The Pass Opens! And What Is a Holy Knight?

The highway was almost open, but just when one problem had been dealt with, another arose.

We were attacked by a wyvern. But with everyone's cooperation, we defeated it and obtained its corpse.

Apparently this wyvern is edible too, so I was looking forward to finding out what it tasted like.

But when I returned after retrieving the wyvern that had fallen to the bottom of the valley, the princess used something on me that seemed like magic.

According to the princess, I had apparently become something called a 'Holy Knight.'

However, no one knew what it really was. Even the merchants who traveled from place to place seemed to know nothing about it.

Perhaps because she had used her power――the princess seemed to have exhausted herself and was resting in my house.

Once she recovered, I intended to ask her in detail what this so-called 'Holy Knight' was.

――For now, I was hungry, so I ate.

Primula prepared a large amount of soup and other food so we could provide meals for the merchants too.

The bread Anemone baked would never have been enough, so I bought bread from Shangri-La as well.

I provided free meals to the caravan's guards, but charged the merchants.

They had their pride as merchants, so even though they had money, they would not ask for free food.

No matter how greedy a merchant was, if they did that, they would be met with contemptuous looks from everyone around them.

We drank soup and ate bread. The soup was made from lesser dragon meat.

It was light and not very fatty. I started craving rice, so I bought packaged rice balls from Shangri-La.

I had Anemone warm them with magic.

"I want to eat that too."

Anemone seemed to want rice balls too, so I bought more.

"Hot, hot! The rice balls are hot!"

I might have warmed them a little too much.

"Mnyaa!"

Myaree was eating, but Nyamena and the others were still asleep in the tent. They had passed out drunk, so they probably would not wake up for a while.

Bell was also happily devouring canned cat food and lesser dragon meat.

"Myaree, did Nyamena and the others start acting strange again because I beat up that wyvern?"

"That's right, nya! Honestly! If they weren't here, I'd be the one clinging to Kenichi right now! What are you going to do about this tingling in my tail, nya?!"

Even if she said that――there was no way I could handle five beastfolk at once.

Besides, all I had done was deliver the finishing blow. It was Anemone's golem that had blasted the wyvern away.

"Now, now. It's unfair to let Nyamena have all the fun, so I'll keep you company too, Myaree."

"Mnyaa!"

Myaree was delighted by my words, but Anemone looked displeased.

"Hmph."

"It's unfair that Anemone always sleeps with Kenichi, nya."

"Well... that's true."

When Myaree stood up, she came over and hugged me.

"Myaa! I can brag about being with a dragon slayer all the way to my grandchildren, nya!"

No, if you stayed with me, you would never have grandchildren, would you? Humans and beastfolk could not have children together.

"Even if it isn't a real, enormous dragon, do lesser dragons and wyverns count for becoming a dragon slayer?"

"Of course they do, nya."

Still, real dragons were supposed to be much larger and more vicious, right? I wondered whether pipe bombs and pressure-cooker bombs would have any effect on something like that.

My family was lively enough, but Melissa was looking gloomy off to the side.

"Melissa, what's wrong? You look depressed even though we defeated a wyvern."

"You did everything. All I did was keep the golem standing..."

"No, it bought us a great deal of time. I'm grateful."

"Traveling with you has made me realize how useless I am. I think I understand now why Her Majesty the Queen told me to accompany you."

"Well, we prioritize actual combat. We've fought together many times, and we work well as a team with clear coordination and leadership."

"Haaah..."

The main thing that had changed was probably that Anemone had started actively proposing her own ideas and joining the fighting.

I was worried she might become conceited, but she was intelligent. I wanted to believe there was no need to worry.

While we were all eating, Maylen-san, the maid, came out of the house.

"Kenichi-sama. Her Highness would like some fruit... Do you have any?"

"Ah, if she has no appetite, canned fruit might be good. Wait a moment."

I searched for canned food on Shangri-La. I was getting tired of canned peaches all the time.

I bought peaches, pineapple, the standard mandarin oranges, and, as something unusual, canned nata de coco.

They were a little small, so I bought two cans of each at 200 yen per can.

"Pull this tab and the lid comes off."

They were pull-tab cans. I demonstrated how to open one for the maid.

