Since then, hordes of humanoid monsters continued to pour in from the miasma hole of doom.
The village of Ona located in the north eastern part of the territory of Est has completely turned into the frontline between the monsters and humans.
Feeling the need to arm ourselves, we enhanced the fence surrounding the village, and erected small, stone-made towers equipped with large cannons.
We had around 20 young villagers, who had also become able to operate the iron cannons, for self-defense, so you could say we had enough defense capability, even without having to borrow people from Est's garrison or its adventurers' guild.
Louise, who seemed to be previously perturbed by the modern weapons, added another 2 people to her group of warriors, mounted her horse, and set off to conduct some reconnaissance. That was rare coming from Louise.
For some reason, Louise didn't take a liking to the small arms, and instead used a small bow. Nevertheless, despite saying so, not only did she teach her subordinates, Suzanne & Claudia, horse riding, she also taught them how to operate guns, making them become a platoon of unrivalled dragoons (soldiers capable of using guns and horses.)
At first, I wondered to myself if it was fine to teach only girls horse riding, but apparently, horse riding is more suited for people with small builds, so I was surprised at these two being able to quickly learn how to ride horses.
Well, the one who could truly fight on a horse was Louise, but, there should be no problem for the others if it was a simple scouting that involved long ranged attacks.
As one would expect, children are much more flexible.
While we are at it, I, who was appointed as a real knight, tried to practice some horse riding, but then quickly gave up.
It was much more fun to move on a horse cart, so I considered that as a better option.
Today as well, Lyle-sensei and I went to Ona village on our covered wagon, in order to collect soap and gunpowder from there.
Ona received lots of damage to their stock-farming from the monsters, but through our guidance, the village helped us with the production of new goods and thrived in business even more than before.
It was only thanks to us betting on the village that we were able to utilize it to its full potential, but, it felt nice to see one's own village thrive.
"Lord-sama, it's the enemy's attack!"
"Ah no, I'm not a lord….. ehhh, didn't Louise and the rest head that way?"
A young man dashed to me in a hurry while carrying his gun.
In the end, I was just a governor and not a lord, but even if had explained that, the villager wouldn't have understood.
Not to mention, it felt uneasy to be called 'lord' by someone who was older than me.
Still, for the enemy to appear near the outskirts of the village, despite Louise and the rest setting off for their scouting, could it be they were aiming for this place?
I looked in the direction which the villager pointed out and saw a cloud of dust rising from the other side of the meadows, together with a battalion approaching.
It was still small, so I couldn't tell, but, were they orcs again? There was quite a number of them.
"It's probably a diversion."
Even though the village was about to receive the attack, Lyle-sensei said so with a smiling face.
I've been hanging out with him for quite a long time, so I can understand him, but, this person is interesting.
Sensei is unexpectedly fond of wars, despite him being an official…..
"Are orcs really that smart?"
"There are rare instances where a senior orc will become an orc lord. I guess, we'll be dealing with a slightly tougher opponent."
Lyle-sensei faced toward the battalion of orcs and casted his magic that would hold them. As he did so, some villagers from the self-defense team climbed the small towers with batteries and took their posts.
Sensei chuckled to himself while holding his handbook which contained his calculations he would do each time we aimed the cannons.
Despite the upcoming battle, his expression was too imprudent, which made me pull back.
Well, all I can do is follow Sensei's tactic.
"Anyway, we'll gather and fight!"
"Ohhhh!"
Carrying their arquebuses, the self-defense team gathered around me.
I immediately handed out cartridges that were loaded on the covered wagon.
The accuracy of the arquebus wasn't high.
Therefore, unless we gather and fire into the enemy, the weapon won't become effective.
I think it's that thing called a 'barrage'. I wish there was some guy who could say things like 'our barrage is weak, we need to strengthen it'.
The self-defense team made from villagers wasn't as skilled as our girls, but, they were trained for a mass battle.
Lining up horizontally, the villagers lay in wait for the orcs that had passed through the village's enclosure.
They were quite numerous. If serious, the orcs will become a threat, however, our side didn't plan to lose.
Boko – A sound of crumbling was generated as the vanguard of the orcs fell into a hole.
If memory serves me right, was it 'Earth Trap'? It was quite a basic level earth spell, however, the range you could use it over and cause the ground to fall down is wide.
In a battle that involved a large number of units, even a simple fence or a pitfall would prove more effective than any attack spell.
The orcs charged vigorously, however, they stopped in front of the pitfall.
"Excellent, shoot!"
On that command, the guns fired at the same time.
At the sound of the explosion that was large than anything, and the severe rain of lead, the orcs started to lose composure and they….. didn't escape.
