by Hiro Ainana
Thanks to Miss Ringrande, the duke was planning to reward me even further, but I was starting to think this was a little much for some tempura.
“Seeing as you have generously agreed to assist the barony already, I couldn’t possibly accept any further reward.”
“Oh really? Restraint’s not a virtue, you know! You should be accepting it proudly after the excellent dinner you gave us.” Miss Ringrande was talking to me like a teacher scolding a naughty student, but once she noticed my discomfort, she grinned and made a joke to set me at ease.
“How about this? Would you like to become the exclusive chef of the hero Hayato?”
Yeah, no thanks. I love eating delicious food and all, but I honestly prefer when someone else cooks it for me. I should probably come up with a request before they give any more weird suggestions.
“Come now, ask whatever you’d like. Do you want Rin as your bride, perhaps?”
“Hey! Grandfather, you know I’m a follower of the hero, so I have no intention of marrying until the demon lord is dealt with!”
…Huh? Do they not know the demon lord is gone from the head priestess of Tenion Temple yet? Maybe I should sneak into the temple later and ask her what the deal is.
“I have no such desires that would be so far above my station. Though, if it’s at all possible, receiving permission to purchase scrolls and spell books in the duchy would be a most unexpected joy.”
“Hmm. You are truly free of greed, to request not the items themselves but simply permission to purchase them. Very well, I shall grant it.”
The generous duke called over a man in a butler’s uniform to write up a permit.
Tolma had already agreed to introduce me to Viscount Siemmen, but with the duke’s permission, I should be able to get even more scrolls.
“If you ever decide to quit being Leon’s vassal, you ought to come here instead. I would hire you as a chef anytime,” the duke commented.
“Wait a minute, Your Grace! Sir Pendragon should be the head chef for the Lloyd family instead. He would be wasted as a mere sous chef!” Marquis Lloyd protested.
“It is most unbecoming to attempt to lure away a vassal of Baron Muno, Marquis Lloyd,” said Count Hohen. I appreciated his attempts to discourage them from trying to hire me as a chef, but unfortunately, he didn’t stop there. “Incidentally, Sir Pendragon, would you happen to be a married man?”
“No, I feel I’m too young for that, and I have no wish to settle down anytime soon.”
“Why, then you should take one of my daughters or granddaughters who’s around your age. You could become a member of my family, if you—”
“Count Hohen! Are you trying to make our knight into your son-in-law?!”
As it turned out, there were an awful lot of greedy nobles in this duchy.
I thought he was joking at first, but it turned out Count Hohen had upward of forty children and grandchildren combined, at least seven of who were unmarried young women, so maybe not.
Marquis Lloyd and Count Hohen seemed to be good friends; they spent some time jousting over me.
Eventually, Miss Ringrande rescued me. Then I was able to speak to other people as well.
Because a few of them had workshops and studios in the old capital or rare spell books that might interest me, I was certainly amenable to making friends with them.
In particular, it seemed many advanced spell books were hidden away in nobles’ collections, so permission to purchase them wouldn’t help me there.
I ran a map search on the old capital, but I didn’t find any textbooks for advanced kinds of magic in any of the shops.
“Sir Satou, it turns out my brother is in Labyrinth City on scroll workshop–related business at the moment. I’m told he’ll return soon by way of the royal capital. Would you mind waiting until then for the scrolls? I don’t believe it should be longer than a trimoon, at the very latest.”
“Certainly. We plan to stay in the old capital for a while, so that’s not a problem at all.”
“Whew, I’m glad to hear you say that.”
My smile seemed to ease Tolma’s apologetic mood.
A trimoon was only ten days; that wouldn’t be an issue. I was planning to find out if I could have scrolls made of my original spells. If it turned out to be a lengthy process, I could always come back on my own with “Skyrunning” to pick them up.
“Sorry to come so late at night, Head Priestess.”
“Why, if it isn’t Mr. Nanashi. You do tend to show up unexpectedly, don’t you?”
After I returned from the duke’s castle, I donned my disguise as Nanashi the Hero and paid a visit to the head priestess’s room at Tenion Temple, in the nobles’ quarter.
This was after confirming on the map that she hadn’t gone to sleep yet, of course.
She didn’t have any abnormal status conditions, but thanks to the mysterious atmosphere of her room, she had an unearthly quality that made you wonder if she wouldn’t vanish if you looked away for a second.
“I had a little question for you.”
“Oh my, I wonder what that could be? But first, I have something to tell you myself, as it happens. Do you mind?”
“That’s fine. What is it?”
I was trying to make Nanashi sound as different from Satou as possible, but I still felt awful speaking so rudely to an older woman like the head priestess. If I wasn’t careful, I could easily slip into a more polite attitude.
The head priestess rose slowly from a seat that resembled a rocking chair.
“I have received an Oracle message from Goddess Tenion regarding the defeat of the demon lord. Nanashi the Hero, allow me to offer the temple’s thanks in her stead,” the priestess said solemnly. Then she broke into a small smile. “Thank you for protecting my beloved old capital, Mr. Nanashi.” With a little less gravitas, she added, “Worry not. Priestess Sara is not yet able to leave her bed, but the other two Oracle priestesses have returned to their normal lives.”
