How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom: Volume 11 (Premium)

by Dojyomaru

  ...No, that was hard to imagine. I had heard that no matter how intelligent chimpanzees were, they wouldn’t evolve to become human until modern humanity was wiped out. Unless there is a virus or genetic manipulation like in a certain movie, it was impossible for two human races to exist at the same time.

  Come to think of it... Madam Tiamat once called me, “You who have a familiar smell.” If I considered the link between my past world and this one that she hinted at... it could be that the diverse races of this world didn’t evolve separately from humanity, but were an extension of our own evolution. Yes, almost as if they were “created” by someone. When that thought occurred to me, I shuddered. I felt a primordial fear, like when I thought about the beginning or end of the universe.

  Breathe in... Breathe out... I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then exhaled until my lungs were completely empty. In order to calm my uneasy heart. Once I sensed calm had returned to it, I opened my eyes. This line of thought... is something I can’t bring up here. If a nation that believes one race is superior heard, they might use it to suppress the other races. Claiming that beastmen came from the same root as monsters.

  The high elf supremacist Spirit Kingdom of Garlan, and the Lunarian Orthodox Papal State who claimed they were the descendants of humans who came down from the moon would gleefully proclaim their own race’s superiority. I wanted to avoid that, no matter what.

  I’ll keep this secret until I know more. But I’d like to discuss it with a select few people. To prepare for the day when it comes out... I’ll ask Hakuya, Genia, and the others what to do later.

  Having thought that to myself, I turned to the still noisy hall and said, “There’s still time. Does anyone else have an opinion?”

  Even more hands than last time went up in a hurry.

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  After the conclusion of the symposium. The chairs had been moved off to the side after the passionate exchange of opinions ended, and in place of them a number of large tables laden with trays of food had been brought out. The post-symposium party had begun.

  Food was served as a buffet, and everyone was free to eat and drink what they wanted as they talked about whatever they wanted to. The entire spread was provided by a team of chefs led by Poncho, and service was offered by the maids who reported to Serina. Serina wasn’t here herself due to her pregnancy, but her subordinates helped Poncho in her place.

  Once the drinks had gone around to everyone, I stood up on the stage with a bottle of wine and a large glass in hand, and called Hakuya over.

  “...What is it, sire?”

  “Here, take this.”

  I pushed the large glass into Hakuya’s hand as he approached me with a dubious look on his face, then poured the contents of the bottle into it and spoke loudly so everyone could hear.

  “Sir Ichiha, our guest of honor at this symposium, is still just a child. In his place, I would like to ask Hakuya to offer a toast instead.”

  “...Isn’t that a little much you’re pouring? You’ve emptied out half of the bottle there, haven’t you?”

  “It’s more exciting this way, isn’t it? Go on, once we all say cheers, you just knock that back.”

  “Honestly, sire...”

  Hakuya sounded exasperated, but he turned to the crowd and raised his glass.

  “To monster research, which took a new step forward today, and to the young genius who has appeared in this country to lead it into the next generation, cheers!”

  “““Cheers!”””

  On Hakuya’s call, everyone smiled and raised their own glasses.

  Having finished his toast, Hakuya resolved himself and drained the glass that was full of drink, which was met by a myriad of cheers.

  “Okay, from here on, we set rank aside. Drink, and eat, and talk away,” I said.

  At my words, everyone swarmed the food. It was as popular as you’d expect a menu overseen by the God of Food himself. Meanwhile, Hakuya, who had drunk more than it was easy to in one gulp, wiped his mouth and stared at me with disdain.

  “...The juice was delicious.”

  “I’m glad you liked it. I’ve heard you’re not much of a drinker.”

  By not making it wine, I figured that made it okay to have Hakuya, who got tipsy with a single glass of wine, to drink it all in one gulp. I couldn’t have the guest of honor drinking until he dropped, after all.

  I don’t engage in alcohol harassment. Not me.

  “I wish you had told me so beforehand,” he sighed.

  “Wasn’t everyone excited to watch a lightweight like you steel yourself and drink?”

