by Dojyomaru
“Huh...”
“Whaaa?!” Kuu exclaimed.
The look on his face was a mix of shock and bewilderment. He’d heard his name brought up, and now there was immediately talk of him being left in a foreign country, so it was hard to blame him.
Once Kuu returned to his senses, he rounded on Sir Gouran in anger. “What’re you talking about, out of nowhere, Dad?! You want me to be a hostage in the kingdom?!”
“That’s not it,” said Gouran with a serious look on his face. “In want you to go see what the kingdom is like now for me.” He paused. “I’ve been thinking about this since last night. When young Empress Maria of the Empire was invited to take part in our meeting today, that cemented it for me.”
“Cemented it? What?” Kuu demanded.
“That there’s a ‘new wind’ blowing across this continent,” Sir Gouran said, then turned to me. “If you’ll excuse my rudeness, Sir Souma, may I ask how old you are?”
“I’ll be twenty this year.”
Sir Gouran nodded in satisfaction. “From what I can see, Madam Maria must be about the same age.” (If I recalled, she was twenty-one.) “The Empire in the west is ruled by a young queen, and a young king has arisen in the kingdom in the east. When you get old like me, you start to sense something akin to fate in these things.”
Kuu, Maria, and I listened intently to what Sir Gouran, the only member of an older generation who was present, had to say.
Sir Gouran continued in a quiet voice, “In the world of man, there is something like a ‘flow.’ Whether we want it or not, that flow has an effect on all things. Some ride that flow, others struggle against it, and yet others drown in it. That is how one might become famous, and another might fall. How one country might prosper, and another might perish. The fierce warrior, Sir Gaius, fell, and Sir Souma, a man of culture, was victorious. With the help of Princess Roroa, he annexed Amidonia and created a new country.”
It was hard to react to what he was saying. The look on Roroa’s face said she didn’t know what kind of expression she should be making, either.
However, hearing Sir Gouran’s words, Machiavelli’s words about preparing for the changes of fortune came to mind.
Gouran laid a hand on Kuu’s shoulder. “That’s what the times are like. No one can read where this world is headed. However, when the east and west are both led by the younger generation, our country may be left behind by the era if we are the only ones to cling to old ways. In order to avoid that, I want to raise a breath of youth of our own.”
“A breath of youth... You mean me?” Kuu asked.
Gouran nodded firmly. “You are still inexperienced, but you have a flexible mindset. If you see how the kingdom changes under Sir Souma’s reign, that will act as a compass for you when the time comes for you to be leader of this country.”
“No... I haven’t decided if I’ll take over the headship or not yet...”
“You may not be head of state.”
“Huh?”
Sir Gouran answered the question mark hovering over Kuu’s head with a serious look on his face. “Depending on the flow of the times, our country may need to centralize power and abolish the Council of Chiefs in favor of a monarchy. In that event, you must become a king who can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Souma and Maria. That may be the era that comes. That’s all the more reason why I want you to broaden your horizons while you still can. While you’re in the kingdom, I will bring the Council of Chiefs under control, and build the foundation for you to put your shrewdness to work.”
...This was some incredible stuff he was saying. The look on Sir Gouran’s face right now resembled the face of the former king, Albert, when he’d entrusted Liscia to me and left the castle.
It was the face of one entrusting things to the next generation.
Even though I was awed by the atmosphere, I hesitantly raised my hand. “One question. You said you want to leave Kuu with us, but do you mean you want him to study abroad in our country?”
“No, not as a student. I want you to use him as a temporary vassal. I think that will be a better experience for Kuu.”
“An uninvited vassal, then...” Kuu muttered.
In terms of position, he’d be like Aisha was initially. Basically, I could treat him as a vassal who doubled as a friend, like Hal. I could let him stay in a room in the castle.
“I don’t mind, but does Kuu?” I asked.
“It doesn’t matter if I mind or not... I don’t have the right to refuse, do I?” Kuu glanced at his father, seeking confirmation.
Sir Gouran simply nodded without saying anything.
Kuu, sensing the man’s unbreakable will, scratched his head. “My stubborn old man’s made up his mind, so throwing a tantrum won’t get me anywhere. Besides, I’m interested in what kind of country Souma’s building, too.”
He couldn’t have fully accepted suddenly being told he would be entrusted to a foreign country, but it was very like Kuu to already be thinking about it positively like that.
“...I see,” I said. “Welcome aboard, Kuu.”
When I offered him my hand, he took it firmly.
“Oookyakya! But since I’m imposing myself as a vassal, that means you outrank me, doesn’t it? Still, I’m from a foreign country, so calling you Your Majesty doesn’t feel right. That’s why I’m going to call you Bro from now on.”
“Uh, Bro?”
“Yeah. Think of me like your little brother. Well, so long.” Kuu put a hand on his hip, grinned like always, and said, “I’m counting on you from here on! Bro!”
Epilogue: An Unsettling Presence
With the tripartite agreement successfully concluded to found a medical alliance between the kingdom, republic, and Empire, a feast was held to celebrate that night at the inn that had served as the site of the meeting.