According to the map, I saw that Sara’s status now read Weakened: Mild. It had been only Weakened that morning, so she must be recovering steadily.
I decided to go visit her as Satou once that status condition was gone entirely.
“I’m glad to hear it. But would you mind if I inquired about something?”
“Oh, certainly. My apologies for going on so. Ask whatever you like.”
Maybe it was just my imagination, but the head priestess looked pale. “Standing for so long could bode ill for your health. Please go ahead and sit.”
The priestess smiled faintly and returned to her seat.
“I haven’t heard anything in the old capital about the demon lord being defeated. Has it not been officially announced?”
“Indeed… I did bring a report to His Grace the duke, but he preferred to wait until the other temples received Oracle messages about it before making an announcement.”
The head priestess appeared troubled.
“And the other temples have not received these messages yet?”
“Even with the ‘Oracle’ skill, the ceremony itself can take several days, depending on the temple.”
So you can’t just ask the gods questions whenever you want, huh?
“Here at the Tenion Temple, we have this sanctuary, so it’s easier to prepare the ritual here than at other temples.”
“Oh really? That sounds convenient.”
She chuckled. “It is the work of Our Lady Tenion, after all. This sanctuary is the only reason I’m able to move about normally, even so close to the end of my life. Outside of it, I can hardly even sit up without assistance.”
So that was what Sara meant when she said back in Muno Barony that the holy woman couldn’t leave the sanctuary.
Well, now I had my answers as to why the information hadn’t been made public. It was probably time to wrap things up.
“…I understand. Thanks.”
“Oh? Leaving so soon? I was hoping we could chat a little longer.”
> I stood up to leave, but the head priestess stopped me.
All I had left to do for the evening was anonymously report the whereabouts of the Wings of Freedom members to the duke, so I could spare a little more time.
Now that the Treasure of Resurrection had used up its magic power bringing Sara back to life, I offered to restore its charge while we talked. We passed the time with tea and pastries I brought out from Storage, exchanging idle conversation and discussing myths.
Eventually, the priestess’s AR display showed her status as Fatigue: Mild. I decided to take my leave.
“It seems I’ve overstayed a little.”
I returned the refilled Treasure of Resurrection to the priestess and stowed the Holy Sword I was using as a battery in my Item Box.
“Thank you, Mr. Nanashi. Though I hope that we never have need of this again.”
“As do I.”
Nodding to the head priestess as she put away the artifact, I left the Tenion Temple.
Hidden by the dark of the night, I used “Skyrunning” and various stealth skills to slip into the duke’s bedroom.
As I did so, I felt a slight sense of resistance.
Upon closer inspection, an AR display appeared reading Ougoch Castle Barrier Wall. Was this a barrier created by the City Core?
“You got through the castle barrier…? Who are you?”
The duke’s status had read Sleeping just moments ago; the City Core must have alerted him somehow.
“A hero,” I answered shortly as he sat up.
Now that the perceptive duke had met Satou several times, I took care to keep the gender of my voice ambiguous and to speak only in short phrases.
“A hero, you say? And with violet hair… Are you Nanashi the Hero?”
I nodded briefly to avoid letting the conversation go too far, then tossed him a packet of papers tied with a string.
“…What’s this?” the duke asked, eyeing them doubtfully.
“Read,” I answered simply, taking inspiration from Professor Mia.
“The hiding places of the demon lord cult… Where did you get all this information?”
The map included not only the hideout in the old capital but all the other locations in the duchy. A group like that was sure to make a comeback if they weren’t all rounded up at once.
“In Count Bobino’s basement of all places, right under our noses… That foolish son of mine…”
The duke seemed stunned that some of his family and chief vassals were included on the list.
“Please allow me to take care of this personally, Sir Nanashi the Hero. I swear on the name of Duke Ougoch that it will be dealt with appropriately.”
I had no trouble believing that.
“I will dispatch a band of knights to round up the members in Count Bobino’s estate tomorrow. As for the ones in the downtown area, I shall send not knights but individuals who can arrest them quietly.”
I tilted my head Mia-style, and the duke explained.
“Just to be certain, we will need assurance that this information is true. We will capture them first, then have vassals use Yamato stones or the Eye of Judgment to ascertain their guilt.”
Right, I forgot those handy tools and gifts existed.
If anything, I thought it would be easier to use the City Core to find them, but they probably had a good reason for not doing it that way.
Just to be safe, I pointed out my cautions in the documents regarding the capture of Wings of Freedom members. Namely, to capture them all at once and to be wary of the “short horn” item that turned people into demons. I had written that terrorists could become desperate when chased down, so it was best to deal with them all at once.
No individuals possessing short horns had showed up on my map search, but some of them had “Item Box” skills, Magic Bags, or the like. I couldn’t search inside those except for marked objects; I highlighted the names of those individuals on the list.
There weren’t any particularly strong ones lurking about, so even if one of them did have a short horn, their demon form would probably be easy enough to defeat. There were at least three knights in the city who were above level 50, after all.
