Departure for the Royal Capital

I arranged for a Japanese man named Akira, known as the 'Dragon Slayer' by the Empire, and his family to seek asylum.

According to him, he really did defeat a dragon.

I also arranged asylum for his partner, the archmage known as 'Reiran of the Night Crow.'

If this asylum affair came to light, the Empire would certainly protest, and might even send its army here under that pretext.

However, Akira said that the new Emperor was still consolidating their position, so they probably wouldn't take any rash action.

The day after Akira and the others arrived at the ducal residence in Sobana—

For the first time in several days, I finally had Anemone's bread and Primula's soup again.

I gave Bell some canned cat food. She hadn't had any for several days, and she ate it happily.

Akira's family were probably having breakfast at the ducal residence with the princess.

Annerose-san and the female knight were nobles. There shouldn't be any problem with them staying at the residence.

But I wondered whether there were differences in etiquette between the Kingdom and the Empire.

"Ahh, as expected, nothing beats a home-cooked meal. The food gets so much worse the moment I go out."

Cup noodles were delicious too, but I quickly got tired of them.

"Was everyone's food all right?"

"Honestly, Kenichi, you worry too much, nyaa."

"That's right, dear. We all went shopping at the market and ate as usual."

"Yeah."

"Nyaa."

Everyone seemed to agree.

"I see."

"Still, the food really does taste worse, probably because the ingredients are different."

"That can't be helped. The ingredients Kenichi provides are all first-class."

Primula was right. In this world too, you could get excellent ingredients if you paid as much as royalty or the nobility.

But there was no reason to waste money like that when I could buy them cheaply from Shangri-La.

I had been talking with my family without looking toward Akira, but he seemed to be enjoying the food, so there didn't seem to be a problem.

"No, seriously, this is delicious! Do you eat food like this every day?"

"Myaa!"

Akira and Myaa were eating the soup and bread and exclaiming in delight.

"Well, it's more or less like this."

"Seriously...? Nobody in our group can cook, you know..."

"Nobody?"

"Yeah. I'm the best of us because I used to cook for myself while traveling alone on camping trips."

"You said Akira used to run an okonomiyaki restaurant too. The two nobles probably can't cook, but what about Reiran-san?"

"Not at all! She's incredible with magic, but she has absolutely no talent for cooking."

But even Primula hadn't been able to cook at all in the beginning.

"I taught Primula and Anemone, and they learned how to cook... Could there be any hope for her?"

"I taught her too, but... You remember the woman named Caroline who quit after getting married?"

"Yeah."

"She was the most competent one, so I left everything to her."

"I heard there was an elf in your party..."

"Elves are basically herbivores, so they mainly eat nuts and insects. And that chocolate substitute."

Akira and Myaa continued eating as they talked.

From what I heard, they had been fighting constantly as well, so their diet hadn't been very good.

"There's plenty of food, so help yourself to seconds."

"Do you always make this much?"

"Yeah. The princess is a big eater. And if there's any left over, Primula sells it on the street. No matter how much we make, she manages to sell it all."

"She's a born merchant."

Hearing that, Primula struck a pose with a determined grunt.

"Can we eat food like this every day, nyaa?"

Myaa stuffed bread into her mouth while drinking soup.

"Hey, you can't keep barging into someone else's home forever, can you?"

"It's fine until we decide where to settle down, though. We are responsible for helping you seek asylum, after all."

"We'll cook for ourselves here too, so just provide us with ingredients and utensils."

"If that's all you need, it won't be a problem."

Curry was easy enough. Just stew meat and vegetables, add curry roux, and you had delicious curry.

Simple and incredibly tasty. Curry was justice.

When we finished breakfast, the princess and the others returned. Reiran-san and the rest of Akira's family were with them.

Reiran-san had apparently changed back into her original crow-colored dress.

Still, that knitted sweater had been hard to resist...

"Kenichi, breakfast."

"Yes."

Of course she was going to eat. She had probably already eaten breakfast at the duke's residence, though.

Reiran-san and the others were surprised when they heard the princess.

