.”

“Still, I can’t imagine a population of over 7 billion. When that many people communicate their opinions, it seems that may confusion will happen.”

“That’s right. There is a word ‘ten people, ten colors’ in my world. By that number, It is natural that the taste and nature of the people will be different. And you may suffer if the number increases. You know, not everything is exactly the same.”

There are many things that are difficult to understand, and even if they can be understood, they are unacceptable.

And such a thing may appear before your normal daily life.

So, this is Illustration for the LN vol.1 that I found online.
It corresponded to Arc 1 of the WN version.

Cover Illustration

Ch 4 Illustration

So this is when Illias shaking our MC

Ch 7 Illustration

This is our MC

Ch 11 Illustration

This is when Illias cut the undead summoned by Dokora

Ch 16 Illustration

This is Illias Waiting our MC (Poor her)

Ch 18 Illustration

This is our MC sobbing while hugging Wolfe

Ch 19 Illustration

This is Grandpa Kara vs Grandpa Bol in front of Black Wolf Village

Ch 21 Illustration

This is cute Wolfe

Ch 23 Illustration

This is when King Marito offer handshake to our MC

So, this is it, the last ch for this arc.

---

24. For the time being, I’m Adapted

Illias sent me off to the carriage on the way back, but she doesn’t seem to be able to go home yet.

I heard that she would be able to go home at night, so I headed to Mr.Ban’ Trading Company.

While complimenting Wolfe who worked hard on waiting me, I changed into my original clothes while talking to Mr.Ban.

I’m hiding the fact that I’m from another world. But how should I tell that I was hired by Marito?

I honestly don’t want to say that I was hired as a Court Jester. The cool image I have will blown away.

That’s why let’s go with the story that the king interested me and asked me to come and talk for a while.

Mr.Ban was very pleased hearing that.

After all, I had the opportunity to talk to the king directly about his assistance.

The unexplored land search plan of Tiez will no longer be a dream story.

After that, I bought some products and went home with Wolfe.

First, prepare a meal for Wolfe easily.

After that, I studied language with Wolfe to kill time.

While doing so, Illias is back.

“Good work. But, you can’t rest yet.”

“This is…”

What I had on my desk was alcohol and a simple side dish prepared by Mr.Ban.

Yes, it’s a three-person celebration to close the day.

If I made a little more preparation beforehand, I might have been able to hold a large-scale event including Saira and Grandpa Kara, but this time it just three of us.

‘Dog’s Bone’ is still open, but there are other customers as well. I want to close the day with only those who can congratulate her purely.

“Illias, Good work, Congratulation!”

“Even Wolfe… Thank you.”

And even though it was a little noisy, we want to reward her efforts.

The night was completely over. Wolfe is sleeping on the desk.

She’s so easy to fall a sleep. I cover her with a blanket and go to drink again with Illias.

“By the way, Marito told me to come to the castle in the future.”

“I see, to the castle huh… Wait, don’t call His Majesty like that!”

“What to do? He asked for it himself. I know that I need to be carefull when mention his name around others.”

“I, I see…”

Illias make a slightly complicated face.

It’s not that I can’t understand what she feel.

Even though he appreciates this, my position as the one who gets along well with the king who she serve, is complicated.

“But he’s a good king. He appreciated Illias and was concerned about your problem too.”

“His Majesty was… I see.”

“Illias, you’re recognized by the number one in this kingdom. So, the rest depends on your growth.”

“Yeah… That’s right.”

It’s the first time I see Illias making a shy face. Not bad, this is refreshing to see.

“That said, I’m planning to go to Maya’ place tomorrow. Do you think Maya have a lot of free time?”

“That’s not the case. Depending on the show sometimes she was the host. So, It’s hard to meet at such times.”

“Show, huh… you mean something like a festival?”

“Yeah there are festival too. A lively festivals where the people can freely participate, and sometime a large-scale festivals held only within Yugura.”

“Which one is it this time?”

“The former one, It’s a harvest festival.”

“It seems better to look for another tutor of Wolfe then… Is there a school… I mean a place to study in this kingdom?”

“There is. It’s a place to learn reading, writing and history for small children who can’t work yet.”

“Wolfe can…. No, it’ll be troubling considering her age.”

“And she will stand out…”

I look at Wolfe’ sleeping face.

I want to create an environment where Wolfe is not treated specially as much as possible.