I waited a few seconds in thought before I told the duke, “All yours.”
This short-spoken version of Nanashi would probably be harder to identify, but it sure made meetings difficult.
It’d probably be wise to come up with a better dummy personality whose way of speaking and acting would be difficult to connect with me. Maybe Arisa would have some ideas.
The Martial Arts Tournament
Satou here. Rather than kendo or judo, the phrase martial arts tournament makes me think of a shonen battle manga. My only real-life martial arts experience is the judo they made us do in gym class.
“Good morning.”
I yawned as I entered the room where the others were all waiting.
“Good morning, master. I’ll go ask Mr. Sebaf to prepare breakfast.”
Lulu’s smile healed my soul as she cheerfully hurried down the hallway.
“Morning. Don’t you look tired.”
“Mrrr. Sleepy?”
Arisa and Mia greeted me with noticeable irritation.
“Yeah. I found an out-of-the-way spot to make some arrows, since we were running low after the last battle.”
“Huh? So you didn’t go off to some establishment with a bunch of pretty ladies?”
“Of course not.”
I should’ve known that was what they suspected.
After my meeting with the duke the night before, I had gone into the labyrinth ruins underneath the old capital to make new Holy Arrows, Holy Short Spears, and so on. I also wanted to make more blue in case we ever ran into another demon lord–class opponent.
However, ten Holy Arrows, two Holy Short Spears, and just one vial of blue were enough to exhaust my supply of dragon powder from the Seiryuu City labyrinth.
I didn’t really want to mess around with the corpses in the Valley of Dragons, so I would have to get my hands on some dragon scales or I might end up in trouble somewhere down the road.
“Sorry for being so suspicious.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s all right. Anyway, where did Liza and the others go?”
I tapped their heads lightly, then asked a random question to hide my feelings of guilt. Tolma had already agreed to show me the nightlife of the old capital during our stay. If I didn’t let my libido run loose once in a while, I was afraid I might cross a dangerous line with someone like Nana or Miss Karina.
For the time being, my “Poker Face” skill kept those emotions hidden.
Lulu returned, and as we went to the dining room, Miss Karina, her maids, and the vanguard group came in through the door that led to the courtyard.
They’d worked up quite a sweat training outside all morning.
After enjoying a fancy hotel-like breakfast made for us by the chefs of the Worgoch estate, we were sipping cups of blue-green tea when the butler Mr. Sebaf entered.
“Sir Knight, a letter has arrived for you. And you as well, my lady.”
I accepted the letter and took a look at the seal.
Mine was from Tolma, while Miss Karina’s letter was from her younger brother, Orion.
Tolma’s letter said that his brother, Viscount Siemmen, would be returning the next morning. That was much earlier than what he’d said in the salon. He listed times when the viscount would be available to meet, so I wrote back requesting the soonest slot, the next afternoon at two chimes.
“Oh, that Orion!” Miss Karina bristled as she finished reading her letter.
“What’s the matter?”
“Why, if he thinks seeing some martial arts tournament is more important than a visit from his far-off sister…!”
She trailed off, too indignant to continue. Large tears began pooling on her eyelashes.
I tried to offer Miss Karina a handkerchief, but I was speedily intercepted by the iron-wall duo.
“Nana.”
“Give Lady Karina a hug.”
“Tactical commands accepted, I report.”
Nana promptly hugged Miss Karina to her chest, mechanically repeating, “There, there,” as if comforting a child.
Miss Karina, socially clumsy as always, was too stunned by Nana’s sudden action to do anything but sit and accept it.
“It’s all right, Lady Karina. At that age, a fourteen-year-old boy is bound to find affection from his family embarrassing. It might be better to keep a little distance—otherwise he’s just going to get mad.”
Arisa’s advice sounded strange coming from someone who looked so young. It was probably based on experience from her previous life.
Once Miss Karina started to calm down, I asked Sebaf what sightseeing spots he recommended in an effort to ease the awkwardness.
“At this time of year, I suggest the stadium where the second round of preliminaries for the martial arts tournament is held. The master of the house says you are welcome to use his family’s premium seats.”
At the phrase martial arts tournament, the beastfolk girls’ eyes sparkled.
Even Liza, usually so composed, was clearly excited; her tail was whacking the back of her chair.
“Aside from that, the museum is currently holding an exhibition about the ancestral king Yamato. Cyriltoa the Songstress has an extraordinary voice that will soothe your soul, and she will perform at the concert hall. If you don’t mind mingling with commoners, perhaps you would enjoy perusing the unusual wares at the grand market in the harbor ward.”
All of these sounded like couldn’t-miss attractions during our stay.
But for now, we’ll start with…
“Want to go see the tournament today?”
It went without saying that my suggestion was met with unanimous agreement.
Surprisingly, even Miss Karina voted yes. I guess her brother’s rudeness didn’t stop her from being interested in the tournament herself. I asked Sebaf to arrange for a carriage and our seats at the stadium, and we returned to our rooms to change clothes for the outing.
“These seats are pretty good,” I commented to Miss Karina as I settled into the soft sofa.