Chapter 30 - The Sea of Trees and the Snowcapped Mountains

The founding party went off without a hitch, and soon a sense of peace began

to fall over Brunhild.

Despite the fact that it had taken a short while due to various issues, I finally

gave Lu an engagement ring. I definitely couldn't have afforded to put it off any

longer. Not to mention that it would've been extremely rude not to formally

put a ring on her.

Even though she acted as though she didn't mind the delay, Lu gratefully and

happily accepted what I gave her. The ring was identical to the ones I had given

to the others, right down to the design and magical effects.

"Now I can finally hold my head high and proclaim that I am the fiancee of

Touya, my amazing man!" I felt a pang of guilt wash over me as I looked at her

smiling. I definitely shouldn't have put it off so long.

We were all happily sitting together at a table on the balcony when Leen

appeared with Paula in tow. Her expression was grave.

"There's been another Phrase sighting. One has appeared within the Sea of

Trees. The tribe living there sent a request for help to Mismede." Everyone

suddenly jumped up from their seats in a panic. Except Lu, who had no idea

what any of that meant.

"And what became of it? Was it taken down?" Yumina asked.

"I'm afraid not. It's still there right now, demolishing the tribal village, and

turning any and all individuals that enter the vicinity into mincemeat. From

what I understand, it has a huge, arachnid form."

A gigantic Spider Phrase? I wonder if it's on the same tier as the Manta Phrase

we encountered a while back... What if it's even stronger? If that's the case,

then [Apport] won't do the trick... I'd like to try and smash it using [Gravity],

though.

"Let's go, then. I don't know if we can take it down, but we have to at least

try. Not just that, we might—"

"If we're lucky, we may encounter that boy again." I nodded at Leen's

comment. It was like she had read my mind.

Ende. The mysterious young man who had so easily crushed the Manta

Phrase that we stood no chance against. I wanted to know what he meant

when he spoke of the "Sovereign Phrase." That guy knew something, he had to.

"Let's get to Babylon and set course for the Sea of Trees." We began our

preparations to face off against this new Phrase.

"Crystal creatures that destroyed the civilizations of old?" We were traveling

along to the Sea of Trees in our Babylon, so we decided to roughly explain the

situation to Lu while we had the chance.

Come to think of it, what even are the Phrase? Right now I'm just assuming

that they were sealed in some area of space, and those tears in reality are

where they're slipping through as the barrier that's keeping them contained

breaks down. So now they're finally returning to the world after thousands of

years... Probably, I think. If I believe what Ende had to say, then the creatures

are searching for their leader, the Sovereign Phrase. But from where I'm looking

all they've been doing is killing everything in their vicinity. Is there more to it, or

is it just mindless slaughter? Wait, what even happened all those years ago?

Who sealed them in the first place, if they are actually sealed. Where did the

Phrase come from? I don't have any answers at all here! Ende... he probably

knows. He warped off last time without so much as an explanation, but I'll make

him talk if he shows up again...

"Master, we've reached our destination." Cesca called to me and displayed a

scene from below on the monolith computer. An enormous beast of crystal was

rampaging around the forest. It was an arachnid monster with eight thin, sharp

legs. Those legs were cutting through trees like they were butter, skewering

members of a tribal village who happened to live down there all the while.

"It's a big one. About the same size as the last one we encountered," I said.

"Verily, it is. I am just thankful that this one does not appear to have the

power of flight, I am." I was just as thankful as Yae. Fighting the Manta Phrase

was a huge chore because it was soaring above the desert sands. The forest was

less open, so we had more blind spots to hide in. We just had to make sure

none of those giant trees crushed us or whatever.

"We need to hurry, now. The village will be completely lost if we don't take

action." As we made preparations to reach the surface, we saw the

tribeswomen firing arrows and invoking magic against the Spider Phrase.

However, it shrugged off their attacks like they were nothing. As it roared, the

creature absorbed all magic in the vicinity, including all of the spells that

touched it. It seemed to work in a different way to the Drainbracer, and it

wasn't a nullifying effect like the Demon Lord's, but either way it was a

dangerous power that converted magical energy used against it into more fuel.

The tanned tribal women brandished curved swords and tried facing it once

more, but the Phrase simply swung out one of its sharp limbs and gutted them.

"Itsh! Miyohmanah, Tacohdeejeekah! Garinoh!" One young tribal girl barked

out what seemed to be orders, but I couldn't understand what she was saying.

It was odd to me that I didn't understand her, as I had kind of just assumed God

had given me an omnilingual body or something.

At any rate, she looked to be their leader. At her command, the bow-wielding

girls retreated immediately. It looked like they were trying to create a flanking

formation in order to let the non-combatants retreat.

One of the enormous creature's legs suddenly raised in the air, then went

bolting toward the shouting woman like a thrown spear.

"[Accel Boost]!" I sped through the trees like a madman, taking the mithril

greatsword out of [Storage] as I charged. Just in time to stop her from being

impaled, I intercepted the creature's leg and deflected it away from the girl. In a

flash, I grabbed her and took her into my arms. Her eyes went wide with

surprise as I leaped backward, putting a great deal of distance between us and

the Spider Phrase.

I set her down, brandishing my blade once more.

"Get to safety, focus on evacuating, and... you have no idea what I'm saying,

do you?" I tried to point to her, and then the deeper forest in an attempt to

explain through signing. She either didn't get it or ignored me, choosing to walk

up to me instead.

"Emoh. Ortettkoeecheeh. Merkoh! Sahnatoanehko! Boko boko!"

"N-No, I can't understand you..." I finally took a moment to get a good look at

the girl, and realized she was very much the image of a warrior. She brandished

an axe in one hand, and was decorated with red war paint all over her body.

She had healthy-looking tanned brown skin, but I was a little unnerved by

how little she was wearing. Only a single scrap of fabric bound her chest, and

her lower body was covered by a crudely-constructed loincloth. She had sandallike shoes and improved wraps on her hands, but she was practically fighting

half-naked! Something gave me the impression that these tribes lived a very

different life to those in the major cities.

This girl's gotta be around the same age as me, but she's packing some

incredible assets... They're practically heaving and asking to be freed from

behind that chest binding she's wearing! I quickly realized I was staring a little

too south, then immediately rectified the situation.

"Emohoomaynaggredo! Ohcheenakuhoho! Kakanoha! Kellesohrise!" She was

ranting and raving about something or other, but I couldn't tell what she meant.

I wondered if she was mad at me for staring.

I pushed such thoughts out of my mind and took my sword into my hand. It

was time to face down the enemy. I aimed for one of its legs... And, at the

moment my blade angled down toward it, I activated [Gravity]. The thin leg was

reduced to mere fragments beneath the super-bolstered weight of my

greatsword.

"Amazing, it actually worked!" Unfortunately, the shattered leg regenerated

within seconds. The creature had absorbed all of the magic the people used

against it some time ago. Just as I'd figured, the only way to take this thing out

would be to destroy the core.

There were three cores on its head, all lined up in a row. They glowed a faint

orange, much like the Manta Phrase cores had in my last encounter.

"Linze, Leen! Give him the old ice one-two!" As I yelled, the two of them

began the incantation to cast [Ice Rock], and a massive chunk landed on the

spider from above. The Spider Phrase dipped its body for a brief moment, but

began to resist the weight, pushing upward with a loud straining sound. Sorry

pal, but I can't let you do that.

I jumped up to the ice block bearing down on it, then activated [Gravity] to

increase the block's weight tenfold.

A slow creaking echoed out as the Spider Phrase strained, and then I heard a

new noise. The sound of shattering ice. The enormous rock was unable to

support its own weight and began to splinter. Frankly, I was surprised it had

held it together for so long to begin with.

The ice buckled, raining down in thin sheets. The Spider Phrase, released from

the crushing force, leaped high up in the air. Timing my strike as I fell down

toward it, I activated [Gravity] on my greatsword and swung it down at the

creature.

"Shatter to pieces, you bastard!" I struck the Spider Phrase with such a force

that the ground began to quake.

A shattering sound echoed out as the monster split into thousands of pieces,

and yet it was still standing. Regardless of that, I had shattered the head,

exposing the cores amongst the ruined fragments. Using Brunhild, I took them

out in quick succession.

"Guh..." Somehow, I had done it. It was much easier than the last time, as

well. But I guess I had [Gravity] to thank for that. It would've been better if I

used the spell on the Phrase directly, but beggars couldn't be choosers. I looked

at my greatsword, noticing that the mithril blade had been bent out of shape.

"Emoh... Nonamehotoh?" The brown-skinned girl muttered something,

staring in abject amazement. I had no idea what she was saying, but her

expressions spoke wonders for her surprise.

I looked around to check on the injured, finding myself staring at a field of

fallen people. The situation was bad.

"Target Lock. Target any injured person within a radius of five hundred

meters. Invoke [Cure Heal]."

"Understood. Targets acquired. Invoking [Cure Heal]." The voice buzzed out

of my smartphone as a magical light enveloped the wounded, gently tending to

their injuries. Those who had visible injuries quickly found themselves with no

open wounds to speak of.

The young girl, upon seeing my sorcery, ran toward her collapsed allies.

"My my, that was quite the feat." Leen sauntered over to me, admiring the

wreckage as she strolled. She was right. I wondered how I had even had any

trouble against the Manta Phrase. This almost felt too easy.