Right now, I’m trying to memorize various knowledge, but I hope that I will eventually become familiar with this kingdom.

Child is pure. They say what they’re thinking without reserve.

Although it’s unlikely to cause trouble, still it will put a mental burden on Wolfe.

“I have to learn faster and become a language Shisho for her.”

“Good grief. For now, aren’t you always being taken care of by Maya?”

It’s embarrassing to admit, but it’s true.

As Wolfe’ Shisho, what I’m gonna teach her is about housework and life.

Still, it is difficult to teach the art of life without having the minimum knowledge.

I need to quietly prepare up to that point… Anyway, Let’s move to another topic.

“If I ask Marito, He may be able to prepare such a place. It close to the training ground so, it seems combat training can be done at the same time.”

“When she’s good enough, she can join my training regime too. Not only her, I mean you too, you know?”

“I’ll do it, when I got the feeling…”

In physical aspect, compared to Wolfe, I’m no match to her.

And there is almost no sign of catching up to her with this much talent difference.

It’s okay. Even in the fantasy world of swords and magic, there are merchants too!

“And about the house, Marito has proposed to prepare one for me.”

“……”

Marito suggested that if I was to go to the castle everyday, I would be better off living in a place near the castle rather than Illias’ house.

If it’s the area where the aristocrats live, it’s nearby to Mr.Ban’ Trading Company then.

Sure, life will be more convenience.

“But I refused. So, Let me stay here for a bit longer.”

“Why… Why did you refused?”

“First, it’s because of Wolfe. Wolfe is fond of Illias.”

Wolfe sneaks into Illias bed at night.

She doesn’t want to remember when she was alone.

If I change my place of living, Wolfe will follow me… Perhaps.

If that happens, it’s not good for my mental health.

She’s still ten years old, so I’m sure I could control myself.

“Right. Certainly it will be difficult to take care of Wolfe alone.”

“And my other reason is for myself. I mean, you know… I talked to you that I’m not familiar with this world, right?”

“Y,yeah.”

“I’m still worried about living in this kingdom…. That’s it.”

I’m telling her how I’m anxiety about Wolfe, but honestly, I’m the one who are anxiety.

Sure, about a week after I came to this kingdom, my acquaintances increased.

Still, only a few people who I can rely on.

With Wolfe around me, I might not feel lonely. However, when I think that I will live while taking care of a girl in a another world, my anxiety will only increase.

Although I tried to keep my image as an adult because she is younger, the one who cannot help but have a dependence on others is me.

I should be able to live alone in this world as I lived in Japan.

However, not long after I was sent to another world, I’m almost death.

Also, the fact that I couldn’t understand anyone at first, it almost broke my heart.

I was almost deceived by thinking that It was fresh experience. I realized that it’s only the matter of time before everything didn’t work.

Can I not lose myself until I adapted to this world? Or…

Under such circumstances, the existence of Illias was great.

She gave me the way to talk. She gave me an opportunity. And She even gave me a place to live.

It became my foundation for facing this world.

Because she was there…. a lot of things… Yeah, right.

I refused because I would be lonely if I leave, and because I was sentimental!

When I got home, it always only me. But when I came back that day, I saw Illias waiting at the front door, and I think 『Yeah, this kind of life is not bad too.』.

I sigh and look towards Illias. She still has a straight face.

“I’m going to sleep.”

I stands up and tries to hold Wolfe.

Heavy… Wait, considering her age, she might still light. Still, to carry a sleeping woman in her late teens, it’s just so much physical labor.

When I bring Illias back last time, She was quite heavy.

Because, Her body is that of an adult already.

“Wait, Wait! I’ll carry her… No I mean, sure I’ll carry her, And the true meaning of words you said just now, I understand…”

“Take it in a good way. That’s the right answer. Anyway, I’ll leave Wolfe to you.”

After saying that, I escaped to my room.

If I had a little more alcohol and my tension had risen, I would have been able to express my gratitude to her honestly….

“It means I’m also still immature…”

I fell into bed and slept.

◇

Illias put Wolfe in the bedroom.

She smiles at the sleeping face.

She wonder if Wolfe will come to her bedroom in the middle of the night later, which is she don’t mind.

She remember his word.

Take it in a good way. That’s the right answer, huh…

He wants to rely on me. And he showed his intention in action.

And admitted it.

No, wait.

It’s him you know, maybe I’ve already assumed what I think is good.

