by Dojyomaru
When we heard Hakuya’s guess, we all looked to Hilde, and she nodded.
“...It’s true that I’ve been with Brad several times when he opened a patient’s stomach and removed the parasites. I could imagine what was going on inside that woman’s body, if only vaguely.”
“Basically, if you understand the mechanism behind a disease, it can be cured with light magic, huh...” I trailed off.
It might be possible to cure any illness she understood the mechanism of with light magic. Even diseases that would have been untreatable in the world I came from. Eliminating all those parasites in an instant without surgically opening the patient’s stomach would have been impossible in my old world. Because it was overtechnology, the possibilities were endless.
“To sum things up, if we pound medical knowledge into our light mages’ heads, we can increase the number of them who can cure disease like Hilde did, huh?”
“It is only a hypothesis for the time being... but that seems likely.” Hakuya nodded.
True enough, we couldn’t say for certain until we had tested it, but I was convinced.
“...Thank goodness.” Liscia let out a sigh of relief. “That means Dr. Hilde’s not special, right? If we can increase the number of mages who can do the same thing, Dr. Hilde won’t be seen as anything unique, and countries like the Orthodox Papal State won’t come after her.”
At her words, Hakuya and I felt a little embarrassed.
In our positions as king and prime minister, our minds had been solely focused on the potential of magic and how it could be used. Meanwhile, Liscia was thinking about Hilde the whole time. This is embarrassing, I thought, and Hakuya and I looked at one another with wry smiles.
“...Yeah.” I smiled to reassure Liscia. “It’s an issue that powerful light mages are being taken in by the church, but some of them must have the desire to save people. I could speak to Bishop Souji and have him find us some promising individuals. I’d like to have more people like Hilde a few years from now.”
I then looked to Hilde and Brad.
“Until then, it would be best to keep this secret for both of your safety.”
“But... if I have the means to save someone, not using it is not an option.”
I looked to Hilde, who spoke as a doctor, and nodded. “I know. In that case, you can put the patient under with drugs, and pretend that the medicine worked like this time. You’ll have to accept that much of a lie.”
“...I suppose so. It’s easier than being told not to use it at all.”
“I’ll also post guards for the two of you. Their job will be less to monitor you, and more to gather information, and prevent leaks. They’ll watch to ensure this doesn’t get out, and to deal with the situation if it looks like it might, so they’ll do what they can not to interfere with your lives.”
“I know that can’t be helped, but... let me say one thing,” Brad said, raising his hand.
“I’m sure you’re not entirely satisfied, but you’ll have to put up with some inconvenience...”
“No, that’s not it. What I want to say is that I want you to protect Ludia, too, not just us. That girl’s more important than our own lives.”
Hilde nodded in agreement. This was an issue with the way I had explained it.
“I promise the country will guarantee your family’s safety.”
“...Ahaha! Sorry to trouble you, Your Majesty.”
Hilde finally smiled at that point, making my heart feel lighter.
On this day, the history of medical science in our kingdom broke into a new stage.
Chapter 3: Symposium
“Tomoe’s been visiting Juna’s place a lot recently.”
It was a cool summer night when the heat of day had faded.
When I mentioned that offhandedly, Roroa nodded. “Ohh, I’ve been hearin’ about that. Says she wants to learn about the charms of an adult woman.”
“An adult woman, huh... I’d like her to be childish while she’s a child, at least. But maybe that’s just the selfishness of an adult talking.”
“Nyahaha, could be,” Roroa laughed. “Tomoe’s already twelve, ain’t she? That’s when us girls start growin’ up, y’know... But, wait, why do ya think she’s not askin’ me?”
“Isn’t it obvious? It’s because you don’t give off that impression at all, right?”
Roroa puffed up her cheeks and pinched me in the side. It kind of hurt.
“Why not? I’m already a married woman, y’know?”
Roroa hugged me so that her skin pressed against mine. She was currently lying in bed with me, using my outstretched arm as a pillow. There was a blanket over us, but underneath we were both naked.