  “...I do believe we weren’t concerned about rank tonight, yes?”

  Hakuya pulled a paper fan out of nowhere and smacked me over the head with it.

  “Ow! Wait, where’s you get that from?!”

  “Pardon me. I appear to be drunk.”

  “As if you could get drunk on juice!”

  Everyone laughed at that master-servant comedy routine. Well, they seem to like it, so I guess I’ll let it slide.

  With the party started, a ring of people formed around Ichiha and Hakuya, as I expected. Everyone gathered here was passionate about monster research. The two of them were being hit with questions one after another, so they probably didn’t have time to enjoy the food.

  The president of the Monster Research Society, who was acting as something like an intermediary between them, was very busy, too.

  Then, as the party was livening up...

  “Souma.”

  “Yeah. I know.”

  I slipped away with Liscia and snuck off to the changing room behind the stage. Once there, I spoke to the person reflected in the simple receiver.

  “I’m sorry. We kept you waiting.”

  “No, you’ve let me hear something fascinating.”

  The gentle smile on the other side of the screen belonged to Empress Maria of the Empire. Her younger sister, Jeanne, stood beside her with an apologetic look on her face.

  “Also... I must apologize for what happened with Trill.”

  Maria was embarrassed when she heard her younger sister Trill was making married life difficult for Ludwin and Genia. As for Jeanne, her smile was so intense that, if this were a manga, I had to imagine Jeanne would have had one of those cross-shaped anger marks on her forehead.

  “We will give her a stern talking-to about her behavior.”

  “Not that she’s the kind to listen...” Jeanne murmured.

  Even Maria, who always wore a gentle smile, could only sigh and agree. I had heard from our ambassador to the Empire, Piltory, that the third princess had a reputation for being a troublemaker, but it seemed she was worse than I’d imagined.

  Jeanne put her hands on her hips indignantly and said, “If she causes any more trouble, you’re welcome to deport her. If she objects, I will come there and drag her back by the scruff of her neck myself.”

  “...Please leave that until the joint research project is finished.”

  Well, knowing how madly in love with Genia Trill was, if we teased the threat of deportation, she’d probably tone it down a bit. She didn’t want to be torn away from Genia, after all.

  Oh, but it might be good to get Maria and Jeanne to sign off on it being all right to deport her. While I was thinking about that, Liscia tugged on my sleeve.

  “Souma, you’re getting off track.”

  “Oh, right. Now, on the topic of monster research...”

  Maria put on her serious face and nodded. “Right. I’d like to carry out research in our country using the same methods as you are in the Kingdom. Therefore, I would ask you to send us a number of volumes of the Monster Encyclopedia.”

  “Got it. In exchange, please send us any information on monsters you discover. You border the Demon Lord’s Domain, unlike us, so I expect you’ll be able to gather far more samples.”

  “Very well. However... you still have cards you’re keeping hidden, don’t you?”

  Maria’s
eyes were gentle, but also probing. The fact that Tomoe had spoken to a demon with her ability hadn’t been leaked yet, but it seemed she had sensed there were still things we were keeping from the Empire. Honestly... She was such a clever woman.

  I played dumb and shrugged my shoulders. “I will remain silent on that.”

  “Hee hee, is that right?”

  After that, we exchanged a few pleasantries, then terminated our call with Maria on ostensibly harmonious terms. Jeanne said she was disappointed she couldn’t speak to Hakuya, but he was surrounded by people at the moment, and in no position to be thinking about that.

  “Today Hakuya stands on stage, while I work behind the scenes, huh? That’s the opposite of how it usually is.”

  “That’s good once in a while, isn’t it? It lets you understand what Hakuya goes through,” Liscia said, linking her arm through mine.

  “That’s true. It’s rough in a different way than being the one up on stage.”

  “Hee hee, maybe he’s thinking the opposite thing right about now?”

  Ahaha, she could be right.

  When I walked back to where Roroa and Tomoe were, arm-in-arm with Liscia, Roroa said, “Whoa, what’re you two doin’, actin’ all lovey-dovey by yourselves?!”