There might be another meaning behind his word.

“Why… why am I so excited…”

He was under her protection, but he was also taken care of her.

Illias think their relationship is equal.

She was happy to hear that from such a person, but she also felt awkward.

Not bad.

Since she met him, she have more and more opportunities to come into contact with new things that seem not to be bad.

But his deeds were for himself and his surroundings.

That method is not something that can be praised by a lot of people, but it seems that he is doing his best.

Now she have a mind that wants him to rely on her.

She also want to protect him.

To be stimulated by the desire to protect him…. What a man!

“But, he’s already that age. That’s not good. As expected, I need to train him!”

Illias with her unnecessary determination, returned to her room.

◇

I came to study with Wolfe at Maya’ Church yesterday and today too.

Maya could sees through the lie.

According the secret agreement with Marito, I should avoid digging deeper.

Let’s just talk something not that important.

“Speaking of which, I heard from Illias that it’s time to prepare for the harvest festival.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’ll be busy as it is, but I’ll secure time to be Wolfe-chan’ teacher.”

“Thanks for that. If you have any need for help at the harvest festival, please tell me.”

“I’m happy. However, there are many Yugura believer, so there is no problem with manpower. Still, I have a lot of work as a person in charge.”

“Regarding Wolfe’ education, I would like to ask not only Maya but also other people such as Illias and Grandpa Kara, so please do not overdo it, okay?”

“It’s a pity that I can’t make Wolfe to be like what I hope.”

“Rather please don’t do that. Please…”

Well this should be enough.

Let’s say that I will mainly learn about the history of the world, especially the ideology of Yugura religion, from Maya.

Can they be the ones who point their blades at us, or can they be a reliable backbone?

In addition, it is necessary to determine whether it is possible to choose the way by yourself.

The same can be said for Marito….

“Oh, that’s right. I would like to borrow Maya’s Possession Magic when negotiating with the Black Wolf.”

“I’m heard that from Ban. And, Of course there is no problem.”

“That’s good then. Just don’t make a mistake, it can create a misunderstanding on both sides.”

“I’ve done human experimentation twice, so it’s okay.”

“It was a valuable sacrifice.”

After that, I head to ‘Dog’s Bone’ for lunch.

When I enter the store, Saira welcome me.

“Welcome… It’s Bro and Wolfe-chan!”

“Saira, meal please!”

“Welcome, By the way, it’s your first time to come at noon, right?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

I look around.

Despite the time past lunch, there are still some customers.

“The peak time has passed, so just take your time!”

“Yeah, I’ll do that.”

I finish the order and look into the kitchen.

Grandpa Kara’s wife and Gozz are busy cooking.

The movement of Gozz is much smoother than when I first saw it.

I wonder how much he has been trained to change so much in just a few days….

“Oh, it’s you, lad.”

“The owner of the bar has become a chef.”

“Thanks to it. I’m getting more and more profitable and also tired.”

“I think you’ll get used to it soon.”

“If anything, my mental was more trained….”

“I guess so.”

It’s not good to get in the way too much, so I’ll give you the recipe of the dish I thought of.

“I actually tried to made something, but I felt like I wanted another ideas for it. Anyway, Show this to the ladies for reference.”

“Okay, Thanks. When I’m this busy, as expected I can’t give you free food. but I’ll make it in big portion.”

“But my stomach is small…”

“Gozz, If you have time to talk, use it to move your hands!”

“Yes, Ma’am! I’m really sorry!”

He really become a good soldier…

Well let’s share it with Wolfe

I ate the recommended menu that they have.

It’s not the food I have seen in Japan, but it’s delicious. The cuisine of this world is purely upgraded.

It’s a lot of change, from that terrible dish to this point. Gozz is without a doubt the one who growing the fastest in the past week.

The runner-up is … Well, of course it’s Wolfe.

“There’s something around your mouth, you know.”

I remove the food from around Wolfe’ mouth. It feels good to see her eats deliciously, but she still need a lot to learn about women etiquette.

“Hmmph…”

Compared to that, ‘I’ barely grown.

If there is a change that I have after I came to another world, is it that I have become more connected to my emotions and that I have a stronger desire to rely on others, I guess?

Should I say that I become weaker or…. more flexible?

Oh, right, By the way, My day with muscle-pain is almost end.

Is it that my body has finally begun to adapt to the life in this world?