"GuuuuuuGagagaaaaaGoogogooooo!"
A terrific war cry, which was hard to describe, made the orcs behind step forward and hold back their puzzled comrades, who were about to break formation.
What tried to come out sluggishly from the hoard was a giant orc king that was twice as big in comparison with a normal orc.
It was wearing a helmet, with a large horn attached to it, and a waving red mantle. The orc king carried a stone-made hammer, which was longer than him.
I see, so this is an orc lord?
It's dignified body that stood out was the proof of its violent power.
With just a single war cry, the orc instinctively delivered fear to its enemy, and made other orcs shake.
If I were to describe the orc's ferocity, it would be that its eyes were filled with the color of wicked wisdom, alongside its madness.
A monster that could make everyone shiver with just its gaze.
I honestly wouldn't like to take it on as my opponent. No, actually, by no means.
'I guess it will be here soon.' – I thought so, covered my ears and put my head down.
That very moment, an explosion of flames together with a violent shock rose into the air. The fearsome orc lord and some of its allies disappeared amid the cloud of dust.
Dokan! – A firing sound that shook the air reverberated with a delay.
I was able to endure the impact, as I could tell from the ground trembling when it would come.
Beside me, this side too, became desperate to endure the shock wave and the tremble coming from the impact.
"Phew, you guys are truly scary, despite us being allies...Everyone, keep firing the cannonballs rapidly."
"Yes!"
Far from the orc lord remaining where the cloud of dust arose, there was only a wide hole opened.
Both the skin and meat of the rare orc lord had probably been blown away somewhere.
I'm sure, Louise will be sad upon hearing that.
I don't know how strong the orc lord was exactly, but, if you come uninvited like that in front of a large cannon, it's bound for you to become like this.
In the end, the orc only possessed the intelligence of general Saruyama.
It was an explosion coming from a large cannon firing at a close distance.
It was so strong, even our side received some damage coming from the impact and blast of the cannonballs. Having lost their commander, and being at their wits end, the hoard of orcs scattered and ran away.
We used that momentum and killed as many as possible.
Our side had zero deaths. Even those who were injured would recover with potions.
The killed monsters would leave masses of dropped equipment, meat, and skins as a resource. The more battles we fought, the more this village would thrive.
"As expected of Lyle-sensei."
I directed these words of gratitude toward Sensei, who was getting off the small tower.
Thanks to his leadership, only one shot was needed to dishevel the orcs.
That alone, let us seize victory, as the shot aimed directly at the enemy's leader.
"What? The gist of this battle was to use both magic and large cannons, you know?"
"I see, so it was thanks to that?"
'Have I granted an outrageous weapon to an outrageous person?' – I pondered for a bit about that and became scared.
Not only was he able to skillfully operate the large cannon by himself, but also direct the villagers, and even teach them tactics.
Could it be it was actually Lyle-sensei who a threat to this world, rather than orcs?
Well, as an ally, he's a dependable person, but…
—Scene Change—
Our business was doing extremely well.
Once I established a trade chain that stretched around the territory of Est, and acquired numerous covered wagons, I decided to transfer my knowledge of manufacture, sales, and even peddling to the slave girls, so as to have them do all the tasks, instead of me.
In other words, I've gained a little bit of free time.
Our prosperity has also resulted, in major part, from Sharon's managements skills.
"Sharon, you should change your shift from time to time and have some fun."
"Haa, then, I'd like to go shopping."
Sharon made a face that was rare for her.
Well, I was just killing time on a whim, but I also wanted Sharon to relax from time to time.
I too, didn't want to just peddle, but also enjoy how my company thrives, from the top of the building.
Despite saying so, what our company handled were still soap, detergents, and gunpowder.
Besides that, Viola was also making ornaments for display from gathered herbs and wildflowers, but it also didn't seem like she was that busy.
I, on the other hand, would stop by places deep inside the city, and have some idle chat with the workers at the Earl's castle while promoting my soaps and detergents.
'That's right, back in my high school, I would do things, like running a refreshment booth.' – I thought about that nostalgically.
Back then, I wasn't optimistic about joining my class exhibition, but, I would enjoy treating other people with my cooking,
Despite me having been in this world for only half a year, my past memories felt as though they were distant.
"Somehow, it feels like I can enjoy my peace after a long time…."
…..The customers won't come.
Even though I went through the trouble of making firecrackers as a form of toys, nobody from this city's citizens would buy them, as they were fully regarded as a weapon for battle. What a pity.
As expected, I wonder if I should increase the number of goods in our repertoire.
"Ahh! So you were here!"
"Welcome…."
