by Dojyomaru
“Whew... You sure are amazing, Juna,” Tomoe said. “I wish I could be like you.”
“...Don’t you think you’re fine just the way you are, Tomoe?” Juna said pointedly to the girl who was looking up at her with great respect. Tomoe was cute, and she might develop into a beauty like Juna as she grew up. Once she grew up and learned how to play games with men, it could be the birth of an incredible little tease.
While I was thinking about that, I ended up walking with Tomoe’s hand in mine, and Juna wrapped around my other arm. Nobody realized our true identities, but the jealous looks from passing men and the whispering of housewives trying to guess at the relationship between the three of us started to make my stomach hurt.
In order to distract myself from it, I tried talking to Juna. “Well... Where to? Unlike in Parnam, Van doesn’t have much in it, so there aren’t many places I want to go patrol.”
“When you’re out on the town on your day off, I don’t know that you should be thinking of it as patrolling.” Juna laughed wryly at my workaholic thought process.
Sorry for being so work-obsessed, I thought.
Then, Juna took a peek over at Tomoe before whispering in my ear, “How about giving Tomoe some new clothes as a present? Since she’s your honorary little sister, you can call it a gift between family.”
“Ohh, there’s an idea.”
Now that she mentioned it, ever since I’d accepted Tomoe as my little sister (though, technically, she was Liscia’s adopted little sister and my future sister-in-law), I had been busy with administrative work and hadn’t been able to act like a proper big brother. Tomoe had been working hard on negotiating with the rhinosauruses and shoujou, so it might be nice to spoil her rotten today.
“Juna, do you know a good place for that?” I asked.
“I’ve done my research,” she said. “Leave it to me.” She placed her hand on her chest, bowing slightly.
Juna recommended a clothing store on a street corner.
The little sign out front had words meaning “The Silver Deer” written on it in a stylish font. From what was on display in the show window, it looked like it dealt not just in clothing, but in shoes and apparel, too. It was hard to judge with my untrained eyes, but the products on display all appeared to be of high quality. It was very much a high-class shop. The sort of place a guy like me, who had always bought his clothes on sale from the major retailers, would never come to.
Incidentally, ever since coming to this country, I had worn whatever I could provide myself or we already had on hand. Lately, the work I’d done creating and maintaining the Little Musashibo dolls had improved my sewing skills, so I was making everything but my underwear myself. I technically had what would be considered a highly-paid position, so I could afford to make custom orders, but I had no interest in indulging myself with luxuries now. The shirt and pants I had on under this traveling cape, as well as the hooded robe that Tomoe was wearing—both of them had been made by me.
“You can even make stuff like this. You’re amazing, big brother,” Tomoe said.
When Tomoe showered me with that look of respect, I could feel my head swelling with pride. “I can’t buy the clothes I was used to wearing in my own world here, after all. Though I’m doing it half as a hobby,” I said to hide my embarrassment, then looked to The Silver Deer. “Still, this is a surprise. A stylish store like this in Amidonia, of all places.”
“I hear it originally dealt in men’s clothing and apparel,” said Juna. “After that broadcast, when women started dressing up, they began stocking clothing and accessories for women as well.”
It seemed their selection changed in response to customer demand.
“Still, it’s quite a selection, don’t you think?” I asked. “Where do you suppose they order it all from?”
“There are trade guilds,” said Juna. “While they may not be able to do much about food, which is in short supply, the guild can arrange for them to buy any other kind of goods. For the merchants, Elfrieden and Amidonia are both sources of goods and also valued customers.”
“How crafty...”
Of course, it was those crafty merchants who maintained the balance of supply and demand... but that was neither here nor there, and I figured we shouldn’t loiter out front forever.
“Well, how about we head inside?” I asked.
When I went inside, gesturing for the two of them to follow, a man with ash gray hair who was dressed like a bartender was arranging products on the shelves. He seemed like the sort of middle-aged gentleman that the aroma of black tea would suit well. When he noticed us, he stood with his feet together, brought a hand to his breast, and then bowed. “Welcome. Are you travelers, perhaps?”
“Ah... Erm...” I stuttered a bit. While revealing my true identity was out of the question, how was I to explain the combination of a man in a conical straw hat, a beautiful female adventurer, and a wolf girl in a white hood? While I was wracking my brains to come up with something, Juna stepped forward.
“Yes. These two personages come from a kingdom in the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago. They are Kazuya, the heir to a crêpe fabric merchant in the Echigo Kingdom, and his younger sister Tomoe. I am their humble servant, Silvia. Master Kazuya will one day inherit the family business, and so we are traveling across many countries to broaden his horizons.”
She was very eloquent.
Nice work, Juna, I thought. And, wait, I’m impressed you actually remembered my nonsense backstory about being the heir to a crêpe fabric merchant in the Echigo Kingdom. Even I had completely forgotten that backstory. Also, who is Silvia supposed to be?
The middle-aged man didn’t show any particular interest. “I see,” he said with a gentle nod. “I apologize for taking so long to introduce myself. I am Sebastian, the proprietor of this establishment.”
With that name, are you sure you aren’t the butler, rather than the proprietor? I thought for a moment, but I reminded myself that not all Sebastians have to be butlers.
