Side Story: Using the New Technology (Alexis's POV)

Today, just as I was steeling myself to tackle the mountain of work before me, Richard told me he had something important to discuss and asked me to clear the room. It was probably about the magic item I had heard about from Stefan and Martine yesterday.

To think the children had come up with a mechanism like that...

Well, perhaps it was only natural with Leon-sama involved, but even so, it was an astonishing invention.

"Richard, is this about the magic item?"

"There is the matter of the magic item, as well as another proposal from Leon-sama. Would it be all right if I began with the magic item?"

I wondered what Leon-sama's proposal was. I was extremely curious about it, but it would probably be more efficient to begin with the magic item, since we already both knew about it.

"Yes, that is fine."

"Very well. As Your Majesty likely already knows, this concerns the magic-stone-linking technology. How do you think that technology should be handled?"

After hearing about it from Stefan and Martine yesterday, I had considered its various advantages and disadvantages. There were certainly disadvantages to making it public, but the advantages would clearly outweigh them.

"I believe it should be made public. My greatest concern is that it might be used to create attack magic items, but the royal family basically controls magic stones and magic iron. Therefore, I do not think it would become that serious a problem. What do you think, Richard?"

"I agree. We have records of every magic item sold, including who bought what and how many were sold. Therefore, we know how many magic stones and how much magic iron each household possesses. The fact that they can be used to create attack magic items would consequently work to the royal family's advantage."

As expected, Richard had reached the same conclusion.

"Then we shall make this technology public."

"Understood. I have already told Leon-sama and Lucien to create samples of every magic item they wish to register and bring them all to me. I will handle the procedures and register the magic-stone-linking technology and the various magic items."

As expected of Richard. He worked quickly.

"Yes. I would rather not entrust this to an official. I am counting on you. We shall have useful registered magic items produced and put to use as a priority."

"Once the magic items have been registered, let us hold a meeting to discuss how they can be used."

If the proposed uses clearly benefited the country, they would not be rejected at the meeting. Well, people would probably still raise a complaint or two.

"There is one more matter concerning the magic item."

Another matter concerning the magic item? Stefan and Martine had only told me about the technology.

"What is it?"

"Actually... Leon-sama has developed a poison-removal magic item. This is the actual item."

"A poison-removal magic item!?"

To think he had developed such a magic item that seemed like something out of a dream... Leon-sama never ceased to amaze me.

"Yes. This magic item cannot be made public for now, but he made it for Your Majesty and me. He has also agreed to make them for our families."

"That is... truly something to be grateful for. Even with poison tasters, the fear never completely goes away. I can never thank Leon-sama enough..."

"Let us repay Leon-sama in whatever ways are available to us, even if only a little."

I firmly nodded at Richard's words. The country was in a difficult state, but I would do everything in my power to ensure that nothing detrimental happened to Leon-sama.

With that resolve, I accepted the magic item from Richard.

"Regarding this magic item, you should wear this bracelet on your left hand and this ring on your right. By holding the two together near your meal, you can apparently remove anything harmful to the human body. Its effective range is about fifty centimeters in radius, so please be careful."

To be able to remove anything harmful to the human body... If Leon-sama could create a magic item like this, then he must be capable of using magic of that nature.

The Apostle-sama truly had power on an entirely different level.

"I will make sure to wear this at all times. It is simple yet refined, so it does not look out of place. However, it is obvious to anyone that this is a magic item... How should I disguise it?"

A glance at this magic stone would immediately reveal that it was a Recovery-attribute magic item. Claiming it was a bracelet-shaped light orb would be pushing it...

"Leon-sama has thought of a countermeasure for that as well. Apparently, he can make a bracelet-shaped Purification magic item. Apparently, it will clean the entire body."

"What!? I want one of those too... Would it look unnatural if I wore two?"

"I said exactly the same thing, and Leon-sama said he would make another type of magic item that cleans the body."

"I see. That is certainly something to be grateful for."

Royal clothing inevitably emphasized grandeur, which made summers extremely hot. I often ended up drenched in sweat and uncomfortable beneath my clothes, so would this solve that problem as well? My debt of gratitude to Leon-sama continued to grow beyond anything I could ever repay.

"Then, regarding the poison-removal magic item, it is fine to keep it secret until Leon-sama graduates from the Royal Academy, correct?"

"Yes. We shall do so."

That concluded our discussion of the magic items. Next was Leon-sama's proposal. I had been curious about it for some time, and I would not be able to concentrate on anything else until I heard it.

"Richard, is it all right to conclude our discussion of the magic items for now? We can decide the rest at the meeting after they have been registered."