A young woman wearing a white mantle with blue lines suddenly pointed at me upon entering inside.
I guess, she's not someone I know.
"Nice to meet you, I come from the A-sama Church, and I am a sister. My name is Steriana."
"You aren't trying to deceive me, right….?"
On her white mantle, there was a blue colored symbol of the A-sama Church.
Even I knew that much, so I didn't consider the possibility of her being a scoundrel trying to impersonate someone from a church.
To begin with, I wasn't a big fan of religionists.
I was quite familiar with the them, and was sick and tired of their natural-like attitude, so I unintentionally grouped this person together with the rest.
"That's wrong, I'm a full-fledged woman who walks the path of evangelism. Not a sibling's sister, but a real sister, Steriana!"
"Haa, nice to meet you….."
The sister, whose hood was deeply covering her eyes, smiled at me and held out a silver ankh from her voluptuous chest.
I intended to say this as a joke, but, was I really supposed to accept it?
"Despite me asking around many shops, I had hard time meeting with the 'rumored' Sawatari-sama. You could even say that our encounter is fate, which we owe to the guidance of the Goddess of Genesis. Ahh, A-sama be praised."
The item she held looked like a cross, but, the head of it was a bit spread apart. The woman held out the ankh and prayed.
I felt troubled having someone suddenly pray in front of my shop, but...
While we are at it, the A-sama Church is the biggest one in this world's religious society.
This is also knowledge I had acquired from the holy document I'd borrowed from Lyle-sensei, but….
Apparently, the Goddess of Genesis, called A-sama, is the one who created this world's origin 8000 years ago from chaos. The followers of A-sama revere the one and only goddess, forbid race discrimination, impartiality between sexes, and teaches about love for all living things.
Despite there being such a wonderful religion, there exists the slavery system, the weak and poor are oppressed, and there are races, like nymphs, that are publicly persecuted. You could say it was ironic.
Well, I guess those religionists are the kind of people who are different on the outside and inside.
Perhaps, this was something common in a fantasy world.
Still, rather than spreading some fanatic teaching, I think the powerless and peaceful goddess-sama is way better than that.
While we are at it, the spreading of the holy letters, which I could use (somehow, it turned out like this.), was also thanks to the faith of A-sama.
While it's obvious, an outsider like me has no religious piety, so I've never gone to a church here before, since I had no need for learning holy-based spells.
Wait a moment. What did sister mean by 'rumored'?
"'Rumored', what do you mean by that?"
"Yes, you're rumored. Right now, you're considered as a first rank hero, Sawatari-sama, who had arrived from nowhere to the city of Est, established his own company within the blink of an eye, saved the village of Ona from the savage monsters, and was bestowed knighthood and the title of governor from the Earl-sama….."
"Ah, no, you're praising me way too much."
"I've also heard you are a philanthropist who rescued slave children on the verge of death. You've gained quite a reputation here in this neighborhood."
"Ah, no….."
I'll be ill at ease if you praise me this much.
"Even though you're such a strong and kind person, you have no piety toward A-sama!"
"Yes….."
Just when I thought she was praising me, for some reason, our talk turned into a difficult one.
"Still, you're the one and only Sawatari-sama. I, Steriana, won't mind any trivial thing. I've come here today so as to help you deepen your belief from now on, and ask for a contribution from the Sawatari company to our church."
"A contribution?"
Anyways, I, who was branded as someone with zero magic skills, and who probably couldn't even use a recovery spell, didn't plan to deepen my faith at all, but….
"This is a talk between us, but, we've received lots of donations from companies in other cities. It was thanks to everyone being deeply religious that we were saved."
"Ah, I see, so it was like that?"
I had finally given up. Even in this world, the church holds the same power as a king.
It was probably a form of demand to pay for holding a place, on top of running one's business.
However, back when the city of Est was attacked, there were also priests from the church who helped by treating others.
Normally, when you're requested to pay a contribution, I can think of it as nothing more than paying one's tax.
"Then, how much would suffice as a contribution?"
"Your will is all that matters to us."
For the time being, I tried to present her 1 golden coin.
Are, she won't accept it?
"Your will is all that matters to us!"
"….."
Then, one more coin.
"Your will is all that matters to usssss!"
"...."
Is it not enough? Then, I'll add 5 more.
The golden coins, which I placed on the table with ka-ching, were sucked inside the sister's robe's hem in a blink an eye.
"Thank you for your contribution! Deeper than any sea or mountain, Sawatari-sama's deep act of devotion will surely be responded to by the benevolence of A-sama!"
"Yes, thank you very much."