Leen picked up two pieces of the dead Spider Phrase and lightly tapped them

against each other. After that, she firmly smacked the two fragments into each

other. They shattered like glass.

What's happening?

"It seems that a Phrase's body is about as brittle as glass. What a shame... I

thought we'd be able to construct fine weaponry from it."

Hmph... She had a point. If we had a weapon that could rival the firmness of a

Phrase's body, then even Elze or Yae would be able to go toe-to-toe with one.

Well, it seemed that any and all toughness drained from a Phrase upon death. I

wonder if we can harvest it for window panes or something...

"Hey Leen, what makes these guys so tough in the first place...? Could it be

they're using fortification magic or something?"

"...Oh, that could be it! Magical defense by using magic as a defense?! If we

operate under the assumption that the Phrase have special attributes that let

them take in magic and apply them for personal benefit, then..." Leen picked up

another two fragments in her hands. This time, she closed her eyes to channel

some magic into the pieces, then struck them firmly against each other. A noise

echoed out, but the pieces remained intact.

"Amazing, it's as I thought... The Phrase's body itself is almost like a

spellstone. But what differentiates it from a spellstone is that the Phrase is

much more adept at taking in magical power. They're almost one hundred

percent efficient at absorbing magic, even! I had no idea of the potential

involved here..."

"I don't fully understand. Lay it out for me a bit." Leen was blabbering about

something I didn't fully get, but what else was new?

"To put it simply, if you pour magic into this material, then it will harden to a

level that corresponds with the magic absorbed. It regenerates itself because it

stores any excess magical power to use as reserve energy. The shell can

constantly replenish until the mana inside it is drained entirely."

I have no idea how to process that... Is she saying I could create some kind of

ultra-tough constantly-regenerating armor out of this? Wait, if I forge a weapon

out of this thing, then it'd be indestructible so long as my mana reserves don't

go empty, right? It'll probably grow heavier the more magic I pour into it, but I

have [Enchant] and [Gravity], so that means nothing to me! Man, I just hit the

goddamn jackpot!

"Target Lock. Spider Phrase debris, including the tiny fragments. Invoke

[Storage]."

"Understood. Targets acquired. Invoking [Storage]." The magic circle spread

across the ground in a wide area, covering all places where the Spider Phrase's

shell had fallen. All together, the fragments sank into nothingness like one

would sink into water. With that, all the goods were recovered.

If I had only known how valuable this stuff was in the desert, I'd have

collected the pieces of the Manta Phrase as well... Ah well, you can't win them

all.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Yee. Emoh." I turned around to find the tanned girl staring at me. I had no

idea what she wanted now.

"I already told you, I don't speak your language!" As I pondered how to get

her to understand me, Leen suddenly interjected.

"She's asking if you're the one who healed the injured."

"Wait, you can understand her?" I stared at Leen, amazed she could

understand. Maybe there's some kind of pattern to the language...?

"You are aware that I'm older than my form suggests, are you not? There are

even those in Mismede today that speak the mother-tongue of the Rauli Tribe."

Oh yeah... she did say the tribe requested aid from Mismede. There'd have to

be some interpreters in Mismede's government for that to make sense.

Leen turned and talked to the tan girl.

"Hm, your name... er... Ontoh, Nomoho?"

"Pam." So then, the girl was named Pam.

It was kind of a pain having to listen to them without understanding them

fully. Leen began freely talking to Pam about various things in the tribal tongue,

but I had no idea what they were saying. It was a little concerning. Pam kept

stealing glances at me during their conversation, sometimes with looks of

amazement on her face. That was even more concerning.

"Ende didn't appear after all, eh?" I thought for sure he'd show up alongside

the Phrase, but I was apparently wrong. Maybe I had misinterpreted his

intentions, and he wasn't always gonna be around to stop them.

"It even caused a massive uproar and trashed the place, though..." I took

another look at the area around me. There were tattered cloths, ruined

buildings, and other remains of a once-peaceful village strewn about amidst

uprooted trees and general carnage.

The villagers here seemed to make their homes up in the trees, building high

in the branches. They moved from tree to tree using rope suspension bridges.

The woodland was dense here, almost like a rainforest, so the sunlight only

shone through the canopy in areas where the Spider Phrase had gone on its

rampage and knocked trees down.

"It seems that several people have passed away..." Lu looked over at a group

of grieving women, looking rather grief-stricken herself. When I looked over at

the weeping people clutching the pieces of their former friends and families,

regret coursed through me. If only I had been faster.

"It's a shame that there's no magic to bring people back from the other

side..." I muttered those words quietly, and Linze suddenly spoke up from

nearby.

"That's not necessarily true. A spell like that does exist..."

"What?!" Wait, there's seriously a way to bring the dead back? Wait, hold on,

why am I so surprised? Didn't that happen to me?!

"The highest tier of Light Magic can resurrect the dead... But the

consequences of doing so are grave."

Consequences? What, do you need to fulfill certain conditions or something?

It's not like that one RPG where you have to donate to the church, is it? It's not

like that money actually goes to God, anyway...

"To begin with, the body must be fresh. Meaning that one hour must not

have passed since death. Secondly, the body must be intact. Nothing that could

hinder a functional body can be present in the subject. Lastly, an obscene

amount of magical power is needed. As well as an obscene amount of life force

itself."

"Life force?"

"To be blunt, I'm referring to the very life that flows within a person.

Resurrecting someone is no trivial feat. Through this method, the caster must

stake part of their life on the line to perform the rite. There's a chance the

caster could die."

That sounds really risky. I guess it's not a method anyone could employ unless

they were absolutely ready to stake their life on the line for another person. But

come to think of it, that might be the resolve needed to restore someone to life.

In my case, the price I paid to return to life was to completely lose my old world.

I don't really want to think about that matter right now, though... Makes me

sad to dwell on it.

"That aside..." I'd noticed a while ago, but there were an awful lot of women

amongst the tribe. I wondered where the men were. Had the Spider Phrase

slaughtered all of them already? As I was pondering that, Leen wandered over

and answered the very question I had been thinking about.

"The Rauli Tribe consists of only female members, and they are a warrior

people. Males are forbidden here. The young warrior from earlier, Pam, is the

granddaughter of the clan matriarch."

Wait what, are they like Amazons or something? I didn't expect to come

across that trope around here...

From what Leen told me about the Rauli tribe, the girls headed out to kidnap

men once they reached fertile age. They would then use the man for... rather

obvious purposes.

If the child born from that union was a boy, he and his father would be

removed from the village. If the child was born a female, the father would be

expelled alone, and the tribe would collectively raise the girl. It was just how

they dealt with children, it seemed. Either way, the father was kicked out. But

apparently over a hundred years ago, they would just kill the man after taking

his seed, so maybe this was preferable...

As Leen told me the tale, I shivered a bit. The man inside of me was terrified,

which was amplified by the fact that Pam was glaring at me for some reason.

What was going on behind those eyes of hers...?

"What?" I eyed Pam from the side, and she suddenly bounded forward,

leaping into the air straight at me!

"Wha—?!" She startled me, but ended up being way lighter than I expected,

so catching her was fine. I was caught off-guard by the feeling of her soft skin,

but in the next moment pain shot through my body, starting at my neck.

"OwwwaaaAAAaugh?!"

SHE BIT ME?! WHY IS SHE BITING ME?! IT HURTS! IS SHE A MONKEY OR

SOMETHING? GET OFF ME! I moved my hand to try and wrench Pam's head off

me, but she withdrew of her own volition right away.

I put my hand to my neck and sure enough, she had drawn blood.

What the hell was that?! Pam suddenly chuckled at me and turned on her

heel before sprinting away. No really, what the hell was that?! All the other

Rauli in the area who saw what had happened raised their voices in an uproar

of laughter too.

"Touya, are you alright?" Linze came over and cured the bleeding wound on

my neck. Aah, it hurts like hell!

"Seems she's taken a liking to you."

"Excuse me?!" Leen's offhand remark had me reeling. How in the hell could

biting my neck until it was bleeding be interpreted as an affectionate gesture?

Normally that kind of behavior was associated with hatred, right? Usually from

a wild animal or a stray dog.

I couldn't believe that another person had just bitten me like that. I decided

that the best course of action would be to retreat. The situation was too weird,

and all the Rauli had started looking at me in a strange way as well... I had no

idea what was up with that. I opened up a [Gate] and returned to Babylon.

From there I picked up Cesca and Rosetta, and was back to Brunhild's castle in

the blink of an eye.

"Aaaah, Master. Welcome baaaack!" Ripple was hanging halfway out of her

picture frame in the middle of the landing. This kind of thing had pretty much

become the norm for us at this point.

"Hey Ripple, thanks. Have I missed anything?"

"Uhm, you haaaave. We have a gueeest!"

A guest? Really? Wonder who it could be...

◇ ◇ ◇

"Huh, Tsubaki? What brings you here?"

"It has been some time indeed." The girls said they wanted to wash up, so I

parted from them and headed to the audience room alone. Waiting to greet me

there was Tsubaki, a kunoichi from Eashen. She knelt down upon the red carpet

and looked up at me. She wore a white coat with a black scarf. It looked like she

was quite worn out in general, indicating she had traveled far to get here. Her

hair was as long and black as ever, no real change there.