"Yes! I understand! This is convenient!"

"Also, here's some solid food. Go ahead and have it."

I handed her a block of solid nutritional food.

The same product also came in a canned liquid form. I had only drunk it once, about ten years ago, and all I remembered was how bad it tasted――.

I checked the reviews on Shangri-La's product page, and there were no bad ratings.

The flavor seemed to have improved considerably over the past ten years. In that case, it might work as food for someone who was ill or recovering.

"Thank you――um..."

"Do you need anything else?"

"No... Um, Kenichi-sama, you will remain on Her Highness's side, won't you?"

"Well, I seem to be easier to talk to than the other royals and nobles, so you may consider me on her side."

"Thank you."

Maylen-san hurried back to the house carrying a tray of canned food and a yellow box of nutritional food.

I wondered whether she was going to say even that was not enough.

"Kenichi is as soft on women as ever, nya."

"I'm kind to women. Except for that queen."

"Kenichi is soft on beautiful women..."

"I did rescue cute Anemone because I'm soft-hearted..."

"That's true!"

Well, you might have gained experience as a merchant at Amanah's, but your magical abilities probably would not have improved there.

"I can't imagine Kenichi not being kind to women, so I think it's perfectly fine."

"Primula, does that mean it's all right if more women join us?"

"Hee-hee-hee..."

Primula laughed at my words, but there was something frightening about it.

"Of course, that was a joke. It's not as though I help every woman I meet. I didn't lay a hand on the women I brought from Shaga's place."

"That's true, nya. You haven't touched the three women sleeping in the tent either, nya."

Bell came over to me.

"Myaa."

"Hey, Mom, you agree too, right?"

When I stroked her chin, she purred as usual, but something seemed a little strange.

She made an extremely sleepy face and began rubbing her body against the floor.

"Bell? What's wrong?"

Her movements reminded me of a cat that had smelled catnip, but...

"By the way, Kenichi, what exactly is a Holy Knight?"

"I don't know. I don't feel as though my body has changed. Right afterward, I felt power welling up inside me, but I'm normal now."

"The quickest way would be to ask the princess, nya."

"I suppose so."

While we talked and ate, the maid came over.

"Um, please forgive me. Her Highness is very fond of the transparent square food, and I would like to ask for more if you have any left."

Transparent square food... She meant nata de coco. I bought more cans from Shangri-La.

"Ah, would two cans be enough?"

"Thank you."

The maid took the two cans and ran off.

Had she already eaten them all? She did not look weak at all. Was she just hungry?

"Kenichi, I want to eat that too."

Anemone said that, but everyone else seemed to want some too, so I emptied the nata de coco into small bowls.

Everyone stared at the transparent square food with intense curiosity.

"My! What a strange texture!"

"It's crunchy."

"What a weird food, nya!"

"Kenichi, how is this made?"

Primula asked how to make it. Was she thinking of making and selling it herself?

"I don't know――I've never made it myself. I think you ferment the juice of some kind of tree fruit until it solidifies..."

I vaguely remember seeing something on television when nata de coco became popular about using a special microorganism from a southern island that was kept secret from outsiders.

"I can't believe such a strange food exists..."

"If slimes were edible, they might be like this."

What?!

Everyone shouted their denial at once in response to my comment.

"No matter how indiscriminate you are about what you eat, not that, nya!"

"Y-yes, exactly. We eat monsters, but even a slime is going too far..."

――That said, apparently none of them had ever eaten a slime.

Slimes had a strong image as weak enemies in RPGs and the like, but in this world they were fairly dangerous creatures.

Apparently, they merged with water, approached without making a sound, and devoured their prey.

But I had never seen a slime since coming to this world. According to Myaree, they lived in places with stagnant water, such as wetlands.

"I'd like to see one if I get the chance."

"Kenichi is such an oddball, nya. But I definitely won't eat one, nya."

"If I eat one, I'll eat it by myself, so don't worry."

After the meal, I checked on the merchants, but there were no problems.

The merchant who had lost his wagon seemed to have negotiated successfully as well.

Since there was nothing else to do, I went to sleep. Whether it was because of the princess's magic or blessing, I did not feel tired.