I don't mind if it's a contribution around one's necessary expenses, but, I didn't want to quarrel with this person.
I want her to go back already.
"By all means, if you have any free time, please visit our site once. I, Steriana, shall welcome you whole-heartedly and with great attention to detail."
"Is that so…..?"
"Yes, ummm….. please feel at ease and call me by my nickname, Ria. Everyone who's a close friend of mine calls me that. And since, I too, will be calling Sawatari-sama by Takeru, I beg, you by all means."
"Haa…. you mean it?"
Why did she suddenly start to address people without honorifics? This sister has a strange sense of distance.
The sister gradually approached me at the shop counter and bent her body forward.
Oi oi, don't just place your chest on the counter!
Even if you give me that service, I won't increase my contribution, you know?
I wonder if she's feeling alright, having a chest that huge.
Could it be that this nun's thick robe is actually intended to emphasize her awfully huge rack, and arouse one's sexual desire?
Hmm. I have the feeling this sister is giving out an intimidating air for some reason.
Better not get too involved with her…..
If only I hadn't suffered from being unsociable when talking for the first time with a woman, I'd have immediately found a good reason and chased this nun away.
"Is there anything you're troubled with? It's my job to assist everyone, who are adherents and children of the goddess, with their problems."
My problems, right now, occur with time, but…..
"Uhm, Sister-sama, there's nothing in particular, so if you could,"
"Oh my, Takeru, you're indeed graceful, despite not calling me by first name. What a humble person you are!"
"..."
That's why, even though we've just met, why are you suddenly this friendly with me?
I don't want to become intimate with you, your sense of distance is weird.
I know I'm only partially aware of what's considered common sense in this world, but if you act strangely like that, I won't be able to retort you that easily.
Perhaps, it's due to this world being a fantasy, and also because of A-sama's teaching being supposed to be this friendly.
Certainly, if someone like her with such sex appeal approaches me, it's much easier to collect donations.
For me, who was bad in first time interactions with women, it felt close to being tortured….
"Ah, that's right, I'll take off my hood. Usually, I hide my face, because other adherents say they would lose their minds if I didn't, but, I'll make an exception for Takeru."
"Uhmm…."
The nun suddenly started to lift up her hood, which was worn low over her eyes.
'What do you think?' – The sister, Ria, looked at me with glittering eyes, as if wanting to say so.
Ah no, it's….. normal.
Should I say her face was normal? Certainly, she was a person with silky, transparent-like blond hair. Her blue eyes were pretty, her facial features were well adjusted, and her skin too, was considerably beautiful, just like a white porcelain. I guess, this is to be expected from a western fantasy world.
No matter how beautiful she was, I would still be troubled if I were asked to comment on that grandiose appearance of hers.
"Uhm, could it be that you'd rather have me take off my robe? If you're a person that swings in that direction, I shall do it without fail."
"Nonononono, please wait, Sister!"
Don't undress, like it's a common thing!
'This thing too, is hindering me.' – Ria was about to unzip the robe near her chest as if saying so.
Do you even consider a man's feelings when you show him that cleavage between your breasts, even though he doesn't want to see?!
She probably planned to laugh at me behind my back while saying something like 'That guy was looking at my chest, gyahaha,"
I took the series of events into account, and finally understood this situation wasn't the result of Ria's religious doctrine, but due to her personal reasons.
Suddenly undressing like this, no matter how insane a religionist you were, this probably wouldn't work, even in a fantasy world.
A religious cult also had its good points.
"Somehow, Takeru's reaction is weak….. as expected, I can't avoid undressing myself?"
What? Is she threatening me?
I guess, it can't be helped but to praise her look.
"Uhmm…. Ria, you're an incredibly beautiful person! I even accidentally mistook you for an elf!"
"Fuhii, noo, Takeru, you meanie, you're praising me too much! For me to be called an elf…. but, but, unfortunately I don't have pointy ears."
It seems I was right about praising her. Ria, whose face was radiant with smile, brushed up her blond hair. As she did so, I glanced repeatedly at her ears.
Indeed, her ears were also pretty.
However, she was a bit annoying.
Despite having such an appearance, I couldn't bring myself to praise her any longer.
In the first place, was this sister an elf or not?
Asking that to myself, I didn't feel that curious.
For the time being, I'd rather have this person stop stripping inside my shop.
"Also, there's one piece of advice I need to give to Takeru, but, sisters are obliged to swear to keep their chastity, so it won't do if you fall for me."
Honestly, I don't. Where did you get that idea from in our talk?
Just what's the deal, with this person…..?
I guess, this is when…. doing business with customers becomes a big pain in ass.
I don't know how to deal with people like this.