Since coming to this country, there had been parties held whenever there was an excuse, but this time, there were a large number of people in attendance, so it was the largest yet.
It was unfortunate that one of the three leaders, Maria, who had attended by Jewel Voice Broadcast, was unable to attend.
“Please, come to my country someday,” she had said before terminating the communication. “When you do, let’s drink together.”
“Yes. Someday.”
Considering how far the Empire was, though, I didn’t know if that day would come or not. If the political situation in the world stabilized, we’d eventually be able to travel to each others’ countries for meetings, but... there was no indication that would happen any time soon.
While I was thinking that...
“Bro! Are you having fun?!” Kuu broke in.
Kuu, who was already drunk, suddenly put his arm around my neck. The impact nearly made me drop my drink.
“Whoa! That’s dangerous... I mean, get away from me. I’m not into getting touchy-feely with guys.”
“It’s ’cause you look so gloomy, Bro,” he cackled. “You’ve gotta have fun when drinking.”
Kuu moved away from me with a cackling laugh.
“I’m enjoying myself,” I said, relieved he had backed away. “At least as much as anyone else.”
“Hm? Well, okay then.”
Because so long had passed since the start of the party, everyone was off doing their own thing now. Juna was pouring drinks for Sir Gouran, who was now our sworn friend, while Aisha and Hal were having a drinking contest, and Kaede was watching and egging them on.
Leporina was taking care of Tomoe, who had been knocked out by the smell of alcohol, and Roroa was talking to Taru, who had been invited by Kuu.
It was turning into quite the chaotic scene.
“You seem to be in and awfully good mood yourself, Kuu,” I said.
“Damn straight. I mean... You know.” Kuu raised his thumb, and indicated Taru who Roroa was talking to.
I see. He’s in a good mood because of that...
“That” had occurred a few hours before.
When t
he meeting finished, Kuu took us to visit Taru’s workshop on a hill near Noblebeppu. It was to tell his childhood friend Taru that he would be staying in the Kingdom of Friedonia for a while.
While we were there, we revealed our identities, too, but she wasn’t especially surprised. For a craftsperson like Taru, maybe the position of her clients didn’t matter so much.
“...So, that being the case, it’s been decided I’ll go to the kingdom to study under Bro, and I’m only taking Leporina with me,” Kuu finished, resting his foot on a bucket that was lying around, and adopting the pose of a sailor with his foot on one of the short posts used for mooring boats.
He might have thought it was a cool way of saying goodbye, or he might just have been trying to act tough, but either way, resting his foot on a bucket wasn’t going to accomplish that.
While we all looked at him coldly, Kuu continued his speech. “Oh, don’t you worry, Miss Taru. Our parting will be a brief one. I’ll stay with Bro, learn from how he rules, and I swear, someday, I’ll come back to you as a real man. I look forward to the day when I return in glory to my old home town.”
Even though Taru wasn’t saying anything, Kuu kept on giving his parting speech.
Meanwhile, Taru was paying no heed to his words, and was pounding on hot metal.
I don’t know... It was the sort of scene that made me feel sorry for Kuu.
The lack of response from Taru made Kuu look upset. “Hey! Hey now, Miss Taru! Here I am, giving you my farewell speech, so give me a little response, would you? You’ll be lonely without me, right?”
“Not particularly... I’m not interested in where you go, dumb master.”
“Not interested...? Isn’t that kind of harsh? Even if you aren’t interested, your childhood friend is here to say goodbye, so be a little... nicer to me.”
“Having you yammer on at me when I’m smithing is nothing but a nuisance.”
There was nothing he could say to that, so Kuu slumped his shoulders in disappointment.
...Yeah, well, if the girl he liked was going to treat him that way, of course he’d get dejected.
I guess I’ll listen to him vent at the party tonight... I thought with a sigh.
But then I heard the sound of Taru putting the metal she’d been striking into the water. She laid out a number of metal products on the table, including the one she had just been working on. That shape with a small blade on the end was nothing if not a scalpel.
“I tried making the thing you ordered with various metals,” she said. “Iron, copper, silver, and a number of alloys. Do you know which was the best suited for it?”
Taru cocked her head to the side.
Ohh, so a sample scalpel was what she’d been working on.
Even if she asked me which was best, I wasn’t a doctor, so I didn’t know. There were metal allergies and such to consider, too, so it couldn’t be decided on strength and cutting edge alone.
“I’ll have to go back to my country and ask someone who’d know...”
“I see... Well, I’ll go to the kingdom, too, then,” Taru said offhandedly.
Everyone’s eyes went wide. The most surprised of all, though, was Kuu, who had been giving his parting speech until a moment ago.
“Huh?! You’re coming, too, Taru?!”
“Not because I want to be with you, dumb master,” Taru said willfully. “I’m only going to the kingdom for my own reasons.” Then she stared at me and said, “I’ve heard that the king requested that, in case it becomes necessary to make medical equipment for himself, he wants the republic to send a craftsperson to offer guidance. I’ll volunteer to be that craftsperson.”
“You’re going to come teach?” Kuu gaped.
“I’m interested in Friedonia’s techniques, too,” she said with unswerving eyes. “I don’t just want to teach; I also want to learn.”