Smiling, Sebastian asked, “And what may I help you with today?”
“Well... do you have anything that would look good on my little sister here?” I asked,
“Whuh?!” Tomoe reacted with surprise.
I put my hand on top of her head, patting her from over top of her hood. “Well, that’s how it is, so if you see anything you like, let me know, okay?”
“Um... But...”
“It’s fine. Let me act like a proper big brother every once in a while.”
With those words, I pushed Tomoe off towards Juna.
Juna nodded to me, taking Tomoe by the hand and going to look at the wares on display. Tomoe was stiff at first, but she was a girl. As she looked at the different items with Juna, I could feel her gradually getting into shopping.
Now, this left me as a man with little to do. I enjoyed watching the beautiful woman and little girl enjoying themselves shopping for a while, but I got tired of just waiting, and wandered around the store myself.
They had clothing, shoes, accessories, and even makeup. There was a really wide selection of items here. Truly, it was the 109 of Amidonia... Well, not that I’d ever been to 109, or even to Shibuya, for that matter. Perhaps because the women of Van had begun awakening to fashion, more than eighty percent of the sales floor was devoted to women’s products. This shop had supposedly catered only to men before, but now it had coats for them, and that was about it.
As I was looking around, I found a number of products that interested me.
The first was lipstick. It was a color lighter than light pink.
The second was a hair accessory. It was made with gold and little stones, making it seem like a quality piece, but it had a ladybug motif, making it seem incongruously childish.
The third was a choker. It was made of blue leather with silver foil scattered around like stars. The clasp was made of gold, with a design like a bird spreading its wings.
They all looked good.
Then, fina
lly... the last thing that caught my eye was a pair of tiny loafers meant for a young girl. They had clips with a ribbon motif on them, and were absolutely adorable.
These loafers... I think they might look perfect on Tomoe, I thought.
“Hey, Tomo—”
“Master Kazuya.”
Just as I was about to call out to them, Sebastian stopped me. I turned around, thinking it suspicious, and Sebastian said, “Pardon me for the sudden interruption,” with a bow. “There was something I’ve been wanting to ask you, Master Kazuya. Would that be acceptable?”
“...What is it?” I asked.
“Let us suppose that, on the battlefield, the generals had gathered for a war council.”
...What? Battlefield? War council? Why’s he bringing this up all of a sudden? I thought.
“Let us also suppose that the first idea brought up at that war council was a good one. If you were the supreme commander of that army, would you immediately adopt that idea?”
“...I wouldn’t,” I said. “I’d think there might be better ideas.”
“Precisely,” he said. “That is why, if you were one of the generals, and you wished to have your idea adopted, rather than submit it at once, you should wait until the council comes to an impasse.”
“I see... I see...”
“What I mean to say is, the games played between men and women are also a battle.”
“...Ah,” I said. “I get you.”
I finally understood what Sebastian was trying to say. He was saying I should wait a little longer before pushing the loafers I thought would look good on Tomoe.
That was fair enough, because Juna and Tomoe were enjoying looking through the other products. If I brought them something good now, it would be like pouring a bucket of cold water on them when they were having a good time. If they chose to go with it, their fun time would end, and if they choose not to, it’d be awkward for me. Neither of those was what they wanted.
I was deeply grateful for Sebastian’s consideration. “You, sir, are a wonderful tactician.”
“I am honored by your praise.” Sebastian placed his right hand on his belly, respectfully bowing to me. It was a theatrical gesture, but it was smoothly delivered, so it didn’t offend me.
Then, something occurred to me.
“By the way, you just used a war council analogy...” Could he be aware of our true identities? I brought it up because I thought he might be, but Sebastian hurriedly shook his head.
“Oh, my... Pardon me for that. Until just the other day, I had only dealt with the nobility, you see. I can’t seem to break the habit. If I offended you somehow, I apologize. I have a regular customer who is fond of such banter.”
“...No, it’s no big deal,” I said. “Is that regular of yours a soldier?”
“No, no, more like an adorable little tanuki,” Sebastian said.
A little tanuki, huh. Between the proprietor I couldn’t get a read on, and this person he called a little tanuki... I was intrigued. But, setting that aside for now, I bought a few things quietly so that the other two wouldn’t notice. After that, I waited for the two of them to finish looking things over, then recommended those cute loafers to Tomoe. Tomoe was hesitant to accept, as I expected she might be, but she seemed like she liked them, so I half-forced them on her as a present.
Tomoe held the box with the loafers in it tight to her chest. “Th-Thank you... big brother... I’ll treasure them...”
As she said that, tears formed in her eyes, so I patted her head gently. Maybe now we’d been able to act a little like brother and sister. If I thought about it, the only ones I’d been able to call family before were my grandparents. But now there was Liscia, there was Tomoe, and there were Aisha and Juna.
...Yeah, it’s nice being able to feel connected to people. As I patted my little sister’s head, that thought really began to sink in for me.
Juna was standing next to us, watching with a smile.
“Ah, Juna,” I said. “Hold on a second.”