"What are you doing so far from home? Are you running an errand or

something?" Tsubaki was a ninja that served under Kousaka Masanohbu, one of

the Takeda Elite Four. It'd be normal to assume she'd be out on a mission, but

this was a considerable amount of distance to come from Eashen.

"No. My allegiance to the Takeda Clan has been formally broken. I may be

asking too much by coming here, but I made the decision to join your duchy."

"What?" Tsubaki recounted her story to me. She said that once the new lord

of Takeda took over, everything was a bit chaotic for a while. Even so, she

dutifully served until one day Kousaka summoned her. He said to her, "If things

continue as they are now, I have no hope for the Takeda Clan. You must leave

with your compatriots and find another worthy house to serve." Tsubaki initially

protested, but Kousaka actually ended up kicking her out. He was that confident

about how grave the situation was.

"When was this?"

"Close to two months ago, I believe. After that, I began a personal journey." I

was surprised by that. It seemed that Kousaka had some incredible foresight, to

even predict this so far in advance... He must've been an incredible guy.

I mentioned to Tsubaki that Baba had been here recently and talked about his

opinions on the matter, and she nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, because of the dire situation, Kousaka-sama had me removed..."

"But why me, of all people? Couldn't you have defected to Tokugawa or

Oda?"

"Tokugawa and Oda are only feudal lords in the end. But you, Touya-san... Er,

Touya-sama... you are an exceptional individual who may well become the next

king of Belfast. I headed toward you thinking that you were incomparably

superior! And now I find out you've already become a head of state! A grand

duke! You're truly beyond mortal comprehension." During her voyage to Belfast

she had heard stories about the founding of my duchy. And so, once she

realized that I was the one in charge and that I was now living here, she

chartered a boat across the Great Gau River all to get an audience with me.

"Well, a lot of stuff went on here too, but, uh... You really wanna work here?

This isn't a big country like Belfast or anything. We're pretty fresh."

"Of course. If you'll accept me, Touya-sama, I would proudly serve under

you." If Kousaka was fine with it, then I was fine with it too. Honestly, the

recent increase of allies was making me a little happy. Kind of made me hopeful

that the Takeda Elite Four would come and stay as well eventually.

"Very well, if you could please bring the remainder of my clansmen to your

castle, I'd appreciate it..."

"Wait just a sec. Your clansmen?"

"Of course. It is my intention to have my entire ninja clan from Takeda's

territory come here."

Is she serious?! Wait... sure, Kousaka said "leave with your compatriots," but

seriously, relocating an entire clan of ninjas just like that?!

"Uh... how many people are in your clan, exactly?"

"If we include the children, then there are almost seventy."

"Gh...!" Isn't that a bit much?! How'd you plan on moving that many people

without me?! What if I was dead or missing or something?! I really didn't mean

to accept more than Tsubaki... but I can hardly take it back now.

"Uhh... well, about that... I don't have any issue with accepting your people

into my country, but I can only really take you into my castle, Tsubaki."

"That would prove no issue. All proud ninja clansmen work standard jobs in

the day-to-day. They have to make a living, after all."

...I guess that's fine, then? I remember reading something about ninjas from

the olden days infiltrating other countries by getting standard jobs there and

living out regular lives... Do they have the same kind of methods in this world?

My territory had a great body of water, as well as a large forest, so they could

definitely get jobs as hunters or fishermen. Food wasn't a concern, but I'd

probably need to think about setting up other amenities.

I'm gonna need mercantile contacts or something... If people are gonna be

producing goods, then I'll need active traders. I should consult Zanac or Olba

about it.

"It seems we've acquired many a new citizen today, sir."

"Sure seems that way, Laim..." I smiled wryly at my butler. Without further

ado, I called my three knights into the throne room and told them not to be

concerned about the large influx of ninjas. I decided to simply let them stay in

the barracks for the time being, as I didn't have an army living there yet.

Just in case, I asked Lain to keep an eye out for people behaving suspiciously,

not that I expected much in the way of trouble. I didn't know if that was a racist

assumption, but I felt that those rabbit ears of hers would surely be able to

sound out trouble as it happened.

"Master, you have a letter."

"Hm?" Just as Tsubaki left, Cesca came in with a small letter in hand. I had

given most of my contacts a small Gate Mirror to immediately get in touch with

me, so I wondered who had sent it...

I took the letter and skimmed it over. Wow, this timing sure is convenient to

the plot.

"Who sent the letter, sir?" Laim inquired as I finished reading. I passed the

letter over and told him to take a look.

"Goodness me..."

"Yup. Seems we'll be getting even more residents soon." The sender was

none other than Kousaka Masanohbu himself. It had come through the Gate

Mirror that I had handed to Baba recently.

It was a formal account detailing the fact that the lord of the Takeda Clan had

royally messed up. He had neglected his people, failing to prevent many crimes.

The people ended up making quite a ruckus, and it was a full-blown riot in some

areas. Ultimately, the emperor of Eashen had to step in and formally disband

the Takeda house. Its former territories were divided up between Oda and

Tokugawa.

Well, that didn't take long. And he had such promise after the situation with

Kansukay, too... That sucks. He had a lot riding on his shoulders and a lot to live

up to, but he really should've kept his head down and tried harder. Maybe he

was just acting out because of the pressure of having such a famous father. Or

maybe he was just an idiot... At any rate, he's a nobody now. Apparently he had

to report to the capital and face justice. He'll probably be exiled.

The most important thing here was that the Elite Four had all talked with one

another and decided their services would be better held in Brunhild.

I was more than happy to have such talented people on my side. I wondered

if I should consult Kousaka about the mercantile issue I'd been wondering about

earlier. I had yet to actually meet him, so I was curious about what kind of

person he was.

Well then... I guess I should go meet him. With that thought, I opened up a

[Gate] to Eashen.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Repair the roads first. A town cannot develop without a road." Kousaka

looked at the map of Brunhild, and only had that to say.

Kousaka was clearly younger than Baba, but he was still over sixty. He had a

gentle face, but it was one clearly weathered by wisdom and age. He also wore

his hair in a top-knot. The aura of experience and awareness emanating from

him was just what I'd expect from a man who personally advised Takeda

Schingen.

After I received the letter, I went straight to meet with Baba and the other

Elite Four members, but they had a surprise for me.

Apparently several members of the Takeda Army who had now been

displaced were willing to join my duchy. It was likely that they were troops who

were extremely loyal to the Elite Four or something. There were only around

fifty of them, but there was no way I could bring them in and hire them. We

didn't even have any way of generating revenue yet, so paying the salary of an

army was out of the question.

I briefly considered using the workshop to mass produce products for sale,

but quickly decided against it. If we ended up dependent on the exports and the

workshop broke down or something, we'd be done for.

"If I use Earth Magic, I can probably create a road pretty fast..."

"A functional road that leads to both Regulus and Belfast is of the highest

importance. Please make one immediately. But on the other hand, Touyasama... Er, milord. Don't involve yourself too directly in the affairs here. If you,

as their lord, do too many things for the people, they may grow too dependent.

It's best to only interfere directly in situations where the people cannot do it on

their own."

Is that how it is...? I guess he has a point. People tend to sink into complacency

pretty fast. It'd be bad for a country so young to start stagnating.

"Now, the eastern part of the nation will be set aside for agriculture. We can

dig out canals to draw water from the river, then create various rice paddies. I

do hope the soil there is as fertile as it is here in Eashen. With that we can begin

trading with merchants and creating income for the country's administrative

procedures..."

So you're saying we need to think about taxes, farmers, and sales of produce...

Honestly, I didn't think I needed to tax the people. I made more than enough

money to support my growing family through adventuring alone. Still, Kousaka

told me that if I didn't have taxes, the infrastructure of my government would

falter. I decided that I would entrust the situation to him, but I did tell him to

keep the taxes as low as possible.

"It would be good if we could export some kind of unique specialty. However,

this land originally belonged to Regulus and Belfast, so it's unlikely there's

anything of value around here. We may have to invest in technology to keep

people drawn to us in trade."

"For the time being, I can manufacture some bicycles. It should help us earn

some income to begin with, at least... Then, after a while, other countries might

reverse engineer and make their own." Bikes were pretty handy and unique in

this world, but they were still inferior to horse-drawn carts for carrying stuff,

and regular horses still beat them in terms of speed. Still, there was an

undeniable demand for bikes, so I figured they'd take off if they were mass

produced. That being said, I didn't think any other nation would be able to

make bikes quite as nice as mine.

"Anyway, let's try doing what we can for the time being. I'll entrust you with

agricultural and business administration for the time being, Kousaka. If it

doesn't work out, we can think of something else from there." After my talk

with Kousaka finished, I headed over to the training ground. My three knights

were being put through the wringer by Baba and Yamagata, as usual.

Since we still hadn't formally created a knight order or anything like that, I

had asked the two of them to step in as instructors.

"Hey there, squirt. You done talkin' with Kousaka?"

"You're technically a vassal of mine now, Baba. Isn't it about time you

stopped calling me that?"

"Don't be such a hardass. I'll call ya 'milord' and such when the situation calls

for it. I got enough social decorum to know when it's needed." Baba laughed

loudly and slapped me on the shoulder.

Damn it... There's just no winning with him, is there?

"Baba-dono might not change, but I'll be sure to address you right, Chief!"

"Yamagata, all ya did was stop callin' him Touya and start callin' him chief."