I turned towards Roroa, without moving the arm under her head, and stroked her hair. “It’s more about the kind of woman she wants to become. In your case, there’s that friend of hers... Lucy, was it?”
“Ohh. That kid from the Evans Company, huh?”
“That girl admires you, doesn’t she?”
“Ohh, yeah, I guess. It threw me for a loop when she started callin’ me Big Sister Roroa out of nowhere, though.”
The other day, we heard Tomoe had made friends at the academy, so we invited them to the castle, though not in any official capacity.
While Ichiha and Yuriga already lived in the castle, and I was acquainted with Velza, Lucy, the daughter of a merchant family, was the only one who was new to me.
When I and all my wives came out to greet them, since it involved our beloved little sister Tomoe, Lucy was humbled at first, but when she noticed Roroa was there, too, she let out a shriek.
“Eeek?! Lady Roroa! Isn’t that Lady Roroa?!”
“Wh-What? What’re you shoutin’ for all of a sudden?”
“I’m a huge fan of yours! Please, shake my hand!”
Then she took Roroa’s hand and shook it vigorously. Roroa and everyone else were dumbfounded, but Velza hurriedly grabbed Lucy by the scruff of the neck and dragged her off.
“L-Lucy! This is rude to His Majesty and the queens!”
“Huh?! Oh, no! I was so giddy over finally meetin’ Lady Roroa, I lost control of myself! P-Please, forgive my rudeness! This’s got nothin’ to do with my family, so please only punish me!” Lucy threw herself on the ground and apologized.
Unable to watch her any longer, Tomoe said, “Big Brother, Lu’s usually a good girl. She’s my friend, too, so please forgive her,” or something like that. There wasn’t any need for forgiveness, though. I wasn’t even upset in the first place.
Things were getting out of hand, so I decided to laugh it off so they knew I didn’t plan to make a big deal of it.
“What a cheerful, fun girl. That’s a good friend you’ve found there, Tomoe.”
“Big brother... Yes!” She gave me a big smile. That was all I needed.
Roroa must have been remembering what happened that time, too, because she snickered.
“I’m like a little sister to Big Sis Cia and the rest, but I’m a ‘Big Sister’ to her. That was kind of a new feeling.”
“There was Princess Tia in the Kingdom of Lastania, too, wasn’t there?”
“I know she’s younger, but she’s a Big Sis to me. Oh, right. I’ve been correspondin’ with Big Sis, and it seems my big brother hasn’t laid a hand on her yet. He’s plannin’ to wait about a year.”
“Princess Tia was rather petite, after all... I guess that just shows Julius is taking care of her.”
That was probably because he wanted her to grow a little more before they started making babies. You know, to lower the risks of pregnancy as much as possible.
While I was thinking about that, Roroa poked me in the side. It was time to get started... apparently.
Then, Roroa covered her body with her hands, and in a desperate-sounding voice, she said, “Y-You can do whatever you like with my body. Just, please, don’t hurt the people of my country,” her eyes moist with tears.
I looked at her and let out a sigh. “...Can
you stop playing the princess of a ruined nation?”
Roroa seemed to be awfully into setting up situations like this. I thought the way she played around was cute, but she seemed awfully eager to make me into a lecherous king in her fantasy scenarios. When I tried bringing it up with Liscia...
“Hee hee, I heard. That girl sure thinks a lot about this stuff, huh? But, you know... I’m a former princess, too, maybe I should do that for you next time?” she said with a smirk.
It seemed my wives frequently traded information among themselves.
It was a very good thing for me, and for the country, that my wives got along, but... I dunno, it was grinding my psyche down pretty quickly.
“My taste isn’t that bad, okay?”
“Well, you’re no fun. Haven’t ya heard the rumors sayin’ you started a war to get your hands on me?”
“That’s an old one. It’s long since been wiped away by now.”
“But doesn’t this sort of actin’ get you goin’?”
I tilted my head towards Roroa, and pulled the head that was resting on my arm closer to me.