  Roroa angrily hugged the opposite arm. I had two women hanging off of me, but I couldn’t eat or drink like this. When I said as much, Roroa snickered.

  “We’ll be the ones feedin’ you. Okay, Darlin’, say ahh.”

  “Hee hee, she’s right. Say ahh.”

  When they each offered me food on forks, I broke into a cold sweat.

  “Um, you two, aren’t you forgetting that we’re in the public eye?”

  “It’s fine. They’re all focusin’ on Ichiha and Hakuya anyway.”

  “It’s true. Those two are really popular, huh?”

  I looked at what they were looking at, and Ichiha and Hakuya were still surrounded by researchers, the same as before. No, actually, I think there might have been even more people now.

  That just meant there were that many people who wanted to hear them talk. If anyone saw this scene, they’d never think of Ichiha as “extraneous” or “the leftovers” again.

  “Failure leads to growth, and success to confidence. The results he achieved this time should greatly bolster Ichiha’s confidence. ...I guess it’s time to bring him into the fold in earnest.”

  “Bring him into the fold?” Tomoe cocked her head to the side.

  “Yes. In his current position, Ichiha is ‘a guest from the Duchy of Chima,’ or ‘being left in our care.’ Because everyone thinks I’ll be sending him back to the Duchy of Chima eventually, I’ve kept him away from our secrets up until now. Like your secret, for instance, Tomoe.”

  “M-My secret...” Tomoe clapped her hands when she got it. “Oh! You mean that thing?”

  If mishandled, that information could lead to us being condemned by other countries, so even within this country, only a select few were allowed to know it.

  “If Ichiha is going to study monsters and demons, it’s a fact he’ll have to know. It may open new horizons for him when he learns. But once he knows, we can’t send him back to the Duchy of Chima. Obviously, Hakuya and I want Ichiha to offer us his services and stay in this country permanently.”

  “...I do, too,” Tomoe said, gazing in Ichiha’s direction.

  They were already fast friends. Though that went for Yuriga, too.

  “That’s why I’m thinking we’ll reveal the secret to Ichiha soon. I’ll want you there when we do it, so I’d like you to help convince him to serve this country.”

  “Okay. Of course I will, Big Brother.”

  Tomoe gripped her hands into fists enthusiastically. That gesture was adorable, and I patted her on the head.

  “Well, as long as we talk to him, I’m sure it won’t be a problem. Besides, from the way things look over there, it’ll be fine, wouldn’t you say? Word of Ichiha’s skill will spread now, and once they know he has promise, the nobles won’t leave him alone. Those are researchers flocking around him now, but soon enough there will be nobles saying, ‘Marry my daughter,’ in—Ow!”

  Liscia suddenly elbowed me in the ribs.

  “Wh-What was that for?!”

  When I looked tearfully at Liscia, she gestured towards Tomoe with her chin. What’s that mean? I wondered, and looked over to Tomoe.

  “.........”

  “Murgh...” Tomoe had a sulky look on her face. She was turned towards Ichiha, who was in the center of that ring of people.

  Because Tomoe was cute, when she sulked like that, she just looked a little upset, but... that reaction...

  “Wh-What do you think?” I whispered to Liscia despite myself, and then we both shook our heads with wry smiles.

  “I can’t tell just yet. But girls grow up fast, you know?”

  “That’s right,” Roroa chimed in. “She’s Big Sis Cia’s little sister, so when she goes and set her heart on somethin’, she’s gonna stick to it.”

  The two of them both sounded like they were enjoying this.

  “Hrm... If she did that, I could be pretty sure he’d settle down in the kingdom, though.”

  But even if that were to happen, just how many people’s expectations would the other party, Ichiha, have to live up to?

  There was her birth mother, Father, Mother, Hakuya, Inugami, and me and my wives... More people adored Tomoe like a little sister or daughter than I could fit on one hand. What’s more, a lot of them were in high positions within the Kingdom. They were all hoping for Tomoe’s happiness, so if she wanted him from the bottom of her heart, they wouldn’t get in the way, but... I guess it was too early to worry about it now.