"Chief's good, isn't it? Sounds pretty important to me."

Well, I guess they could've used worse terms. Good grief... I'm not really good

at dealing with these two, but I guess that's not so bad.

"I'm planning to go out and grab some supplies, since it's already noon. I was

thinking of having Lain and the others accompany me, since it could double as a

training exercise."

"A hunting trip? Sure, but do you think they're in any state?" Yamagata

pointed over at the trio. They looked exhausted. Only Nikola was standing. It

seemed like he was a young guy with a pretty strong will. The other two were

collapsed on the ground. Nikola's fox-ears were still drooping, though.

"Come forth, Light. Breath of Vigor: [Refresh]." After the incantation, a soft

light fell upon the three. Within a few moments, they hopped up, ran around a

bit, did a few jumps, and swung their weapons with renewed energy.

"I'm not tired anymore...!"

"Was this your magic, milord?"

"G-Gah... I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy, milord!" It was my fatigue

restoration spell, [Refresh]. It didn't cure injuries or heal illnesses, but it got rid

of physical fatigue and restored stamina. If used, it restored people to peak

efficiency, as if they'd had a good rest. It didn't change the fact that these guys

had definitely overdone it today, though. I didn't want to have to use the spell

too often.

"Man, our chief's really a crazy guy..." Yamagata called me crazy, but I think it

was a compliment.

"Now then, let's get lunch. What do you guys feel like hunting? We could go

for fowl, boars, crab..."

Everyone suddenly yelled out crab in booming voices, so it was unanimous

right away. That was easier than I had expected. Bloody Crab was on the menu

that night. One was about the size of a truck, so I figured that hunting two was

fine if I wanted to feed everyone.

"Oh, let's be careful when we hunt the Bloody Crab, alright? It's regarded as a

Red Rank monster on the guild system."

"What?!" The three of them seemed shocked, but that wasn't too surprising.

Red rank was the best most could hope to reach, so it was only natural for them

to be shocked.

"But don't worry too much. The two old timers here will be helping you hunt

it, so you'll be just fine."

"We're what?!" I smiled inwardly. You two didn't think you'd be getting out of

this, did you?

Once the hunt was over, I lamented over how easy it was. I defeated one of

them solo using [Gravity]. It took me about one minute.

I left the second to the other five guys, just sitting back and watching, but I

couldn't just watch for too long, so I ended up supporting them with basic

magic blasts and restoration spells.

They fought with all their might for a solid thirty minutes, and the Bloody Crab

finally fell. It was pretty hard for them. I should've considered the fact that none

of them knew magic. That carapace on the crab was pretty damn tough, after

all. I should've gone for a monster that was more suited to their attack style.

"G-Good work..."

"Ch-Chief... you're incredible... Goodness me... You're actually a monster..."

Yamagata looked toward me, his tired eyes flickering with... what looked like

fear. Don't be so rude!

The two ex-members of the Takeda Clan were still standing, but their

breathing was ragged. Lain and the others, on the other hand, were almost

completely worn out.

Just like before, I cast [Refresh] to bring them back from the brink of

exhaustion.

The two old men were definitely the real deal, taking out a Red Rank monster

was no small feat. The three warriors with them were also considerably tough,

having held out so long.

I put both of the crab corpses in [Storage], then took us right back to the

castle. From there, I went to the barracks and took the crabs out.

That reminds me... do we have enough condiments and seasoning? If I

remembered right, we had a limited amount of miso, salt, soy, and other such

things, so we'd be fine for the time being. Still, I made a mental note to hurry up

with the mercantile access route.

I left the job of harvesting the crabs to the old folks and the other guys. Then,

I headed off to build a highway that would stretch across to Belfast and

Regulus.

Due to my territory originally being fraught with danger, the current road

stretched around in a massive detour. It was down to me to build a new

highway that passed through Brunhild.

It'd make the journey between Belfast and Regulus a much safer and shorter

one. I decided to leave the original highway where it was, so people still had the

option of bypassing my country if they felt like it.

"Maybe I should set up a checkpoint on the border or something. It'd be a

whole heap of trouble if some bad guys tried coming through..." I decided to

connect the checkpoint to the existing road as well. That meant I'd have to

modify the existing road between Belfast and Regulus, just a little bit, but it'd

be fine since I had permission to build a road from both countries anyway.

I used [Gate] to appear on Regulus' side of the territory.

"Wonder if I can connect this side to Belfast in one go... It'd be better if I

could make a single one-shot straight road instead of a twisty, winding mess..." I

used Earth magic to flatten the ground and smooth it out from Regulus to

Belfast. Honestly, it was already enough for it to pass as a road, but I decided

that it would be a bit lazy to leave it at that, so I paved it with smooth stone so

carriages could come across it with ease. That would also help it stay intact

during rainstorms.

After that, I built two basic checkpoints at the Regulus border and the Belfast

border. I'd have to come back later and make proper ones. I then applied the

finishing touches, including signposts. The signs read "Duchy of Brunhild, this

way!" I figured that was enough.

Even with that set up, there wasn't exactly much that would make travelers

want to head toward Brunhild. The castle could be seen from the road, but it

wasn't really enough to make the average wanderer say "Hey, I should go check

that out!"

Still, it wasn't like my castle was a tourist attraction or a revenue generator

anyway, so I decided to put Tsubaki's ninja clan to work. I liked the idea of them

manning something like a rest area, with food and drink. That way it could

become a hub of gossip and information in the middle of two major kingdoms.

Ideal for ninjas to work at if you asked me.

That reminded me, I needed to make a road connected to my castle, too. I

went and made a stone road that stopped at my castle gates. It was a simple

repeat of the previous process, just on a much smaller scale.

As I reached the castle, a pleasant smell wafted through the air.

Smells like crab stew... Man, I'm hungry.

It was decided that our new recruits would be taught how to make bicycles in

the afternoon.

I wasn't going to be the teacher, though. That task fell to Rosetta. Mostly

because she knew the details way better than me. It was better to leave it to

her, after all. She began teaching everyone how to make them from scratch,

without magic. That girl was definitely the terminal gynoid of the workshop for

a reason. If she were an engineer in my world, she'd truly be of the highest tier.

I entrusted Rosetta with the manufacturing process, and then decided to

teach people how to ride some. After all, if nobody could ride them, then

nobody would buy them!

As I was teaching the ninja adults, their children mistook my bikes for toys,

which wasn't too unreasonable, so I ended up making a bunch of kid-sized bikes

for them after they hounded me.

The grown-ups and children alike mastered the art of bike-riding in mere

minutes. Their balancing skills were on point... The ninjas of Takeda were a

terrifying force indeed.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Hoh, it's really starting to take shape, huh?"

"I know, right?" As I admired the shops lining the highway, old man Naito

nodded in appreciation.

Naito Masatoyoh, once one of the elite of Takeda, was in charge of everything

in this area. Nothing about his appearance really stood out. He just looked like a

regular old worn-out businessman.

Currently, there was nothing but a cafe, a bicycle shop, a weapon shop, an

armor shop, and a general store, but it definitely had the look of a shopping

district.

Further away from the highway, some houses were being built for the

citizens. Actually, I had assumed the shops and houses would be built in an

Eashen style, but that wasn't the case. They were all brick buildings just like in

Belfast or other western countries.

"If we emphasized our foreign culture, it'd make people feel a little cautious,"

old man Naito said.

Travelers would drop in to visit every now and then, so the place was off to a

pretty good start. The weapon shop stocked some rare and unusual swords for

the area, as well as some shurikens. The cafe menu included some Eashen

cuisine, as well as roll cakes, ice cream, pudding, and french fries.

Some rich customers would even buy bicycles on a whim, so business must've

been booming. If business kept up at this rate, the place would be a huge

success. That said, there weren't that many citizens living here, so the place

probably could've managed even without business being too prosperous. As I

considered the place's future, a former Takeda soldier rode up to us on a

bicycle.

"My lord, a merchant claiming to be your acquaintance has arrived at the

checkpoint."

"A merchant? What was their name?"

"He identified himself as Zanac the clothing merchant."

Zanac, huh? He must've come a long way to get here from Reflet.

"Okay. Let's go." I opened up a [Gate] and passed through to the checkpoint

on the Belfast side along with the soldier.

There, I saw a horse-drawn wagon loaded with unfamiliar clothing, and Zanac,

who was clad in that very same style.

"Yo, long time no see. Whoops, I guess that's no way to talk to a grand duke,

is it?"

"It's fine. Welcome to the Duchy of Brunhild." He was the first person to show

me kindness in this world. The fact that I became a duke didn't change that. I

shook Zanac's hand before speaking up.

"So, what brings you to this country? Business with the empire?"

"That too, but my primary goal is to establish trade with this country. I would

like to set up a branch store here. 'Fashion King Zanac: Brunhild,' seems fitting."

Ah. That made sense. That'd be a pretty big investment, though. We weren't

even sure people would come, so his idea seemed odd.

"The way I see it... this is your country. If you built it, they will come. Meaning

there's no disadvantage for me if I secure an ideal location while the iron's hot."

So that was his rationale. I had my doubts that a clothing store would do well at

our current stage, but it would've been a problem not to have one. After all,

clothes would get dirty and torn quickly and easily in the construction and

agriculture rush, so honestly, it was a huge help to have a clothing store.