Later, I should praise Sharon for doing this tough job.
"Sister-sama, today, I was able to observe your stunning face, so if you could leav-"
"Oh that's right. I'll say this, but, Takeru has done us an incredible favor. Maybe, I, could prepare you some holy water in return?"
No, please go back already.
I've no need for holy water, so I don't go to a church.
No, wait a second. On second thought, there might be a way to utilize it.
I wonder if I should at least get some samples.
"Uhmm, I think holy water is fine."
"Ohhh, so Takeru too, is willing to have it? I usually wouldn't answer to this request, even from the most devout of adherents. Empty potion bottles or anything similar will do, so can I have you go and scoop some water? Also, I'd like for you to do it quickly."
'This sister is quite a slave driver, isn't she?' – Being curious about the new item, I went and collected water in as many as 10 empty bottles, and returned.
"Is this much fine?"
"10 bottles….? Well, that's okay. I'll make this first time a service special."
Somehow, it feels like the people from the A-sama Church are easy-going.
"I, Steriana, the loyal adherent of the Goddess of Creation, A-sama, pray to thou. Bring us a fragment of thy holy light of order, and grant us your grace of benevolence!"
As soon as the sister placed her ankh on top of a bottle and finished praying, the water inside of it radiated in silver.
"Ohhh."
"Well, it's not like I need to chant this prayer when creating the water, so we can omit this part when doing the same with the rest."
Honestly, say that earlier.
To think you'd need to make this long speech each time you had to give this burbling, silver light to water.
Somehow, it looks like the ankh is the item through which you make the holy water.
"Uhmm, I managed to turn each water in the 10 bottles into the holy ones."
"That was amazing, indeed."
I cannot use spells, so obviously, I considered this as amazing.
Well, if we disregard her personality…. No, actually, this person's personality is incredible too.
"Ehe, alchemy based on holy power is my specialty. I won't mind if you praise me more. By the way, if you sprinkle this holy water on items, it will dispel their curses. If sprinkled beforehand, the items will act as a charm. You can even attack undead using this water."
Ria kindly explained while pointing at the bottle containing white water. I only wish she could've done that service in a more normal way from the beginning, but…
"Shall we try it out? Do you have any item at hand that you usually use?"
"Uhm, how about this one?"
I placed my magic item, 'wand of the flaming orb', on the table.
Ria sprinkled one of the newly made bottles of holy water on it.
"With this, your item has become a 'holy wand of the flaming orb'. The wand has the divine protection of A-sama, and it will also consume less power when used. What's more, it will be difficult to place any curse on it."
"I see…."
Following that, she pointed at the silver radiating water inside a bottle once more and carried on with her explanation.
"This water also has health properties and is rich in nourishment. If you just drink it like this, it will recover you from any abnormal state. They say that combining recovery potions and miracle drugs are the most popular way of creating elixirs, you know?"
"Fumu, it'll become a good lesson for me."
Certainly, if my memory serves me right, there's supposed to be that thing called an elixir, which is highly compatible, just like the recovery potion. So, you make it like this?
As expected, anything that's recovery-based involves the use of holy spells.
"This time it was a real exception, so please don't tell the other sisters I made this holy water for you, okay? Originally, I planned to have you come to our church, and make it there in exchange for your donation."
"About that, thank you very much."
I pondered about this for a while, but, this person looks to be more of a peddler, rather than a sister.
I felt, a bit of sympathy on that part.
Perhaps, it was natural for her to involve herself in peddling activities, since, as a nun, she was supposed to convey her goddess's teachings.
I guess, you could tell it from that grand way she asked for a contribution a moment ago.
"Also, it's better if you keep that fact, about me showing you my face, just between us. It would be quite troublesome if Takeru were to be resented by my fans."
"You mean that?"
"However, worry not. Even if you're resented or cursed, the holy water will protect you."
"..."
That was clever of her, but, I wonder who should be the one saying it.
"If something happens, we can always guide you to our church. Still, it's just the matter of time, you see."
"I still have a company to take care of, so I apologize."
I'm grateful for your holy water, so please quit this talk and go back already.
"As expected, I wonder if shouldn't have stopped at my hood and taken off the rest of my robes too."
"Ah no, that's already quite enough."
"Takeru, since you're a man, could it be, you were looking forward to that service?"
"Ah no, it's really okay….."
I beg you, please go back!
In the end, we managed to chase her away thanks to Sharon returning back to the shop, so the Sister, Ria, didn't remain here to continue her business with us with that attitude.
I reflected on myself for a whole day upon realizing how great Sharon was, to be able to deal with such demanding customers, despite her being just a salesperson.