I took a small plate from my Item Box and asked Akira for some mayonnaise.

"Akira, pass me the mayonnaise."

"Here you go!"

Yellow, squirming goo appeared on the small plate.

"Princess Lilith, this is the Dragon Slayer's Unique magic."

"...How peculiar. Reiran told me about it too. Did you really leap into a dragon's mouth and suffocate it?"

"Haha, that is exactly what happened. I was fighting for my life, and I couldn't think of any other way."

The princess laughed at Akira's reply. Whatever the method, there was no doubt that he had defeated a true dragon.

"Sensei, how was the duke's residence?"

Akira asked Reiran-san about the residence after she returned.

"It was lovely. I enjoyed an excellent meal and took a bath for the first time in quite a while."

"Sorry my cooking isn't excellent, then..."

Akira sulked after hearing Reiran-san's words.

"I-I am always grateful for everything you do, Akira..."

"Putting that aside, Annerose—if you stay with me, you'll never be able to live in a residence like that again, you know?"

"My family were poor nobles, so our home could never compare to such a magnificent ducal residence."

Annerose-san's family had apparently borrowed money from a merchant called Kuroishi, then sold their daughter as collateral for the debt.

She was a noble, and that seemed to be why she had married a merchant.

"No, no, mages aren't forbidden from doing business in the Kingdom, so you and Reiran-san should be able to earn plenty. If you do, a residence like that won't be a problem."

"Well, yeah—but I have a fair amount of money already."

"Even if I must wallow in the mud, I have decided to follow Akira-sama."

"All right, all right. Do as you like."

With Annerose-san coming on to him, Akira seemed flustered.

"I have a duty to prevent your evil deeds too! I will follow you to the ends of the earth!"

The female knight puffed out her chest for some reason, looking proud.

"Just admit that you can't get away from my dick."

"What are you saying?! I have no interest in your dick!"

Come on. Could they please stop repeating lewd words first thing in the morning?

I went over to Akira and whispered to him.

"Hey, Akira, there are children here, so please keep the dirty talk to a minimum."

"Oops, sorry!"

He looked toward Anemone and shrugged.

Then I told everyone about our plans.

"Once the princess finishes eating, we'll pack up the house and head for the royal capital. I think we could cross the mountain pass in a single day if we pushed ourselves, but it's an incredibly difficult pass. To be safe, we'll spend one night in the post town at the summit."

"All right. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of pass it is."

"One Hi○ce won't be enough for this many people, so we'll take two vehicles. Akira, you can drive a manual transmission, right?"

"Hahaha! Leave it to me! We're increasing our survivability by using two vehicles, right?"

"Exactly. Just in case."

We could have used a single minibus, but a bus that couldn't maneuver easily would never make it through that pass.

Honestly, I wasn't confident in my own driving, and if we went over a cliff, none of us would survive.

If only Akira and I, the two people with blessings, survived, that would be absolutely unacceptable.

When I thought about it that way, being difficult to kill began to feel like a curse.

To drive away such thoughts, I summoned a Hi○ce and a P○ado from my Item Box.

"Whoa! The nostalgic white Hi○ce! I never thought I'd see one in another world!"

Thrilled, Akira patted the Hi○ce all over and opened its sliding door.

"Akira and the others will take the P○ado."

"Okay!"

"Nyaa? What's a bucket got to do with it, nyaa?"

"I have no idea what you two are talking about."

Myaree and Nyamena tilted their heads, but they were reacting just like Myaa. I couldn't be bothered to explain every little thing.

I checked with the princess, who was eating breakfast.

"Princess Lilith, did you confirm this with the duke?"

"It's fine. I told him we would leave as soon as you returned."

"What about the duke's son?"

"It was the decision of his family, so I know nothing about it! Besides, the duke's son was completely fixated on Reiran's breasts."

"Well, that's true. Honestly, they're incredible! Practically lethal weapons!"

But the princess's expression clearly turned displeased at my words.

"Hmph! In a few years, I will be a perfect hourglass too!"

"Nyahaha, Kenichi, do you like them big too?"