We returned through the [Gate] to the center of town and I introduced old

man Naito to Zanac. The two of them worked out the land lot, the construction

costs, the laborers and artisans, and other various business-related matters. I

wasn't an expert in those topics, so I let them handle it amongst themselves.

Anyway... a branch store. Zanac was a real go-getter. He managed to expand

all the way from Reflet. Though he did have some of my help.

Speaking of Reflet, I wondered how Dolan and Micah were doing. Hold the

phone. It took me a while to realize it, but this country doesn't have an inn yet,

huh? Honestly, I only really thought of this place as a passing point, but travelers

and merchants will need a place to stay, right? Hmm... an inn sounds like a good

idea. I'd prefer an inn that incorporates a restaurant and an information

exchange area, too. Guess I'll need professional help, after all. I decided that I

might as well ask.

"So, I was thinking of requesting a Silver Moon branch be built in my country."

"...Another request out of nowhere, eh." Dolan crossed his arms and sighed.

That made sense. I also realized it was a sudden request.

"We'll handle the inn's construction. I want you guys to be in charge of its

management. By that, I guess I mean I want to hire you as a manager."

"So that's what you mean by a branch...?" Dolan tilted his head. Well, let's not

get too bogged down by the details.

"So, you saying you want Micah to come to that little branch then, huh?"

"Why not? I wanna go! It sounds fun!" Dolan covered up Micah's mouth with

an arm to the side as I sat across the table from them in the Silver Moon's

restaurant. It looked like Micah was ready to hop on board.

"Hmm... But it'll be tough here without Micah, you know?"

"Oh, is that so? You can just ask Tania for help, can't you? You have plenty of

spare hands as it is already."

"H-Hey, you know how that woman is...!" Dolan suddenly burst into a panic.

Tania certainly was something. She was that widow who lived on the north side

of town. She'd greeted me several times. But... was she really that close to

Dolan? I had no idea.

"Wouldn't it actually be better if I'm out of the way? Actually, can you even

really refuse when the leader of an entire country asks you directly for help?"

"Gh...! Fine, I get it! Go already! Just don't come crying back to me!" Micah

pumped her fist upon getting Dolan's reluctant consent.

I wanted to furnish the inn with a bathhouse, but there was a slight problem

there... Getting the hot spring water from Belfast. It would've been improper to

just take something from another country.

Brunhild had a waterway, so I just needed to find a way to heat the water

from there. It wouldn't have the same effect as a hot spring, but it should have

been sufficient for a bathhouse. I could blend in some [Refresh] and [Recovery]

into the water, after all.

For the time being, I took Micah back with me to where old man Naito was in

Brunhild.

"Oh, if it isn't Micah. Are you setting up a Silver Moon here, too?" Old man

Naito had been talking to Zanac, but looked over this way with a smile.

"I decided to create a state-run inn, so I brought over a manager."

"Oh, I'm a little envious. If you would like to have employee uniforms made,

then kindly keep my store in mind."

"You're a good businessman." Micah smiled as if she had thought Zanac was

joking. I didn't think it was a joke, though... Those were the eyes of a predator

on the hunt.

I had old man Naito and Micah plan out the inn's location. Since it was going

to be state-run and all, I decided it'd be better to make it on the large side.

We'd need enough space for a bathhouse too, anyway. I told Micah that I was

going to prepare a room for her, so she should come to the castle later. Then, I

left. As I strolled through the street on the way to the castle, children on tiny

bicycles headed my way.

"Ah, milord! Hello!"

"Hello! Milord!"

"Yes, hello." The kids greeted me as they zoomed past. They sure seemed

energetic. It was a good thing they liked those bicycles. It was hard to believe

that those innocent little kids came from a shinobi lineage.

I saw the kids off, and soon enough, I found a familiar girl running my way

with something in hand.

"Touya!"

"Oh, Lu. What's wrong?" Lu gasped for air as she handed me what she was

holding. A two-tiered lunchbox and a thermos?

"Here's your lunch. Since you weren't back by lunchtime and all..."

"Ahh... I haven't eaten yet, now that you mention it." I took the lunchbox and

headed to the shadow of a tree beside the road before pulling out a table and

chairs out of [Storage].

I opened up the lunchbox to find rice and a variety of side dishes like a meat

and vegetable stir-fry, sauteed burdock root, beef and potatoes, some layered

omelets, and boiled fish in soy sauce. The food was a little misshapen, though.

"Huh? Did Crea not make this?"

"Ah, actually... Well... I made it. Crea said you liked Eashen cuisine, so I had

Tsubaki teach me some of it... It's my first attempt, so it might be somewhat

awkwardly done, though..."

"Hoh." It was pretty well done considering it was her first time. I used my

chopsticks to try some of the beef and potatoes. Yup, it tasted just about right.

"It's good. I can't believe it's your first attempt."

"Really?! That's great!" Lu was bursting with joy. She was kind of overdoing it,

honestly. She had a pretty wide range of expressions, come to think of it. But

that part of her was cute. Yumina and Lu were usually quite elegant and

dignified, so it was charming to see them act like girls their age from time to

time.

"...Is something wrong?"

"Hmm? Nah. Just thinking about how cute you are."

"Hweh?!" Crap. I'd said it out loud. I kept eating, trying my best not to look at

Lu's blushing face. I was just kind of embarrassed, but the food was good. The

fish and other dishes had quite a pleasant taste.

"U-Uhm, Touya, is there any food that you hate?"

"Hmm? Not particularly. Oh, but I'm not really good with really spicy things, I

guess." Elze's super spicy chicken was hell to eat... I didn't think anyone but Elze

could stomach it.

"What about foods you like?"

"Hmm... It's gotta be Japane... I mean, Eashen food, I guess. Anything that

goes with rice, really... Ah, I really like the taste of this beef. It's the best."

"Th-Thanks..." Her face turned red again after I praised her cooking. Must be

tough.

"I've had an interest in cooking ever since I was little, but the castle workers

never let me try... Every day has been just so much fun ever since I met you,

Touya." Well yeah, I mean, she was a princess. There was no way they'd let her

cook. That said, it was a shame to let such talent go to waste.

After I finished eating, I put the table and chairs back in [Storage] before we

headed out back to the castle.

Lu kept glancing my way as she walked beside me. She'd reach her hand out

and pull it back in, reach it out, and pull it back in. And so, I reached out and

took her hand instead.

She twitched in surprise, but then clasped my hand back.

"Eheheh." Lu smiled shyly as we returned to the castle, hand in hand. We

probably looked just like siblings. Well, we weren't in any hurry. I was sure that

one day we'd look like lovers, or even husband and wife. Because I wanted to

live with her in my country, forever.

Construction began on the Brunhild branches of Zanac's clothing store and

the Silver Moon inn, so the shopping district started looking more and more like

a shopping district. Materials were running short, but I knew we'd find some

way to cover it.

Fortunately, the dearth of citizens meant there wasn't much to worry about

concerning the food supply. The forest had edible plants like berries and

mountain yams to be picked, as well as wild animals like boars and rabbits.

There were plenty of fish in the river, too. Just as the Belfast and Regulus royals

had said, this land appeared to be rather fertile. Though I guess that was why

the place had a monster problem.

Well, you could say the place was, for the most part, suitable for establishing

a new nation. Tsubaki suddenly came in with some new information.

"My lord, I have received word that something resembling those transporters

you mentioned was found in the Elfrau Kingdom, which spreads north of the

empire to the frigid tundra of the east." That was interesting. Sounded like that

information came from a merchant from Elfrau. There seemed to be a

mysterious cylindrical object hidden in a cave blocked off by ice, just as it was

with the desert ruins. Though, the shape was different this time.

If that doctor had only been consistent, it would've been simple to look for

them using search magic. I mean, I did try using the search keyword

"transporter." Since the outer appearances changed each time, these things

would only ever be recognized as "ancient ruins." I was starting to think the

doctor just hated me.

Well, it wasn't as if the thing in the cave was guaranteed to be one of those

teleporters.

Still, it must've been tough to have noticed it. Ninjas are really great.

Information gathering was probably their specialty.

"Now you can obtain another doll for your collection, Master."

"...It's depressing to think that I might get more like you." I wryly cracked back

at Cesca's utterance.

I had always thought this, but I got the feeling her personality was a slice of

the doctor's personality. After all, some of the ones like Rosetta seemed to have

some pretty artificial attitudes. Cesca, on the other hand, liked to make dirty

jokes.

For the time being, I had Tsubaki show me the object's location on the map...

It was pretty far. It was almost all the way up north. It'd probably be cold up

there.

"Rosetta, Cesca, go on ahead with Babylon. If it gets cold, just go inside the

house on the garden, okay?"

"No need to worry. Babylon deploys a barrier that maintains a moderate

temperature, so heat and cold are no concern." I thought about it, and it wasn't

that hot when we were in the desert, either. Seemed Babylon had multipurpose

air conditioning. That sure was convenient.

Perhaps it was a vital function for the plants in the garden, actually. I mean,

there could be seeds sensitive to the heat or cold.

After I sent out Cesca and Rosetta, I passed on the news about the

transporter to Leen, who jumped for joy. I didn't need to tell her about it

directly, but if I didn't, it would've surely proved to be scary later on.

Everyone went back to their rooms to prepare for a trip to an extremely cold

area. I was fine since I had my coat. After all, my coat was imbued with anticold, anti-heat, anti-blade, anti-fist, and anti-magic attributes. It wasn't really

that hot in the desert either, so I figured I'd probably be fine.