It was just past noon when we left Sebastian’s store. While we were on the move, looking for some place to maybe get lunch, I had Juna stop for a second.
“Is something the matter?” she asked.
I handed Juna a little bag as she looked at me quizzically. “I wanted to give this to you.”
“To me?”
Juna accepted it, opening it up, and inside was that ladybug shaped accessory. It was one of the ones I’d secretly bought earlier.
“Huh?!” she cried. “Um, what is...”
“You’re always doing so much for me,” I said. “It’s my way of saying thanks.”
“No, I couldn’t possibly accept something like this. I don’t have the right...”
“Pass it here.” I took the ladybug from Juna, fixing it in her hair.
Yep, it looked just like I’d imagined it would. It was far too childish a design for the usual mature Juna, but when the younger-looking Juna of today wore it, she looked like a young girl trying a little too hard to be mature. It was cute.
“It really suits you, Juna,” I said.
“Ohh...”
When I acted like I was the more mature one, Juna uncharacteristically blushed. I felt like I’d finally won a small victory over her, the one who always seemed more mature. Juna whipped her head to the side and looked away.
“Sire. If you are going to give presents to women, make sure you give them to the princess and anyone else simultaneously. In your position, you’ll probably end up taking multiple wives. If that happens, you can’t play favorites. You have to either love all of them equally, or accept that marriage is just another political tool and love none of them. Anyway, not causing discord between the women in your life is another of your duties, okay?”
Juna spoke rapidly, trying to distract me. That she spoke so much was proof of her embarrassment.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I have something for Liscia and Aisha, too.”
When it came to accessories, Liscia tended to prefer ones she could wear in battle over ones that were just pretty. I’d chosen the blue leather choker for her because it was stylish, yet wouldn’t get in the way. For Aisha, who, like Juna, was always helping me out, I planned to give her that lipstick I found which would go well with that healthy brown skin of hers. While hosting the music program, it seemed like she’d been worried about how feminine she was.
“So you don’t need to worry about that,” I explained.
“I-Is that a fact...?” she asked.
“It is. And by the way, Juna?”
“...What is it?” she asked.
“It’s not ‘sire,’ it’s ‘Master Kazuya,’ remember?”
“Ah...”
For a little while now, Juna had been calling me “sire” instead of “Master Kazuya.” It looked like when she started talking fast at me, she really was trying to hide her embarrassment.
Juna had a sullen look on her red face. “Master Kazuya... is a surprisingly big bully.”
“Is he now?” I asked.
“Yes. And quite the ladies’ man,” she said, wrapping herself around my arm again. Even more tightly than last time.
Over my shoulder I could see Juna’s embarrassed smile, with that hair piece shining above it.
“Wow... there are lots of little shops out, big brother!” Tomoe cried gleefully, seeing all the street stalls lined up in the plaza.
In our search for a place to get lunch, Juna had led us to the plaza with the Jewel Voice Broadcast receiver. This place had been an open field only a month ago, but now it was packed with stalls selling food and assorted goods. We had only just set foot in the plaza, but we could already hear the owners of stalls calling in customers, and customers haggling for a better deal.
The faces in the crowd were diverse, too. Housewives were here to buy ingredients for dinner. A group of craftsmen was here for lunch. Even off-duty soldiers from the kingdom’s forces were here to buy snacks.
Must be from the
Army, I thought to myself. The Army and Air Force soldiers camped outside were allowed to enter the city when they were off duty.
I could also see a large number of non-humans who looked like travelers or adventurers. Race, job, nationality... none of it mattered here. It was one big hodgepodge of people of all ages and genders.
“...How did it end up like this?” I wondered.
“Thanks to Sir Poncho, Van’s food crisis has been alleviated considerably, but only so many people can produce food good enough to support a restaurant,” Juna explained. “However, the people who think they can manage a food stall gather here. This is the largest marketplace in all of Van now.”
“In an out-of-the-way place like this?” I asked. “Wouldn’t they be better off on the main street?”
“It’s because the receiver for the Jewel Voice Broadcast is here.”
“Oh, I get it...”
Ever since that music program had aired, as a test, we had been broadcasting Chris Tachyon’s news program during the day and the singing program at night. The customers hadn’t gathered because there were stalls here; the stalls had gathered because there were people here waiting to watch the Jewel Voice Broadcast.
It’s kind of like the black market in post-war Japan, I thought. Maybe it’ll end up like Ameyoko someday.
Juna and the loreleis only appeared on the music program on weekends. On every other day of the week, we ran a program where contestants hoping to become loreleis competed. The Jewel Voice Broadcast was always live, so if the loreleis had been the only ones who ever appeared on the program, it would have put too much stress on them.
If anyone who appeared on that contest program was deemed to have a gift for singing, they could be newly instated as a singer like Margarita, or, if they were attractive, a lorelei. If they were male, they could debut as one of the new class of male idols: the singing knights, orpheuses.
The program was simulcast in two countries, Elfrieden and Amidonia, and it could be seen in any city where there was a receiver. The reaction might be different in Amidonia, or the cities in Elfrieden might be reacting similarly to this.
I’ll need to estimate the economic impact of this later, I thought with a grin. That was when Tomoe pulled on my coat.