Thanks to Illias, my mental adapted fast. I need to thanks her for that.

But, it’s hard to do that. I’m just a loser who can’t even thanks properly to a girl around the same age.

“….Did I’ve stayed in this world more that one week?”

Suddenly I remember my old world.

I feel homesick maybe? Considering the convenience there, it is an excellent world that does not need to be compared with this world.

This is the case with this meal that I’m eating deliciously now. I’m sure this can be lined up at convenience stores and frozen foods.

It’s the hometown of a civilization that no longer needs much of the hardships needed in this world.

Everything reminds me of my life in Japan, which is different from this world… What kind of emotions do I have now?

Is it a desire to go back?

If it’s regrets, I have some for sure.

I want to know what happened to the continuation of the book and the program I was watching.

I want to enjoy an elegant life and a luxurious meal that I haven’t seen yet.

I’m sure I can’t run out of what I wanted to to, even if I use up the rest of my life.

But every world have their own charms.

In this world, many people live honestly.

When I think again, even the bandits who had been executed, live their life honestly too.

After getting interrogated, and leaked information, they were promised to survive until Dokora was subdued, I was told by Grandpa Kara in the carriage yesterday that they were executed the day after Dokora died.

One of them left a message. It’s from the first guy I interrogated.

『 Life is fucking with me. But I got to die as a human. And, I’m thankful for that. 』

He left that message… Is He a former military officer?

Humans in this world live their lives straightforward.

It is probably because they are rarely involved in all kinds of events and news.

The pure heart that barely have dirt on it, to face-to-face with it, actually kind of nice and comfortable.

And, I don’t need to feel that disgusted whenever I see myself act in way that will allow me to live here safely.

Considering that, it may not be necessary to forcibly search my way to go back.

It’s a little early…. or maybe too early to say this, but I’d like spending the rest of my life in this kingdom.

Still, I don’t have to cut off and change the way that I’ve choose.

So, Let’s just moderately try to find a way to return to my old world.

At least I’ll stick it as my purpose and try to not lose sight of how I live in this world.

I have lived ‘that way’ in my old world. So, I’m sure I can keep with how I live here.

I want to live safely in this another world, I keep thinking so.

◇

There’s an existence that sits deep and deep in the darkness that the sunlight does not reach.

The only fact that the faint light of the magic stone embedded as a decoration in the room illuminates is that existence has abandoned its human appearance since ancient times.

Those who face that existence also cover the whole appearance with a cloth.

But that existence, because of the tragic mask that disguises emotions, only a slightly peeping face could be seen.

“So, was that record recovered?”

“Not yet, I got a report that they searched in all the territories of Garne, Tiez, and the bases he used, but…”

“Is there a possibility that it was disposed by Mejis?”

“I have confirmed from Tiez that he use Necromancy. Similar things for Necromancy have been found at the last base he had in Garne, but only a few there. Maybe, He read the content of the book when in Garne, and learned it at that time.”

“Then where do you think the book is?”

“Perhaps he is bringing the book to Tiez territory. But in the base that have been being overthrown by the Knights of Tiez and in the survey of unused base candidates, our side found nothing.”

“In other words, someone in the Tiez Kingdom has acquired it?”

“Tiez is surrounded by mountains and forests, and the only way to connect with other kingdom is to pass Garne. So, Currently, we are constantly monitoring whether books have been taken out from Tiez at the border between the two kingdoms, but there is no such thing.”

“And if the book hasn’t moved from Tiez, what do you plan to do?”

“We are arranging a person to monitor them and searching information there. I’m not sure how long it will take, but I think we will get something out of it…”

“You better hurry. If that book come to the light, you guys will be in trouble.”

“I understand that.”

“If you guys are just blamed by another kingdom, I’ll just stand by here. But, If it’s to the point where they know my existence, our relationship is over.”

“……”

“For the one who just be a burden, there’s no way for them to go to ‘Beyond That’. Keep that in mind.”

“Thank you very much, for your advice… ‘Red Demon Lord’.”
[TN: So, in Source in written ‘緋’ which can be Red or Scarlet, but for now I’ll use Red.]

Never I thought I’ll releasing another ch today. Anyway, enjoy.
Finally, next is the last ch for this arc.

---

23-2. For the time being, Getting a job (Part 2)

What on earth did touched this person’s heart? Was there something from me that he liked so much?