We brought Kohaku with us this time, but Kokuyou and Sango requested to

stay on house duty.

"We're weak to the cold. It's not that we freeze completely, but we'd rather

pass."

I see. It's understandable since they're a snake and a tortoise. Poor things.

Good thing humans aren't that frail.

...I was too naive. I underestimated the extreme cold. How could it even have

been so cold? Had the coat's anti-cold attribute worn off?! I started shivering as

soon as I set foot on the snow-covered territory of Elfrau. Just how many

degrees below zero was it? Meanwhile, everyone else calmly looked around.

What was the meaning of this?!

"H-How are you all okay? A-Aren't you cold?"

"I'm using warmth magic. We're all at room temperature except for you."

Leen gave away the trick to her little prank. It was so unfair. Why would she

single me out?

"Weren't you the one who said you were perfectly shielded from the cold?"

I know, I did! I'm sorry I overestimated myself! So put your magic on me too,

please!

"Come forth, Fire! A Cozy Cloak Scatters Down: [Warming]!" Leen's magical

light enveloped my body. The chill calmed down immediately.

To test the magic, I picked up some snow. It didn't feel all that cold, but it

didn't rapidly melt, either. It seemed that the magic didn't simply raise body

temperature, but perhaps acted more like a defensive barrier against the cold

instead.

Now that I was no longer distracted by the cold, I started to look around.

Hidden by the pine trees was a large icy hole in the side of a mountain. The icecovered cave continued endlessly underground. The ancient ruins we were

looking for were apparently back there.

We stepped into the cave. Despite the effects of [Warming], I could almost

swear I felt a chill run through my spine. We illuminated the cave with [Light

Orb] and slowly made our way deeper.

"Watch your footing..."

"Take it nice and easy..." The very moment I reminded everyone to be careful,

I slipped and fell on the ice. It hurt like hell. I guess it could be considered divine

punishment. Perhaps I had slipped my enemies one too many times.

"What are you doing, Touya?"

"Are you okay, Touya-dono?" Elze and Yae reached out their hands and

helped pull me up. If only I had shoes that would never slip. If I did the reverse

of slip magic, would it let me stand on ice without slipping? Despite the slippery

footing, Paula hastily descended into the icy hole. She tripped and tumbled

along the way, so I couldn't help but wonder what she was even trying to do.

Afterward, we paid even more careful attention to the cave. We almost

slipped again and again, but eventually made it safely to the bottom without

tumbling.

"...Sure is deep." Linze muttered as she looked up. Inside the icy hole was a

tall and wide cave, with icy stalagmites and stalactites clinging to the floor and

ceiling. The cave was so dark that we couldn't tell where anything was. Kohaku

led the way, alongside the orb of light. I put the tiger up front to detect any sort

of scent or sound ahead.

"My liege... Something is up ahead. I believe it is the ruins, but it looks like

there'll be some trouble..."

Huh? Found them already? Kohaku was pretty useful in the dark. I was

surprised that big cat had such acute senses... But what sort of trouble did he

mean? After a little cautious walking, I found out exactly what Kohaku was

talking about. The black cylindrical object was covered in an enormous amount

of ice. It seemed to be a wall of permafrost. A wall of ice inside a cave, and

inside the ice was a black cylindrical artifact.

"It's frozen solid... Can we even put a dent in this...?" I tried shooting one of

Brunhild's bullets into the ice, but it simply bounced right off. Typical. It figured

it was going to be tough to crack this cold one open with the girls.

"Leen... Can you melt this with magic?"

"Hmm... I'll try, but..." Flame spewed out of Leen's finger like a flamethrower,

but it was not enough to melt the ice. Why?

"Guess it's really not going to work. This isn't any ordinary ice. It's magice."

"Magice?"

"Ice that naturally accumulates magic. It can't be broken without immense

force, and not even magic can melt it easily." Well, that was a pain. I was

thinking of using [Gravity] to smash it, but it could've broken the artifact inside,

too. Couldn't use [Gate] to move just the ice, either, since it was stuck to other

places.

So perhaps melting it really would be the best option? No, but melting it with

heat could've made the cave itself collapse. The main question among us was

what to do next.

"Hmm, is there no good way?" I tried putting my hand on the ice wall. It was

cold. And that was even with the mitigating effects of [Warming]. Normally, it

would've probably been enough to freeze my skin off.

"Man, and it's right there, too."

"We could reach it easily if we could dig a tunnel..."

"A tunnel...? Ah!" The word Yumina muttered sparked a flash of inspiration. I

focused magic power into the palm of my hand. That was always an option,

after all.

"[Modeling]!" The ice warped and caved in front of me. It spread out past my

sides, forming a tunnel.

If we couldn't melt it or smash it... then all we needed to do was reshape it.

After all, our goal wasn't to remove the ice. It was the same trick I used to bust

the old guys out back in Eashen.

I reshaped more and more of the magice. Eventually, the cylindrical object

appeared from within the ice.

"Now then, let's take this back to Babylon and figure out if it can teleport..."

"It sure is big." Lu was right. The cylindrical artifact was about six or seven

meters in diameter and three meters tall. It was almost like a giant tuna can.

I tried circling the object by reshaping the ice with [Modeling], but I couldn't

find an entrance or anything. There was nothing that looked like a door, and

unlike the desert artifact, it didn't look like there was a way to slip into it by

touching it.

I wondered what it could be... Since the shape reminded me of a tuna can, I

recalled how tuna cans were opened. It's from the top, right? I transformed the

ice into the shape of stairs and carefully made my way to the top, telling

everyone to wait at the bottom.

There was nothing on the top of the artifact except for a single cavity in the

center that was about one meter in diameter. Is that it? I cautiously stretched

my foot out to check, and sure enough, it slipped through. So that really was

the entrance. That mysterious wall that only I, master of all six elements, could

pass through.

"I found the entrance. I'm going in. Everyone stay on alert. If anything

happens, contact me through Kohaku." I instructed everyone down below

before cautiously leaping in through the top. I pierced through the ceiling and

landed inside. There I found a dim, pale light, and a magic circle with six stone

pillars. It seemed this was indeed a remnant of Babylon.

I poured magic of each of the six elements into each of the six stone pillars.

After all six elements had been poured, the circle began emitting a faint light.

Finally, I stepped into the center and poured out some Null magic. A dazzling

light engulfed me, and I vanished in a flash.

◇ ◇ ◇

Spread before me was the standard scene I'd grown accustomed to. A

beautiful expanse of trees, a bright blue sky overhead, and luscious green grass

as far as I could see, with a pure stream of water running through it. It seems

that I had successfully warped to a new place.

I was hoping that it'd be either the hangar or the library. The storehouse

would also be quite welcome, because I'd finally be able to punish whoever was

responsible for all the trouble I'd been through so far.

I walked by the water, and eventually a building became visible through a

clearing in the trees. The building was around three stories tall. It was fitted

with stained glass windows, and had a regal air about it, somewhat like a

church. It didn't have any religious iconography on it or anything, though.

The building looked to be built with red brick, all the way to the roof.

Alongside it, an octagonal building jutted upward. It looked a bit like a pagoda.

"Pretty sure this is a piece of Babylon, but..."

"You're quite right, you see. A very warm welcome to you. Welcome to the

alchemy lab." I turned toward the sudden greeting and found myself face-toface with a golden-eyed young girl. She was fairly tall, had pale white skin, and

beautiful pink hair that flowed to the side in a ponytail. She looked older than

Cesca, physically at least.

She wore a dark top, with a large pink ribbon about her chest. On her lower

body there were black tights, and a fairly standard white skirt. Her outfit wasn't

really different from the ones worn by the other two when I'd met them. There

was one thing setting her aside from the other two Gynoids, however. The size

of the mounds beneath the ribbon on her outfit. She was on Cecile's level at the

very least...

"I'm the Terminal Gynoid of the Alchemy Lab of Babylon, you see. My name is

Bell Flora. But please, call me Flora." If her name was Bell Flora, then I thought

it'd make more sense to call her Bell, but... it was her call. That reminded me,

Cesca's full name was actually Francesca. Maybe in their culture it was normal

to call people by the latter part of their names or something.

But still, she had said we were in the lab. That meant it wasn't any of the

facilities we were looking for.

"You've arrived here, you see. That means you have the same attributes as

the doctor. But only a person deemed worthy can become the administrator of

the Alchemy Lab of Babylon."

"I know all this already. I've already been recognized by the Terminal Gynoids

from both the garden and workshop."

"The garden and the workshop? That means you've met Cesca and Rosetta,

you see? My, it's almost been five thousand years... How nostalgic." Flora

smiled happily and put her hands to her chest. Jiggle, jiggle... They both

jiggled...

My eyes darted downward, staring without my consent. In that moment, I

knew what had happened. She'd used magic on me! That was it. That must've

been it. She'd cast a wicked hex on me!

"For those two to have accepted you, you must have the required qualities,

you see... But even so, you must pass my test!" Her test? Oh, that suddenly

reminded me that Cesca and Rosetta both had tests for me as well... a thought

that drove a cold sweat to my brow. But it was already too late. As I was lost in

thought, my body was taken advantage of. Flora grasped me by the hand,

forcing my digits and palm against her spongy orbs.