“...Fine. We welcome you, Madam Taru.” I extended my hand to her. “Let me prepare a dedicated workshop for you in the castle town. I’d very much like to have you come to our country as a craftsperson.”
“I’ll be in your care.” Taru firmly took my hand.
It looked like Kuu was dumbfounded by this sudden turn of events, but he quickly pulled himself together and cackled. “Oh, I see! In the end, you’re coming, too! I don’t care why. I’m glad we can be together!” And he slapped her hard on the back.
“...Ouch. Don’t hit my back.” Taru had a bothered look on her face.
Then again, since she was just sitting there and taking it, maybe she wasn’t so unhappy about it? Maybe she was coming in order to be with Kuu?
“How should I say this...? She has a complicated personality,” Juna said with a wry smile.
“Maybe it’s actually for a really simple reason, y’know?” Roroa said with a happy smile, standing on the opposite side of me.
In conclusion, it seemed that a woman’s heart was a thing of mystery, complicated yet simple.
So, with it decided that Taru would join us, Kuu was in high spirits.
He’d been downing his fermented milk pretty quickly since the start of the party.
Kuu went over to where Taru was, and Roroa came over to me.
“Nyahaha,” she grinned. “Ever since we came to this country, it’s been nothin’ but parties.”
“You’re right... Hey, wait!”
Roroa had laid down and was using my lap as a pillow. Good grief.
I placed my hand on Roroa’s head, and rolled her head around in my lap. “It’s unseemly, suddenly lying down like this.”
“I ain’t drunk. You’ve gotta keep things free and easygoing when there’s drink goin’ ’round,” Roroa said with a smug laugh as I rolled her head around. “So, darlin’, what next? More travels?”
”What’s next”... huh?
“We have Kuu to consider now, so I think we’ll go back to the kingdom for a while,” I said. “I’m sure I have work piled up that needs my attention, and I’m concerned about Liscia, too. Besides...”
“Besides?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“???”
There were question marks floating over Roroa’s head as I continued to pat her.
At last, Roroa smiled in satisfaction, and not long after that, she was snoring. When the usually boisterous Roroa was asleep, she looked like a sweet young maiden. While looking at her sleeping face, I thought about what I had nearly said before.
Besides... What Maria was saying bothers me.
It had happened after the meeting, when I was saying my goodbyes to Maria. Her previously relaxed expression had suddenly become serious.
Just I was wondering what was up, she had told me in a quiet voice, “Lately, the monsters in the north have been becoming more active.”
Midword
Thank you for buying How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom volume 7. This is Dojyomaru, who is worried that these midwords are appearing earlier and earlier in each volume.
This time we had the Republic Arc. With Kuu, Leporina, and Taru from the Republic joining the cast, the era is moving into a new stage with young people at the lead... and yet, Liscia is now off on maternity leave.
I don’t think you’ll find many series in which the main heroine is away from the story temporarily because of maternity leave.
The composition of this story is as odd as ever, but I do hope you’ll stick with it.
Now then, in regard to what I wrote in volume 4 about the true value of web novels, there was some response to it, so I think I’ll say just a little more.
When volume 4 came out, I boastfully wrote that the true value of web novels was that you could write as much as you wanted without worrying about the length, but they also have one other strength.
You can choose the timing for when they’re published as books for yourself.
This is it.
Of course, unless you choose to self-publish the physical books, it is necessary to have a publisher approach you about print rights. What I’m
talking about is the timing for releasing the physical books after you’ve been contacted by a publisher.
For instance, with a new author’s award, the results are announced on the publisher’s homepage with a bang.
“This novel won a grand prize. It will be published soon.”
It’s announced in a way that also acts as advertisement. New works need to attract the attention of readers, so this is the right way to do it. However, this also places a time limit on publishing the work. If there’s too long a gap, people ask, “When is that work that won the grand prize going to be published?”
On that point, when it comes to web novels, even if the request to publish the novel in print comes, it’s possible to delay your response. If you aren’t confident, or are concerned about readers’ responses to as-yet-unpublished sections of the work, or if you don’t have enough material built up, you can defer your response to the request to publish.
Naturally, there may be some publishers who won’t allow you to put things on hold. However, publishers like Overlap will wait if you ask them to.
Now, as for how I can say that with such certainty, that’s because, with my own Realist Hero, I actually delayed my response for about half a year after I was approached. (By the way, I’ve checked with my editor if I can talk about this, and I received the okay, so have no worries there.)
The request to publish Realist Hero as a novel came just as I was writing the finale of volume 1 of the web novel version. That was around the time when people had started to take notice of this story. However, I asked to defer my response.
My reason was, “I didn’t know if the Subjugation Arc that will be volume two or the Post-war Arc that will make up parts of volumes three and four will be accepted by the readers,” and, “If I can’t write through to the last scene of volume four, I’m not confident I can conclude the story.”
Thanks to that, I was blessed with readers who stayed with me past the Subjugation Arc and Post-war Arc, and I found the confidence to continue writing this story, so I decided to accept the request around the time I wrote the last scene of volume four.