"There aren't any beastfolk with breasts that huge, after all..."

Come to think of it, I had never seen a beastfolk woman with enormous breasts. They prioritized muscle, after all, so perhaps they didn't put on much fat.

"..."

"Hmph!"

Primula and Anemone had been listening, and they looked displeased.

"It's just a man's nature, so please forgive me. Oh, right! Primula, try this on too."

I bought the same knitted sweater I had given Reiran-san from Shangri-La and handed it to her.

This one was gray instead. After seeing Akira put the sweater on Reiran-san, I couldn't resist seeing Primula wear it too.

"This?"

"Yeah. I wanted to see you wearing it, Primula."

"...All right."

She hesitated for a moment, but then went inside the house—and emerged almost immediately after changing.

Her face was slightly red, and she fidgeted shyly. The shape of her breasts pressed between her arms showed through the sweater. They weren't as enormous as Reiran-san's, but they were still devastating.

"Fire!"

"Perfect hit!!"

Akira and I shouted together again.

"See? Mine aren't bad either, right?"

"Yeah, they're pretty impressive. Very impressive."

"...Honestly!"

I pulled the blushing Primula close and moved behind her.

"Fuhihi, is this it? Is this what you like?!"

I reached around from behind and squeezed Primula's soft breasts. My fingers sank into the two soft mounds through the sweater.

There are times when a man simply can't resist groping breasts!

"No... Not here... Please."

"So it would be all right somewhere else?"

"...Yes."

Primula gave a small nod, and my reason nearly vanished as my instincts threatened to explode—but I stopped there.

The reason was that the princess was glaring at us with a terrifying expression.

Primula was breathing heavily with a flushed face and holding her breasts, while Anemone stood beside her, bright red herself.

"Honestly! If you want to touch breasts so badly, you could touch mine!"

She grabbed my hand and pressed it against her own chest.

"Ahh, ahh, ahh! How is it? Happy?"

I picked up the adorable, jealous Anemone and kissed her cheek.

Seeing that, Akira pretended to make a phone call.

"Hello? Is this 110? There's a suspicious old man holding a young girl and kissing her. Please come right away."

"It's another world, so it's okay!"

"No, that's definitely not okay."

"I'm just holding my daughter. There's no problem. It doesn't count! It doesn't count!"

"Don't twist logic like that!"

The beastfolk watching Akira and me argue looked utterly appalled, but there was nothing I could do about it.

"Kenichi's acting like an ordinary middle-aged man, nyaa."

"Yeah, a little."

"I said this yesterday, but when there are two middle-aged men together, middle-aged-man behavior really gets out of hand. Can't be helped."

"Exactly."

"Akira! Drag them all into middle-aged-man space!"

Akira began spinning around and performing a suspicious dance.

"Middle-aged-man space, activate! Click!"

"Bong, bong! The sound of a grandfather clock and a cuckoo clock echoed all around us. The surroundings turned seven colors, and we were enveloped in a strange space. In middle-aged-man space, ordinary humans became ten times more middle-aged! But the two people who were already middle-aged were completely unaffected."

"Hahaha!"

My family and Reiran-san's group looked utterly appalled too, but a middle-aged man couldn't afford to care about things like that.

However, the princess had finished breakfast, so we cleared away the table and chairs and prepared to leave.

After putting the luggage inside the house, I stored the house itself in my Item Box.

"All right! House storage! Shed storage!"

"Whoa! It really does fit inside your Item Box!"

"A tent would work too, but the house is safer. It can easily keep out something as large as a Black Wolf, and if things look dangerous, we can set up a log barricade as well."

"Wow... That's incredible."

Akira's Item Box couldn't hold a house, but it looked like it could hold a car.

However, it apparently contained quite a few of Reiran-san's personal belongings.

"Are they materials for Reiran-san's magical research and books?"

"Yeah. She had a hard time collecting them."

"Reiran-san."

I went over to her and whispered, but my eyes kept being drawn to her enormous breasts, which looked ready to burst out of her dress.