S-Soft... A soft sensation spread across my hand. The sponginess, the

springiness... I couldn't stop myself. Flora's sudden action had scared me, so I

instinctively flexed my fingers. I'd unintentionally groped her. It was inevitable,

it was unavoidable! It wasn't my fault, but even so, the deed was done. I had

given her a firm squeeze.

"A-Ahh, y-you see...?" Flora's lovely voice snapped me back to reality, so I

quickly realized what was going on. She had violated me, somehow!

"Wh-Wh-What the hell?!" I was in a very compromising position, so I yelled

out in a flurry, but... I had to be calm, I had to be composed.

"Ufufu... You've passed the test! If you had turned into a savage beast and

bent my knees back here and now, you'd have been disqualified for sure, you

see!"

Beast?! What the hell is wrong with you, lady?! You just sexually harassed me,

in reverse? I guess? I don't get it, but this doesn't sit right with me! Flora

suddenly began to undo her ribbon, then started unfastening the buttons on

her blouse. I had no idea what I was even looking at.

"Now for level two, you see... Let's see if you can hold back much longer...!"

Her breasts heaved and shuddered as they sprang forth from her blouse. My

eyes couldn't process what was in front of them. Fully nude, fully uncensored,

up close and personal. My eyes instinctively darted away. Why the hell wasn't

she wearing a bra?

"H-Hey! Put them back in already! I'm not gonna jump you, quit it!"

"Are you sure? You could squeeze them, rub them, tweak them all you like,

you see..."

"I'm quite fine, thank you! I've had my fill!" I didn't even know what I meant

by that. My mouth just moved on its own, so I was spewing confused garbage. I

could almost hear the doctor laughing at my flustered panic... If I had a time

machine, I was sure I'd have used it to go back and show her a thing or two...

"...Very well, would you like to shove them back into my blouse?"

"I said I'm quite fine, thanks!" I yelled at her, quite irritated. Seemed that this

girl contained a twinge of the doctor's personality, as well. It really ticked me

off.

"I recognize you formally as a man suitable for the job. Therefore, I, Number

Twenty-One, Bell Flora, hereby relinquish myself to you. Please treat me well,

Master." Flora adjusted her outfit and gave me a beaming smile.

Just as I'd expected, this girl was a whole heap of trouble. Before I could even

process my thoughts, she violently grabbed me by the face and pulled my lips to

hers. No, not again!

"Augh!" Just like with Cesca and Rosetta, she swirled her tongue around the

inside of my mouth. Mmph, hey! Get off me... I— Help! After spending a short

while violating my mouth with her tongue, Flora pulled back. Not before

nibbling my lower lip, though.

"Mm, genetic registration confirmed. Your genetic information has entered

my system, Master. From now on, the Alchemy Lab of Babylon is yours to

command, you see." I heard Flora talk to me, but I was too zoned out and

exhausted to fully take in what she was saying. Come on, lady... If you were the

guy and I was the girl, that definitely wouldn't have been considered okay,

would it?!

"This is a facility that specializes in the combination of materials through

magic, you see. Though we primarily specialize in medication and food, we are

able to do things with other materials, if need be." I was listening to Flora

explain the functions of the Alchemy Lab of Babylon to me. Functionally, it

sounded kind of similar to my enchanting spell. From what I understood, it

could do something similar to what I did when I enchanted the Silver Moon's

hot springs with [Recovery], just on a much grander scale.

"So, what kind of things can you make here?"

"We can create useful items, you see. Potions that cure you of injury, for

example. But we can also imbue items with certain qualities, like making plants

that bear disease-resistant fruits. Plants that would pass that quality on to

whoever ate it, you see." That was definitely interesting to hear. I had a feeling

something like that would come in handy in Brunhild's agricultural movements.

"We are also equipped with a state-of-the-art medical facility, you see. If you

were to have an arm ripped from its socket, or a leg shredded into grisly,

writhing strips of red paste, we would simply grow you a new one!" I wondered

if that was something more along the lines of biotechnology or life-restoring

magic. I guess it dealt with science in the same way that fermenting natto, soy

sauce, miso, and yogurt did. Still, her mention of selective breeding made me

think it was more related to genetic modification.

I wondered if we'd be able to use this place to clone people, or create

homunculi... Given that Flora, the girl before me, was a gynoid with mostly

biological parts... Well, it was entirely possible that she and the others were

grown here.

I decided not to think about that too much.

"Could you crossbreed an apple with an orange to make a new fruit?"

"That is indeed possible, you see. I can create an orange with the taste of an

apple, as well as the inverse! I can even create a crop that fuses the flavor of

both into one fruit." That was incredible, but I had no idea how it worked. I

wondered if we could cross garlic seeds with rice grains, and produce the ability

to grow garlic rice... One fact was clear, this piece of Babylon had some of the

most bizarre potential out of the lot. Still, it was more apt to call this a kind of

magical synthesis, rather than alchemy. There was nothing scientific about it at

all.

"They've been modified by magic, but they're still plants, you see. How they

grow will depend on the hand of the one nurturing them. The taste will likely

vary based on how well they're taken care of." Well, that made sense enough to

me. We'd be introducing crops that had never before been seen in the world,

though... So frankly, it was unknown whether or not they'd even turn out okay.

The only way to know would be to try growing them. I made a mental note to

set up an experimental farm for this very purpose.

As I listened to Flora's explanation, I finally set foot in the lab itself. On one

side, there was a row of glass cases of all different shapes and sizes, all lined up

in a row. On the other, there were various tool cabinets and storage units.

There was something that looked like a control panel in the middle of the room,

and beyond that there were a ton of cylindrical cases made out of glass. They

sort of looked like cryogenic pods from old sci-fi movies. I wondered if they

were capsules people would enter to be treated.

"This is a gathering of the many amazing chemicals and potions the professor

synthesized, you see. Most of these are medicinal, in fact."

"Amazing... So she actually researched things for the betterment of

humanity..."

"She certainly did, you see. Love potions, high-potency aphrodisiacs, erotic

stimulants, energy tablets, libido enhancers, sensitivity agents, fertilityguaranteeing drugs... She was amazing, you see. All of these things are of the

greatest potency, and with zero side effects."

"Never mind, I take it all back!" That damn old doctor was too horny for her

own good. The only kind of medication she whipped up here was for a very

specific subset of people!

"The effect of this one is supposed to be beyond reason, you see. I've heard

it's so strong that you'll feel as though you've died and gone to heaven...! I've

never tried it myself, you see, but... i-if you'd like to indulge with me, master...!"

"For the sake of the sanctity of life, I outright refuse!" Was this some kind of

sick joke? I wondered if this stuff was actually safe and without side-effects,

though... Things were mighty suspicious in the lab. Well, it didn't matter much. I

wasn't planning on using any of it either way... At least I probably wouldn't use

any of it, yet.

"Didn't the doctor create anything, like... normal?"

"Not at all." Damn, that was blunt. This facility really was useless to me, after

all... It was like a complete manifestation of whimsical nonsense. I began to

wonder whether or not bringing my precious brides-to-be near this place would

be a good idea...

I left the lab and bared myself to the wind, deep in thought. Well, I have no

choice but to bring the others...

"The Alchemy Lab of Babylon...? Is that even going to be of any use to us?"

Leen let out a frustrated mutter. Seems she was disappointed it wasn't the

facility she was after.

I'd called everyone over to the new facility, then set a course for Brunhild. I

was planning on linking up the new piece to our Babylon puzzle.

"Uhm... did I do something wrong, you see?"

"No, don't mind it." Flora looked over with a troubled expression. It wasn't a

problem that Leen was irritated, but if she was going to get like this every time

until we found the library, I decided I'd stop bringing her along. That aside,

everyone except Leen was staring over at Flora.

"Ah, are you the one in charge of the lab...?"

"Ah, I'm Flora, you see."

"Th-They're big..." Both Yumina and Lu had their eyes transfixed on Flora's

hefty melons.

"Wh-What's with those things?"

"I-I can't possibly win... Not against those... Th-They knock me out of the

park..." The twins shuddered in misery for some reason... Yae and Leen, on the

other hand, didn't seem especially troubled. Yae's bust was about the same size

as Flora's anyway, while Leen seemed to be deep in thought.

I wondered why they cared so much... Well, it wasn't too hard to figure out.

After all, a man tends to glance at larger things more often. In the end, I didn't

care. Big or small, the chest still held the heart. Big ones were eye-catching, but

it didn't matter much to me in the end.

"D-Do you prefer them big, Touya?!" Lu looked at me with wide eyes,

seeming about ready to cry. That wasn't the case at all! Flora's big knockers had

nothing to do with my tastes. Sure, my eyes might have occasionally darted

down there, but my heart wasn't dominated by her chest.

"You should not fret, you should not. Lu-dono and Yumina-dono will surely

blossom at a later date, they will. When I was your age, my bust was around the

same size, it was." Yae's words brought hope to the saddened eyes of Yumina

and Lu, but Elze and Linze simply sank into a deeper despair.

"...Perhaps we could make them grow with a little massage?"

"What the hell?! Don't say stupid crap like that!" I ended up overreacting to

Leen's casual comment. That irritating fairy really never knew when to shut up.

Upon hearing the exchange, everyone except Flora averted their eyes and

blushed beet red. Flora herself only smiled widely, then opened her mouth.

What are you doing?