Hmm, I don’t know, it’s like ‘This guy, his skill is not bad!’, that kind of feeling…

After all, while playing a romance game, I remember the time when my liking suddenly increased with one option that I choose.

I gaze at Lord Ragdo as to askiing what happened.

“He is such a King. Please go along with him.”

“If it’s you say so…”

Unlike before, Marito sits in a chair in a comfortable position.

It’s more like a young friend than a young king.

“First of all, let me thank you as a king. My knights who tied up in chivalry were played good by the wicked bandits.”

“No, It’s because Dokora have a good skill. And by chance is on their side.”

Really, what’s wrong with his tone, it’s too casual. And Lord Ragdo doesn’t care at all.

Without the first encounter, the bandits could not be captured and information could not be retrieved.

“Even so, isn’t it your wisdom that pulled out the information and made Lady Ratzel defeat the leader?”

“That’s…. might be true.”

“You don’t seems to want to brag about it huh.”

“You can’t be proud of how you can take advantage of people’s weaknesses, right? And the one who should be complimented is Illias.”

“Hmm, which part of Lady Ratzel that I should praise?”

“Her resolution to accept all of what might happen to her while walking the chivalry path to become like her father.”

Illias didn’t like the way that I took.

Still, she did it because she understood and accepted it as necessary.

“She may be slandered if she use a cowardly hand. She may put a dirt on her chivalry. While understanding that, she still prioritized the quickest solution.”

“Certainly, even if I give credit to Lord Leanor and other knights, it’s hard for them to be devoted to thinking about the Kingdom. Especially, when they are in their position right now.”

“Do you think you as a King could corrected it?”

“It’s not that I can’t. However, if I do that, the movement behind the scenes of this kingdom will become more insidious…”

Right…

“Still, It’s a fact that they have to admit her ability. All she have to do is shut up with her achievements. If they still barks, it’s howling the losing dog.”

“If only she could differentiate between herself and others.”

“In that area, Lady Ratzel is still inexperienced.”

I pour him the Alcohol, he take a sip and continue talking.

“I would like to thank you for the Black Wolf tribe. And I’m sure It would have been easy to control them with the strength of this kingdom.”

“Don’t say such a dangerous words. My reputation as the wise king will go down you know?”

“….”

Sigh, Good grief, How should I say this?

Oh yeah, I knew what it was like.

This guy behaviour is similar with someone, when they are so excited.

“I’d like to hear a lot about the story of your world, but let’s finish the main topic first.”

Marito raises his hand. Lord Ragdo walks up accordingly.

Lord Ragdo comes close and takes out a book from his pocket.

A familiar book, it’s a book left by Dokora.

“And here, you brought out the topic I wanted to avoid the most…”

“Well, sorry, sorry. But it’s important, even though it was a word from your world, you didn’t read it right?”

“I was told that in this world, just wanting Resuscitation magic would be a death penalty.”

“Isn’t it okay if you just read it secretly?”

“Grandpa Kara was there. I don’t want him to be a lie accomplice.”

“By the way, I couldn’t read the inside at all. Definitely the language is from your world.”

“I guess so.”

“However, there are some illustrations, some of the was something like the magical composition. From my analysis, it seems to be the basis of Necromancy that is said to have been used by the bandit.”

Dokora lost his job, maybe because he saw that book, or the Necromancy inside it.

It’s no wonder that the book contains information about Forbidden Resuscitation Magic and Necromancy if it’s related to the Demon Lord.

“In fact, research on Resuscitation Magic is still forbidden in intercontinental agreements. And If this is a kingdom with strict rule on Forbidden arts like Mejis, we will find you and sentenced you to death.”

“Even if I didn’t read it?”

“If you can read it, no need to questions you more.”

What a terrifying country… Isn’t it to the level of a witch hunting?

“Isn’t it nasty…”

“There are still many areas in the Mejis territory where people cannot live in due to the Demon Lord. The area where heavily damaged by the Demon Lord is so sensitive to this kind of topic.”

It’s not that I can’t understand If he said it like that.

Japan, which has had its area dropped with nuclear weapons, has a particularly high hate to nuclear weapons.

Because they know the terror from it.

There are still areas where you cannot live in because the radioactivity in that area still strong.

“But, the place where Dokora, the leader of the bandits, once worked as part of the dark side, it is also Mejis.”

“It sound so fishy….”

The dark part of the country, which should be more sensitive to Forbidden arts, He got the Forbidden arts from there and was driven out from there.