"Understood. Then, about Leon-sama's proposal..."

"Yes. I have been curious about it for some time."

"Leon-sama proposed that we announce to everyone that the threat of the Monster Forest is drawing near."

Publicize information about the Monster Forest...? Did he mean the nobles by "everyone"?

"By 'everyone,' do you mean the nobles?"

"No. The nobles, of course, but also all the commoners throughout the country."

What!? If we did that, the entire country would fall into confusion and panic!

Besides, it would accomplish nothing. In the end, everything depended on whether the knights could hold it back. Wouldn't unnecessarily alarming the commoners merely destabilize the country?

It was true that controlling the information would soon become difficult, and rumors might spread among the commoners, but there was no need for us to hasten that process ourselves.

...Still, this was Leon-sama's proposal. Perhaps he had some important reason for suggesting it.

"I feel that doing so would only destabilize the country..."

"I initially thought the same, but after hearing Leon-sama out, I changed my mind and came to believe that we should do it."

"What was his reasoning?"

"Yes. He said that we should inform everyone of the truth about the threat posed by the Monster Forest while giving them hope by telling them that we could overcome it if we all joined forces. We would then explain that the knights alone were no longer enough and ask everyone to lend us their strength. Specifically, we would recruit soldiers willing to cooperate in dealing with the Monster Forest and request the food supplies that would be needed as a result. We would, of course, pay appropriate compensation in return. By encouraging the commoners to lend their strength and face the threat together, we could avoid panic while securing the necessary people and supplies."

...Leon-sama was right.

Until now, I had thought of the commoners as people to protect and had never considered asking them to fight alongside us. But in a situation like this, perhaps we had no choice but to join forces.

I had thought I understood the Apostle-sama's teachings, but I had failed to grasp their essence...

"Richard, Leon-sama's opinion is entirely reasonable. I am ashamed that I never arrived at that conclusion myself."

"I felt the same way... Leon-sama said that, rather than being swallowed by the Monster Forest without being told anything, the commoners would want to fight with their own strength."

"He is absolutely right. After examining the details of this proposal, we will put it into practice immediately."

"Understood. In addition, Leon-sama had another proposal..."

How astonishing... It was truly fortunate that he had given us so many useful proposals.

"What is it?"

"He suggested that we organize an expedition to the Monster Forest as a Royal Academy event. By fostering a shared sense of crisis among the children, that awareness might spread to the adults as well."

...I had never thought of using the Royal Academy in that way.

I had regarded the Royal Academy merely as a place to educate children, but it was true that the ideas they learned there would spread to their families...

Even those who did not participate in the expedition would inevitably hear about it at the Royal Academy.

"Richard, that is another excellent proposal."

"I agree. I have realized a new possibility for the Royal Academy. Whenever I speak with Leon-sama, I am reminded of how narrow my own perspective is..."

"I feel the same. Even just listening to you explain Leon-sama's ideas makes me realize how shallow my own thinking has been. I hope to learn much from Leon-sama."

There was no reason to reject this expedition. With sufficient knights accompanying them, the danger would be low, and it would provide an opportunity to spread a shared awareness of the Monster Forest's threat among the nobles.

Making participation compulsory would provoke considerable opposition from the nobles, so we should begin with voluntary participation. However, if we could offer benefits for participating, more nobles might send their children.

What benefit would be best...?

"Richard, we will adopt this expedition. It would be best to begin during this year's autumn break. Participation cannot be compulsory, so it will be voluntary, but could we offer some benefit? Ideally, there should be a strong enough incentive to make nobles want to send their children."

"Participation would certainly increase if we had such an incentive. Let me think... How about awarding a medal to everyone who participates? We could create a new medal for those who challenge the Monster Forest. If we awarded it to those who joined the expedition, I believe participation would increase. Of course, we would also have to award it to the knights and soldiers currently fighting on the front lines of the Monster Forest..."

Nobles often cared greatly about appearances. If their children could receive a medal simply by participating in the expedition, more of them would surely send their children.

Eventually, once households without the medal became the minority, every household without one would send its children. Furthermore, households without children attending the Royal Academy might even have members join the knight order.

It was worth doing.

"Richard, that is a good idea. Let us proceed in that direction for now."

"Understood. I will work out the details of everything we decided today and report back to you."

"Yes. I am counting on you."

Thus, my discussion with Richard came to an end, after which I was kept busy with my usual administrative work.

Thanks to Leon-sama, I could see hope ahead. I had to ensure that I lived up to the expectations placed upon me as king.