“Even without that... you’ve already got me going.”
“Nyaheheh!”
◇ ◇ ◇
The following day, I called Tomoe and Ichiha to the governmental affairs office. Liscia and Hakuya were already in the room. When I explained the reason I had summoned them, they both cocked their heads to the side in unison.
““Monsterology Symposium?””
The word must have been unfamiliar to them. Tomoe followed up with another question, “What is a ‘symposium,’ Big Brother?”
“It’s a word from my old world referring to an academic conference on a specific theme. An exchange of opinions in regards to research, held in a public place. This time, I’ve decided to hold a symposium on the field of monster research—that’s monsterology—at the Royal Academy this weekend.”
“The Academy... You’re doing it at our school?”
“Yes. Okay, Hakuya, I’ll let you explain the rest.”
“Understood.”
Hakuya bowed, and then pulled out a book. On the cover, the words “Monster Encyclopedia” were written in this world’s language.
It was the first encyclopedia of monsters in this world, published as a joint work by Ichiha and Hakuya, and featured illustrations of monsters drawn by Ichiha that had been sorted into categories. Printing had already existed without me introducing the idea to this world, so there were quite a few copies in circulation already.
“Between the publication of a Monster Encyclopedia featuring categorized sketches by Ichiha, and research on the various monster parts we were able to collect after the demon wave hit the Kingdom of Lastania, academic fields involving monsters have seen a boom in this kingdom. The question ‘What is a monster?’ is an important one for this kingdom, no, this world.”
“There’s the Demon Lord’s Domain to the north, and even if there wasn’t, they’re inside dungeons, too,” Liscia said, sounding convinced.
“Yes.” Hakuya nodded. “There are also the demons that Tomoe enc... No, that exist inside the Demon Lord’s Domain to consider, too. If we have a proper understanding of monsters, I believe it will be easier to distinguish them from demons. It may be possible to negotiate with the sapient demons to avoid pointless strife.”
“I’d rather not fight them if we don’t have to, too.” Tomoe clutched at her chest as she spoke. “In Lastania... I touched the minds of those lizardman monsters. They all had an intense feeling of starvation, and they only saw me as prey. They didn’t think about anything but eating. So...”
Tomoe’s unspoken feelings, I don’t want to lump the kobold who saved me with those things that could only think on that level... came across clearly.
Ichiha was here right now, so she wouldn’t touch on it, but she must have wanted to say there were demons with hearts, too.
“...Yeah.” I nodded to her. “They say that the demons are intelligent, but it’s still unclear. Even if they are intelligent, it’s dangerous to assume we’ll be able to hold dialogue with every demon. Still, we need to consider the possibility that some are like that. To make sure the war doesn’t wage until one side is completely annihilated.”
Seemingly in agreement, everyone nodded gravely.
“Well, anyway, on that note, it’s in our national interest to research monsters. That’s why I’m holding the Monsterology Symposium. Well, instead of the study of monsters itself, the main topics will likely be, ‘The Importance and Verification of Monster Research,’ and, ‘The Way Forward for Monster Research.’ Given how important the topic is, we need to move forward cautiously.”
“Researching monsters... That sounds pretty close to heresy, huh? The Orthodox Papal State will probably raise a fuss.”
I agreed with Liscia’s observation.
In a country that placed such importance on religion, even if academic development was necessary, it was bound to meet pushback if it tried to unravel some divine mystery. They wouldn’t want to permit the study of monsters, which served as an easy-to-understand enemy of God.
“Let’s have their bishop, Souji, take part in the symposium. It will be hard to wipe away all their concerns, but it should provide some cover for us. I intend to have Kuu take part as a representative for the Republic, and to let Madam Maria in the Empire watch via Jewel Voice Broadcast. Hakuya, the preparations are in place for that, right?”
“By your will. I have received her eager consent by way of Madam Jeanne.”
I gave Hakuya’s answer a satisfied nod and said, “Monsters are a topic I want to study together with the Empire and the Republic. Besides, I wouldn’t want to risk making them investigate us when we’re doing nothing wrong.”