It’s unclear if it was in that Kingdom from the beginning or if it was stolen from a neighboring kingdom, but Dokora have obtained it and looked inside.

Then he was chased out by the kingdom and arrived at Garne.

Is he learned Necromancy while lurking and being a thief in Garne, and then fled to Tiez?

“I wish this book was just sealed. If it existed as part of research, it would be a problem on this continent. That’s why I’m currently investigating the origin of this book.”

“I don’t want to get involved in this if possible…”

“That’s why I would like to request you to analysis this book.”

“Didn’t you heard what I just said!?”

“Well, don’t worry, I will guarantee your safety. So, Do you know what you need to do?”

“What you want to know is… how much information this book has, right?”

He nodded.

Marito wants to know how dangerous this book is to be considered as Forbidden.

If this is just a biography of the Demon Lord, it’s not a big deal.

However, it was certain that there was enough information to learn Necromancy.

Furthermore, it cannot be said that there is no description about the Forbidden Resuscitation Magic.

And if there was a kingdom that was studying it…. it will be a bad story.

“Who knows about this?”

“Only me and Lord Ragdo, I haven’t told Maya from Yugura church.”

“Even Maya?”

“Yugura Religion Sanctuary is in Mejis.”

I see, you can’t carelessly say it then.

Mejis, the country that was chasing Dokora, may know that Dokora has this book.

Maya’s position is Chief of Yugura branch in Tiez.

She might be have quite a few exchanges with Mejis, where the sacred place of Yugura is located.

Wait, I asked Maya to get the documents of Dokora before.

The probability of that documents came from Mejis is high.

“I had Maya check the identity of Dokora. Most likely she know that Dokora had the book.”

“In fact, they had that kind of movement. Didn’t you arrange and choose them to support Lord Leanor?”

“Yeah, Beacuse I heard that priests know how to deal with Necromancy.”

“Lord Leanor reported that he feel that they searching around their home base during the purification of the undead.”

“…..”

“In addition, they requested to accompany as the undead countermeasures in the base survey at a later date.”

“But the book is in front of us now.”

“Yeah, thanks to you for collecting it first.”

“…..”

“You don’t have make such a complicated face. I know that Lady Ratzel and you are intimate with Maya. Anyway, she’s not from their intelligence team.”

“That’s….”

“As someone from Yugura church, it’s only natural to find out who might have something about Necromancy. You can said that is her obligation.”

That’s true. The image that Mejis condemns anything that touches the Forbidden Magic was filling my head, that it changed the image of Maya in my head too.

“I think the reason she was moving without telling you was that she wanted to keep you away from that.”

“Right…”

Maya doesn’t like Necromancy and Resuscitation magic.

And She doesn’t want anyone to be involved in it.

“But what would you do if I’ve talked to Maya about the book over here?”

“At that time, Maya would have come to talk to me directly. Then I will took appropriate measures. The fact that she didn’t came, means that you didn’t told her yet, right?”

“That’s right. The only one who know other than us is Grandpa Kara.”

“Lord Domitorkofkon has been instructed not to speak out to anyone from Lord Ragdo. What I personally care about is whether you talked it to Lady Ratzel or not.”

“I haven’t told Illias yet.”

I ust explained that I was taking a walk at that time.

Anyway, I didn’t want to give further problems to Illias, who was so depressed already.

“Lady Ratzel’s mother is Maya’s best friend. That is why she still have friends. And I’m sure Lady Ratzel, who was worried about talking about the book, was most likely to consult to Maya.”

“I see. But what is the reason for hiding the existence of books?”

“The main reason is that Mejis can’t be trusted. It can be seen that the story of Tiez subdued Dokora, which was being pursued by Mejis, I’m sure 80-90% that the story has been passed down from Maya to them. But Mejis doesn’t say anything about this book.”

If this is the reason Dokora was chased, it’s likely that Mejis is looking for this book.

In fact, even if you look at Maya’s actions to search for belongings of Dokora, who use Necromancy, it can be seen that there was an instruction from Mejis.

If Mejis is innocent, it’s okay to tell Tiez about the book and ask for help to search.

Of course, the cautious Maya might said to them that she just searched it around and could not find it just in case.

It is possible that Mejis is hiding information to avoid unnecessary confusion and because of the danger of Tiez gaining knowledge of Necromancy.