If this was what my body had become, it was a very welcome blessing.

However, when it was time to get into the sleeping bag, Myaree objected.

"It's unfair that Anemone always sleeps with Kenichi, nya!"

"Mmm..."

Well, she had a point――even though nothing happened, I did always sleep with Anemone.

After Myaree said that, Anemone seemed to give her one night.

But if she insisted on calling herself an adult, then naturally she would join the adults' group.

In other words, situations like this would probably have to be handled on a rotating basis.

However, we could not do that in the tent where everyone else was sleeping.

I set up a small tent about fifty meters from the house and got into a sleeping bag with Myaree.

This was the tent I had used by myself when I was in the Dalia Forest.

I had intended to live a slow life in the forest, yet somehow I had come all the way here and even defeated dragons...

Come to think of it, it's been a long――No, I'd better not. That could get me sued for copyright infringement.

We probably would not be disturbed here, but beastfolk had rather loud voices...

------◇◇◇------

――The next day.

When I woke up, Myaree was naturally sitting naked on top of me. We were in a two-person sleeping bag, but with a beastfolk, a sleeping bag was almost unnecessary.

Still, my sides felt cold, so I did need the sleeping bag after all.

I got dressed, stored the tent in my Item Box, and went over to everyone else, but for some reason Myaree stayed attached to me.

"Mornin'!"

Everyone else was awake too, so we immediately began preparing breakfast.

The beastfolk who had gone to sleep drunk were awake too, and they looked fine on the outside.

But then Nyamena came over to where Myaree and I were.

"You black brat, you were moaning so damn loud!"

"What are you talking about, nya? Tiger was much louder when we did it at the castle, nya."

"That's true."

"Ghk!――That's not the point! Get away from my man already!"

"Mrrr~! It was incredible, nya~! I was tingling from the tips of my tail to the tips of my ears, nya~!"

Apparently, according to her, it had felt different from usual.

"Really? Could it be an effect of that Holy Knight thing?"

"I can't pull away from him anymore, nya~."

"Damn it! Kuro, let me have a turn! You bastard!"

"No way~."

Kuro and Tiger Stripe began circling around me.

It reminded me of the old story about a tiger that spun around until it became butter.

"Hmm..."

Anemone was in a bad mood as she watched, but there was nothing I could do about it.

While Myaree and Nyamena were arguing, the beastfolk from the caravan joined in the commotion.

Hey! If it's really that amazing, share some with us!" "That's right!" "Um... please!

"Shoo, shoo! If I share, there'll be less for me! No way!"

"This amazing thing belongs to me, nya~. Faaahhhhh... Just clinging to him makes me feel like I'm about to climax, nya!"

"Don't screw around, you black brat!"

"What kind of conversation are you people having first thing in the morning?"

I pulled the beastfolk apart and continued preparing breakfast.

I set out the table and arranged the food: soup, bread, and granola.

When we were busy, this menu was quick and convenient.

While I was getting everything ready, the princess came out of the house, but she looked no different from usual.

"Good morning, Lilith-sama."

"Indeed."

"You can explain what happened yesterday while you eat breakfast."

"Of course."

Maylen-san, the head maid, came over to me.

"Um, Kenichi-sama. If you have any water, I would like to do the laundry..."

"Ah, I drew plenty from the bottom of the valley yesterday. But you can have Anemone use the Clean spell on it."

"Thank you."

Maylen-san bowed politely. By the way, the sheets and such used by the princess were disposable.

They cost several thousand yen apiece, which was negligible compared to the price of the furniture I had received from the royal family.

Besides, I should receive a reward once this job was finished.

Over breakfast, we began discussing the Holy Knight.

"No one seems to know what a Holy Knight is..."

"It is probably the first one to be born in roughly sixty years."

The princess looked unhurried, but she rapidly shoveled granola into her mouth.

"What exactly is it, to begin with?"

"To put it simply, it makes you resistant to both swords and magic, while also greatly increasing your healing ability."

"...That's amazing, but do all members of the royal family possess that power?"

"No. Among the current royal family, only I possess it."

She stopped her spoon and stared intently at me.

"Was it really all right to use such a rare ability on someone like me?"