"Ehehe, my dear master already massaged mine a short time ago, you see..."

Why in the world did you think that was a good thing to say right now?!

Everyone, other than Leen, turned their gazes upon me in seconds flat. Flora

opened her mouth with an innocent little smile, then... dealt the final blow to

her enemies with her words.

"He planted a wonderful kiss upon my lips as well, you see."

What?! You damned fiend, what the hell are you saying?! Are you taking a

sick pleasure in all of this?! You're the one who kissed me! I thought I could see

Doctor Babylon's wicked grin hiding behind Flora's innocent beaming for a

moment there.

"Touya, I believe we need to have a small chat..." Yumina turned to me,

smiling, but there was no kindness in her eyes. All of the other girls wore the

same terrifying expression.

Wait, no! This is a misunderstanding! I'm innocent here! I was made to bow

down and listen to all of them yell at and lecture me for some time after that. It

wasn't fair... Once again, I was reminded of why hunting for the pieces of

Babylon was a terrible idea.

Paula patted me gently on the shoulder, reassuring my dejected self. Only she

was there to comfort my wounded heart.

◇ ◇ ◇

The alchemy lab docked with the workshop and the garden, way up in the

skies of Brunhild. At this point, the structure was around the size of a castle. It

didn't really have that many buildings, though.

Cesca wore a maid uniform, Rosetta a workman's overalls. Flora, on the other

hand, changed into a nurse outfit. I guess they all had their preferences for

casual attire. I wasn't really sure why she made that choice of all things. But I

did consider the fact that the alchemy lab doubled as a medical facility, so it

wasn't too farfetched to call it a reasonable choice of clothing.

That being said, I thought her choice of a pink nurse outfit complete with

matching white stockings-and-garter belt combo was pushing it a little far. It felt

more like a sexy nurse outfit than an actual uniform. Not to mention the fact

that the outfit really seemed to emphasize the bust. I had no idea where to

look.

Flora's medical knowledge was fairly extensive, so I decided to put a doctor's

office inside the castle for her to work out of. I could pretty much heal whatever

with my magic, but having an actual medical facility in-house would be a very

useful emergency backup.

In the meantime, I planned to have the alchemy lab produce rice hybrids. I

had acquired many rice seeds from Eashen, and the plan was to imbue them

with resistance to disease and general plant-destroying trouble. I had set aside

a plot of land in the eastern part of my nation, it was my experimental

agricultural zone. I hoped it would work out.

The street along the highway to Brunhild was also being well developed. Old

man Naito was really giving it his best, so I was quite happy about that.

The Brunhild Branch of the Silver Moon had been opened successfully too, it

would prove a good place for weary travelers to rest their heads. I had set up a

bath house there, too. It was proving pretty popular, on account of its fatiguerestoring properties. Micah ended up hiring a whole fleet of employees, most of

which were ex-Takeda ninjas. It felt like she was really stepping into the shoes

of a managerial position.

"Seems Brunhild is coming along quite nicely... quite nicely indeed..."

Clink.

"Well, it's Touya's nation, after all. I wasn't too concerned."

Clink.

"Ah, sorry, Beastking. That's Pon. Hoho..."

Clink.

"Heheheh. This is what you get for calling off me. Ron, Emperor. Tanyao,

Pinfu, and Iipeikou. That's 3900 points." Ah, Refreese's emperor just played into

the emperor of Regulus's hand. Wait, what were these guys doing here? This

was Brunhild castle's gaming center. And the rulers of the western nations were

all gathered around its mahjong table. But not me. I wasn't here to play

mahjong.

"So, what exactly did you call us all here for?"

"Hm? No real reason. I simply wished to play mahjong with you all."

The king of Belfast responded casually. That's why they were here? I even

went out of my way to use the Gate to check up on them. These guys really

need to take their safety more seriously.

They pushed all their tiles into the depression in the center, and the

automatic table provided them with a new fully shuffled set. They distributed

the tiles with practiced movements and began their next game. They've really

taken a liking to this game...

"Well, I also thought this would make for a good opportunity to exchange

information." The emperor smiled as he discarded a tile. I was glad they're all

getting along, but this was a little worrying. It would be a pretty big problem if

all the heads of state neglected running their countries and spent all day playing

mahjong instead.

"So you said you were swapping international gossip?"

"Indeed. Lately there's been a bit of a stir within the Ramissh Theocracy." The

King of Belfast spoke up whilst sorting through his tiles. I had vaguely heard

about the Ramissh Theocracy, it was a sovereign nation located to the

southeast of Regulus. If I remembered right, it was close to Mismede, accessible

by crossing the Great Gau River. You could also reach Belfast by going

downstream further from there.

"What's happening over there?"

"Well they say that there's been a vampire running about Isla, their holy city."

"A vampire?" That certainly sounded strange. But, on the other hand... I

might've just been out of the loop. Vampires could just be another common

species in this world. I tentatively looked over to the beastking. He was a demihuman, after all.

"According to what I've heard, there's new victims every night. Each of the

corpses found is a dry husk, drained of all its blood." How terrifying. This

murderer certainly had questionable hobbies.

"That's why people think it's the work of a vampire... a member of the

Vampire Clan." The emperor explained to me as he dropped a tile. The Vampire

Clan, huh? So there was an actual race of people known as vampires, then.

Well, seeing as there was an Aquatic Clan in Mismede, it stood to reason that

there would be a lot of different races in this world.

"The truly troublesome thing about this incident is that it had to be in

Ramissh. Its citizens are all devout followers of Lars, the god of light. They

despise denizens of the dark, no matter who they are. Anyone who so much as

has an affinity with dark magic is shunned." The beastking grimaced as he

discarded his tile. Seriously? That sounded more like a cult than a religion.

"Who's this Lars guy?"

"Hm? Oh, you haven't heard of him Touya? It's an old legend about the

founding of Ramissh. A thousand years ago, the land was overrun by demons

and spirits. But then Lars descended from the heavens and cleansed the land of

all that was evil. The people that lived there came to worship this god of light,

and spread his gospel wherever they could. That was how the Theocracy of

Ramissh came to be...or so the tale goes." I tilted my head in confusion at the

king of Belfast's explanation. God of light, huh? I already knew two gods, so

perhaps it wasn't so farfetched a story after all. I doubt the god of love had

anything to do with it, but there was always the other one. Though I couldn't

imagine it, really.

Besides, it seemed like he liked to avoid getting involved in worldly affairs. He

had a bunch of other worlds to manage as well too, so he was probably too

busy to deal with every little problem that popped up.

I could always call him up and ask, but it didn't really seem important enough

to warrant it. He'd probably get annoyed if I called him up for every little thing.

He was God, after all.

"Dealing with Ramissh is always so irksome. They insist on making every

decision based on their holy doctrine. Everything is done 'in the name of justice

and light.' They're all so stiff and uptight. Their pope especially."

"Oh yes, I cannot deal with that pope either. Any time we meet I always get a

lecture. All that old crone ever does is nag. Well, I suppose she does mean

well."

The emperor and the beastking exchanged wry smiles. Pope?

"Excuse me, but when you say pope, what do you mean?"

"Ramissh is a theocracy, not a monarchy. The ruler is elected from among the

highest ranking bishops at the time, they don't inherit their position. Once

elected, the pope rules until they die, or chooses to retire. The current pope is

Elias Altra. Or rather popess. This is the twentieth year of her reign so she must

be past sixty by now... Ah ha." The Refreese emperor dropped his tile onto the

table.

"That's a ron, Emperor. Pinfu with two dora. 3900 points."

"Again?!" Once more, the Refreese emperor had played into the emperor of

Regulus' hand. The beastking looked up at the sky in defeat.

"Ahh, I almost had a chinitsu too...Why must you keep going for quick wins

with cheap hands, Your Highness?"

"Strategy, my good man. Even if I never win big, as long as I'm the only one

who wins, I'll come out ahead."

The king replied triumphantly. Luck was what made mahjong such a thrilling

game after all. In a way, their playstyles reflected their personalities as well. You

could learn a lot about someone by how they played. The Belfast king continued

talking as they pushed all the tiles into the center.

"The Vampire Clan is actually one of the few clans that make up the

demonkin. They're not exactly a rare species, but they definitely know what

Ramissh thinks of their kind, so it's odd that one would show up there. There's

something fishy about this whole situation." It did sound like suicide for a

denizen of the dark to show up there. Though if the vampire hadn't been

caught yet, that meant he was doing a pretty good job of hiding. Hmm, this

definitely struck me as odd...

"Well, as long as it's not affecting us there's no reason to worry about it. It's

not like the entire clan has started attacking people or anything. Though if

Ramissh starts going after the whole clan because of this, I'd take the vampires'

side." The beastking harrumphed loudly and crossed his arms over his chest.

Beastmen were still discriminated against in a lot of places. He probably hated

the idea of someone being persecuted just for their race or birthplace. Though I

agree it's a little fanatic to believe anyone that belongs to the dark is

automatically evil.

The Ramissh Theocracy...

It didn't sound like a place I'd want to go to. I did believe in Gods, and I

probably had more reason to be grateful to them than most, but I couldn't say I

cared for religion.

In the end, the Refreese emperor kept losing to the emperor of Regulus, and

the round ended with him in the lead. The four rulers agreed to meet again the

next month and went home.

Seems they'd decided to make it a regular thing.