“Um... can I say something, Big Brother?” Tomoe hesitantly raised her hand.
“What is it, Tomoe?”
“I think what you’re saying makes sense, but this symposium will be public... which means anyone can listen, right? How will you handle Yuriga?”
“...Oh, right. Yuriga, huh?” I held my head.
Yuriga, being the younger sister of the King of Malmkhitan, periodically wrote letters to her brother describing her life here in the Kingdom. If she attended the Monsterology Symposium as an observer, the contents of it would make their way back to Fuuga. This was vital information for him, as he was the center of the land reclamation movement.
Fuuga was a man who could blow up big riding the waves of this era, so I didn’t want to show him any of our cards that I didn’t have to, but... like I already said, it was dangerous to conduct this research in secret.
“What do you think, Hakuya?”
“...I think it’s inevitable. If possible, I would prefer that Madam Yuriga not participate, though.”
“If she’s not interested in monster research, it’s possible she won’t...”
“There’s no chance of that,” Tomoe stated awfully clearly. “During the song battle, Yuriga told me. The events you seem to have put no thought into have some deeper intent lurking in the shadows. If she hears about an off-the-wall event like this, she’s guaranteed to realize it’s important.”
“...That girl’s not bad. Managing to understand Souma’s personality at her age,” Liscia said, sounding impressed.
Now that I thought about it, Liscia had said something similar to me once, too. Liscia and Yuriga... They might have a lot in common, huh?
“In that case, we can’t hide it...” I hesitated for a moment, but eventually resolved myself. “If the information is going to come out either way, let’s publish it ourselves.”
“Are you certain you want to do that?” Hakuya asked.
“Fuuga is invading the Demon Lord’s Domain. In this present moment, he’s the leader most likely to run right into the demons. It’d be bad for us if he starts hostilities with them because he can’t tell the difference between monsters and demons. We should give him information on monsters, as a warning, if nothi
ng else. Maybe we should lend him a copy of the Monster Encyclopedia while we’re at it?”
“I see. That seems wise.” Hakuya seemed satisfied, so our course was set.
I rose from my seat, and faced everyone.
“That’s that. Everyone, keep everything we talked about in mind this weekend.”
“Okay, got it.”
“““Understood, sire.”””
“In regards to how to handle the children... I’m honestly not sure what to do.” Once Tomoe and Ichiha were sent away, I conferred my thoughts to Liscia and Hakuya. “I’m sure Ichiha will be fine. He’s not that loyal to the Duchy of Chima, and with some negotiation, I’m convinced he’ll offer his allegiance to this country. You would agree with that, right, Hakuya?”
“Indeed. I believe we can look forward to his service in the future.”
“The problem is... Yuriga. What do we do with her, going forward?”
“What do you mean, do with her?”
“We’ve set our policy in regards to Monsterology for now, but for as long as Yuriga stays in this country, things like this will keep happening. It’ll be a pain having to worry about Yuriga’s eyes every time we try to do something that takes us forward.”
“That’s... true, yes.”
As Liscia chewed on that thought, I held up two fingers and showed them to her.
“There are two options available to us. The first is to send her back to Fuuga without teaching her anything of importance. If we send her back ignorant, it won’t improve our relationship with Fuuga, but it won’t make it any worse, either. It will just maintain the status quo.”
“That’s the safe choice, yeah.” Liscia nodded. “So, what’s the other one?”
“We bring her to our side.”
“You mean... make her our ally?”
“No, there’s no need for her to be completely aligned with us. She just has to not be an enemy.”
“...I’m not sure I quite get the difference.”
Liscia seemed confused, so I crossed my arms and explained, “From what the recent reports tell me, though Fuuga and Yuriga are brother and sister, I feel like their personalities are quite different. Yuriga is more realistic, I guess you could say? The more powerful the opponent, the more fired-up Fuuga gets, but I feel like Yuriga would rather avoid the dangerous battles.”