"I told you yesterday, did I not? You saved the kingdom, defeated the wyvern, and saved my life! That is a great deed!"

However, she said that using this power required the approval of a Roundtable consisting of current and former members of the royal family.

"Haaah... Her Majesty the Queen is going to make another frightening face."

I rested my elbows on the table and covered my face with both hands.

"I do not know! In any case, given such a great deed, they will have no choice but to approve it! If the Roundtable objects, I shall renounce my membership in the royal family!"

She had said something similar yesterday.

"What?! Isn't that a little too hasty...? It wouldn't be too late to decide after we return to the royal capital and discuss it thoroughly with the other members of the royal family, would it?"

"Hahaha! What is done is done!"

She seemed to be either taking it in stride or acting recklessly out of desperation...

"Naturally, I am responsible for looking after the princess who ran away from home, right?"

"Would you cast a helpless young girl with nowhere to go out into the cold?"

"N-no, of course not――but if Lilith-sama leaves home, all the maids will come along too, won't they?"

"Of course."

Maylen-san, the head maid, puffed out her chest.

"Haaah..."

"There is no need to worry, Kenichi. When I leave home, I shall take all my fortune with me. I will not burden you."

"Those are very reassuring words. Thank you very much..."

The beastfolk listening to our conversation began whispering behind us.

"Hey, Kuro. Looks like another woman is joining us."

"Looks that way, nya."

"Royalty this time? We might as well build a country of our own, it'd be faster!"

"Are we going to be the king's mistresses too, nya? We've risen in the world, nya!"

"You never know what life will bring!"

The beastfolk were laughing uproariously, but I had no time for that. I wanted nothing to do with such a troublesome situation.

Besides, creating a country inside another country would be secession. It wouldn't end without consequences.

"His Majesty the King will not permit something like that, will he?"

"I do not know! Besides..."

"Besides? What is it?"

"...I will tell you later."

There seemed to be something important, but she would not tell me.

Still, I had no idea the royal family possessed such power. Could that have been connected to the queen's hostility toward me?

"Lilith-sama, wasn't there material about the royal family's power in the castle library too?"

"Hmm? Let me see... There should be! But such deeply guarded secrets are kept in a sealed room in the library, so even I do not know whether the material truly exists."

According to the princess, the king possessed the key to the sealed room.

Had I been mistaken for someone snooping around the royal family's secrets after all?

"Are the conditions under which this power manifests in members of the royal family unknown?"

"Yes, they are completely unknown. In the past, people thought it was related to the purity of the bloodline, and apparently they even practiced extreme close-kin marriages. That nearly destroyed the royal family."

"Well, of course it did."

I did not want to hear any more details. Still, if this power could be artificially reproduced, it would greatly strengthen the royal family.

There was no point getting worked up about it...

In the end, I did not really understand it, but apparently I had become difficult to kill.

In a world with hardly any doctors, that was certainly a useful ability.

Once our discussion ended, we resumed work. About one-third of the earth and debris remained.

There were some fairly large rocks, but apparently nothing so huge that even the golem could not handle it.

We gathered earth around Anemone's Core to make a mound, then dumped it into the valley with the wheel loader――it was easy.

In the evening, we finished working, ate, and went to sleep.

However, the beastfolk women were so noisy that I gave them what they wanted once, as promised――.

They all rolled their eyes back and collapsed with their legs giving out.

What in the world was that――? Could it be a side effect of this so-called Holy Knight ability?

The following night, I tried it with Primula, and the same thing happened.

But perhaps she was too embarrassed, because Primula began avoiding me. It was a little troublesome.

After conducting a series of experiments, it seemed certain that something strange had happened to my body.

While I was deep in thought, Anemone was sulking.

"Sorry, sorry. Don't sulk so much, Anemone."

"I don't care!"

"I'll hold you, kiss you, and pet you."

I picked up Anemone, who had turned away, and petted her, but something seemed strange about her.

"...Faaaahhh."

Her face gradually turned bright red.

"Huh? What's wrong, Anemone?"

"Pet me more..."

Oh no! I hurriedly lifted her off my lap.

After thinking it over――it seemed that becoming this so-called Holy Knight had put my body into a state of natural Heal, and Heal also worked on anyone I touched.