“You can trust Maya, but you can’t trust the Mejis and Yugura religion behind her.”

“Yeah. From her personality, I think she’s just a good person.”

“Right.”

“That’s why I want to independently investigate the dangers of this book, and the kingdom that owned it.”

What should I do, huh?

The degree of danger is increasing, but there is still a desire to read this book.

And anyway it also comes with the permission and protection of King Marito.

There is a possibility that I will be noticed by Maya and the Yugura religion behind her, and eventually the Mejis of a nation…

However, if I miss this opportunity, I can see that there is almost no more chance to read it.

“I understand, so how I should cooperate?”

“I want you to translate this. Into the language of this world.”

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

“It is dangerous to leave it as a book. But that information will be recorded here.”

Marito point his own head.

“That’s why I want you to visit here every time in the future. However, if you only come to translate, there is a high possibility that Yugura religions will suspicious of you. Therefore I thought about the name of the job.”

“And that is?”

“A consultant.”

“… Explain it in more detail.”

“You’ll be in a position to tell me stories and knowledge of another world like a bard. From the sidelines, it’s like a Court Jester.”

Court Jester, huh?

It’s a position to entertain great people with small jokes and stories.

Certainly then he can use it as an excuse to Maya.

“I don’t know how much policy from Another world can be applied here, but it’s safe to say that I might get something from it. Maybe I can hear a useful story, so tell me okay?”

“That’s okay… But over there I was an ordinary person. So, I lack a lot of expertise, you know?”

“From the start, I don’t expect too much from it. Just want to listen for fun.”

Marito’ eyes are shining.

Yeah, I think that seems to be one of the reasons.

“…. I understand. However, when that happens, My visit schedule to Maya’ place will be disturbed.”

“What do you mean?”

I tell him that I am learning common sense and language at Maya with Wolfe.

“I see, It’s easy to prepare such a place here, but It’s ungrateful to change so suddenly.”

“That’s how it is. And Maya can see through lies, so it’s painful just to talk such a story.”

“Don’t worry. Preparations for the festival from Yugura Religions are about to begin. She will be busy too. Just start the talk from that.”

“Really?”

“Just in case, let’s decipher the book next time. It seems better for you to hurry to learn the language.”

Suddenly, I am curious about something.

But that’s not a good idea.

It seems that such a thought is due to the fact that I had been talking conspiracy with him.

However, I can’t help but keep thinking about this.

“Oh, And I want you to arrange me something.”

“What is it?”

I tell Marito the details, and he nods.

“It’s worth doing. Let’s arrange it.”

“Thank you. Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yeah, Let’s have a long-lasting relationship..”

In this way, the unemployed man achieved a different rank up to the position of a Court Jester.

◇

After he returned, Marito and Lord Ragdo remained in the room together.

“You seemed to be have a lot of fun, Your Majesty.”

“Oh, he was a more interesting than I expected.”

He’s not relaxed like earlier. It is the figure of a king who talks with the oldest knight commander in front of him.

“Was my tone that funny?”

“I couldn’t stop laughing.”

“… Well, when I’m alone with him, I’ll keep it that way. It’ll be my time to take a break.”

He haven’t used that way of talking since a long time, maybe at least since he took over the throne.

Marito laughs that there is a way to use the wording that will make you scolded for being vulgar.

“And the one we just talked, I’ll leave the arrangements to you.”

“As your command.”

Marito sits where he was sitting earlier.

Did he think the king was a credible person? how the king looked to him?

He pour alcohol into a container next to it.

The king close his eyes and remember the conversation with him.

“Hmm, As expected I want him.”

“I though that you have already acquired him as a collaborator…”

“Only as that. But I want him to serve this country.”

Tiez is a Kingdom with a history centered on knights.

Therefore the stubbornness remains.

In fact, adventurers who cross the world do not gather in this kingdom.

There is an adventurer guild, but it’s very small.

This is because everyone keep relying on a knight who was trusted since long time.

Because of that kind of stiff head, even dealing with cunning bandits were made the knight to struggle.

They weren’t even aware of the existence of the Demi-Human who lived in this territory.

And the one who changed this situation easily is only one man.

His ability is not that excellent. It just that His existence has brought movement to this Kingdom.

Even before Marito became king, he felt cramped in the stiffness of this country.

“That man will be meaningful to the future of this country. So I want to make him, mine.”

With that said, Marito drank up the alcohol to dry.