  ...Well, whatever happens, happens.

  I gave up on thinking about it.

  Chapter 5: March of the Bon Parade

  — 2nd day, 8th month, 1548th year, Continental Calendar —

  Some time after the Monsterology Symposium...

  “They’re here! I count eight of them!”

  “Okay, get back, Juno! Augus, we’re moving up.”

  “Got it!”

  Walking past Juno the thief, who had been scouting the enemy, Dece the warrior and Augus the brawler moved up to block the hallway as the buzz of countless insects closed in.

  This place was one of the dungeons inside the Kingdom of Friedonia. It had been thoroughly searched before, and now all that remained was to stop the core that lay in the depths. In doing this, it would turn the dungeon into no more than a labyrinthine cave.

  However, some of the monster material that was harvested here was valuable, and many of the villages and towns in this domain were enriched by the trade in them. That’s why they chose not to stop the core, instead opening the place to adventurers, who would routinely cull the monsters inside, and collect their parts.

  So long as there wasn’t a hidden room somewhere (and these had no doubt all been found), there was no great treasure left outside of the dungeon core; but the paths had been thoroughly searched, so they could gather monster parts without fear. You might think of this as a comparatively low difficulty dungeon. Today, Juno and her party were here on a quest to gather materials.

  “Febral, what’s that monster?”

  “It’s a ‘giant dragonfly’ with ‘crab claws,’ so... that would make it a scissor meganeura.”

  Febral the priest identified the incoming monsters with a glint in his eye. It was common for adventurers to encounter monsters in dungeons, so Souma had distributed the Monster Encyclopedia to adventurers’ guilds inside the kingdom, and was working to spread the knowledge contained within. However, because the Monster Encyclopedia was still expensive, it was put in the guild’s closed stack library, and taking it out was forbidden (there were penalties).

  Febral had an academic streak, and was very particular about things, so he spent his time off cooped up in the guild, reading the Monster Encyclopedia and absorbing its knowledge... Though, really he was just
a bit of a monster maniac.

  The Monster Encyclopedia was sorted well, and had pictures, making it a fun read, and that tickled Febral’s fancy. Hakuya and Ichiha had let their love for the material run wild when working on it, and Souma had read the finished product with great interest too, so maybe literate types liked this sort of encyclopedia.

  In regard to this, Juno had said, “I know it’s just your job title as an adventurer, and you’re not an actual priest, but is it really okay for you to be so into monsters?”

  Her exasperation was evident, but Febral seemed completely unconcerned about that. The monster maniac had identified the incoming foes as scissor meganeuras. Their bodies were mostly giant dragonfly, but their arms (forelegs) were crustacean claws.

  The scissor meganeuras flew in and assaulted Dece and Augus with their sharp claws.

  “Guh! They’re fast little buggers!”

  “Damn it! Go down, you crabonfly!”

  “Not crabonfly, scissor meganeura.”

  Ignoring that correction from Febral, Dece drove them off with some sort of flying attack with his sword, while Augus did the same with his gauntlets. They must have been striking heavy blows, because sparks flew every time their metal weapons struck a claw. But there was a reason Dece and Augus were fighting entirely on the defensive.

  “So which parts are the valuable ones?!”

  “Stop holding back and tell us, Febral!”

  There was a sparkle from Febral’s imaginary glasses (he wasn’t wearing any real ones) as they asked him.

  “Those crab claws are sold as a luxury food item. There doesn’t appear to be any toxic parts, so the guild should pay good money to take them off our hands. Their compound eyes are also a valuable component for some medical equipment, so they should sell for a good price, too.”

  “The scissors and the eyes, huh? Got it!”

  “We aim for the body then!”

  Augus and Dece slipped past the scissor attacks, using sword and fist to pummel the scissor meganeura’s bodies. Their attacks seemingly crushed its weak dragonfly part. The thin wings, cut free from the main body, fluttered to the ground.