Using Heal on someone who was already healthy apparently put them into what was essentially an overdose state.

"Hahaha! This is interesting!"

"Lilith-sama, this is no laughing matter."

"Does it work on men too? Try it on me."

"Please spare me..."

Seeing me in trouble, the princess offered me another sacrifice.

"Then try it on Maylen."

"Her Highness――um..."

"Hurry up!"

The princess kicked the fidgeting Maylen-san forward with her foot.

I had no choice but to touch both of her armpits.

"Eek!"

Maylen-san gave a short scream, spasmed, collapsed to her knees, and fell over backward.

"Ho ho! What incredible power!"

The princess was thoroughly enjoying herself, but the fact that I could use Heal on other people was a major advantage.

However, using this ability taught me one thing――it made me hungry.

That was not a problem. I could buy liquid and jelly-like nutritional food from Shangri-La and eat as much as I wanted.

That meant I could use the ability in proportion to the nutrients I consumed.

------◇◇◇------

――A few days later, shortly before noon.

The pass was nearly open. I stored the house, shed, and tent set up at the base camp in my Item Box, then began the final stage of the work.

About thirty wagons were waiting beyond the remaining earth and debris.

There were about fifty wagons on our side now. Since supplies had not reached either the royal capital or Sobana for more than ten days, goods were probably becoming scarce.

Once they got through, they could sell their goods at high prices, so the merchants were desperate to be first in line.

I hoped they would not cause an accident...

The merchants were transfixed by the orange heavy machinery that effortlessly carried the earth and dumped it into the valley.

Then I dumped the last of the earth into the valley with the wheel loader and swept the small stones remaining on the highway with a bamboo broom.

We did it! The highway was open!

I took a megaphone-shaped loudspeaker from my Item Box.

'Testing, testing――the weather is fine today! Er! All the earth and debris that had buried the highway has now been removed. The person who directed this great undertaking without regard for the many dangers was none other than Her Highness, Princess Lilith Lala Kadan of the Kadan Kingdom. Everyone, pay her homage!'

Yes, Your Highness!

The merchants all knelt in front of their wagons.

'Indeed! I am Lilith Lala Kadan, princess of the Kadan Kingdom. The crisis facing the kingdom has passed. Merchants, devote yourselves to your business for the sake of the kingdom and its people! And the person who removed the earth and debris burying this pass and defeated the wyvern that interfered with the work—the one who accomplished this great deed—is 【Holy Knight】 Kenichi! Spread his name throughout the kingdom!'

A Holy Knight?" "He's a Holy Knight?" "A Holy Knight?

The merchants on the other side looked at one another.

'Is that clear?!'

Yes, Your Highness!

With the speech over, the merchants all climbed into their wagons and set off.

Wait, wait――was it safe to go that fast downhill?

If something happened, it was not my problem...

They did have to hurry, or the pass would grow dark. They probably wanted to cover as much distance as possible before then.

Even so, my name was becoming famous at an alarming rate... How had things come to this?!

Just then, a messenger arrived from the castle――.

"Tell the castle that the pass has been opened!"

"But His Majesty's orders were..."

"I don't know! I won't listen!"

The princess sent the messenger away.

"Is that really all right?"

"I told you I would go to Sobana with you, did I not?"

"That is true, but..."

Dragging a girl of marriageable age around with me was sure to make the king resent me... Would this cause another dispute later?

"Myaa."

Bell came over to me, rubbed herself against my body, and began rolling around again.

"Sorry, Bell. You must have been bored with nothing to do, right?"

There was no hunting here, and she could not patrol either.

In fact, she had spent almost all her time sleeping in the tent.

Now that the pass had opened, the nobles apparently intended to devote all their efforts to repairing the bridge that had collapsed just before Iberis.

Since the great nobles were putting all their effort into it, the bridge would apparently be repaired in about a month.

The land was flat, and Iberis, a major city, lay on the other side of the bridge.

The work should be much easier than removing the earth and debris from the pass.

The bridge might even be repaired by the time we returned to Astrantia.

However, if the princess were not with us, we could go from Sobana around the other way to Dalia, then return to Astrantia from there...

To deliver her to the royal capital, we would probably have to return to the capital one more time.