"I also have more than thirty valuable grimoires from the Kingdom. Perhaps we could show each other our collections...?"

"I'll think about it."

She hadn't rejected the idea outright, so she must have been interested. Even so, she still didn't seem to trust me.

Akira and I shared an unspoken sense of kinship as Japanese people, but she was from another world.

Perhaps she found something suspicious about me.

Then I took out biodiesel fuel in a plastic tank from my Item Box.

"Akira, put this fuel in the P○ado."

"Leave it to me. So this is the fuel you made, Kenichi?"

"Yeah. With you around, I won't have to worry about fuel anymore."

I wouldn't need to buy and empty those eighteen-liter cans from Shangri-La anymore, either.

"Haha, I'll give you as much as you want."

His mayonnaise apparently cost him nothing, so simply selling mayonnaise and oil would be enough to make a good business.

Now we needed a way to communicate between the vehicles.

I had the walkie-talkies I'd bought before, but using them while driving seemed difficult.

"I guess we'd better buy something new..."

I searched Shangri-La and bought a serious amateur-radio transceiver.

The walkie-talkies I'd bought before were practically toys, but this was a real radio.

It had an output of 50 watts, the sort that required a license to use in Japan.

But this was another world, so no license was necessary. They cost 55,000 yen each, and I bought two.

"All right, let's press the button."

Two radios dropped out.

"Akira, install this radio in the P○ado. You can draw power from the cigarette lighter socket."

"You even have radios? Seriously, you really do have everything. How far can we talk?"

"This is a serious model, so a few dozen kilometers should be fine. From the top of a tower or mountain, I think we could communicate over about a hundred kilometers."

"I see. The kind that requires a license."

"Probably."

I told him probably, but Shangri-La's description said that at least a Class 3 Amateur Radio Operator's License was required.

I installed the radio on the car's dashboard and drew power from the cigarette lighter socket. Finally, I mounted an antenna on the roof.

"Come to think of it, you don't see many houses with huge amateur-radio antennas anymore."

Akira was right. The appeal of amateur radio had been the ability to talk with people in distant places and countries, but now we had the internet.

Few people bothered to buy expensive equipment and use radios anymore.

There had always been a certain number of people using illegal radios in trucks, though.

"Let's test it out..."

Akira and I read the simple instruction manual together. This was the only radio in this world.

The settings shouldn't be too difficult.

"I guess this should do it."

I turned the car key to ON and switched on the power, but nothing happened.

"What is it?"

Akira leaned in to look.

"It should be fine, but it isn't working... Huh? The electrical system's dead!"

Not only the radio, but all of the car's electrical equipment had stopped working.

"...Maybe you blew a fuse? Or the battery doesn't have enough capacity?"

"Ah, I see. That could be the problem."

I checked the P○ado's fuse box—and sure enough, a fuse had blown!

I bought a replacement fuse from Shangri-La and installed it.

That left the radio.

I searched Shangri-La, settled on a 20-watt model, and ordered just one for the moment.

The first radios would be a waste, but there was nothing I could do if they didn't work.

I had forgotten about the battery's capacity too.

When the radio dropped out, I installed it and drew power from the cigarette lighter socket.

"All right, switch it on!"

The display lit up, and the radio began working.

Apparently, 20 watts was safe.

The only communication was between the two vehicles.

The range wasn't all that great, but this would be sufficient.

"This should work."

Akira seemed eager to try it too.

Once I knew it worked, I bought another identical one and installed it in Akira's P○ado.

"Sorry, Akira. I made you do the work twice."

"Haha, don't worry about it. We're trying to use radios in another world, so this was bound to happen."

Once the installation was complete, we tested the radios again.

When I switched them on, the radios scanned the surrounding signals, and Akira's radio appeared on the display mounted on the dashboard.

Apparently, they automatically scanned for signals and displayed radios that could communicate with them.

It was genuinely high-tech.

"If I select this, it'll connect? We don't need to tune anything either?"

I pressed the button on the handheld microphone and spoke to Akira.

"Testing, testing. Akira, can you hear me?"

'I can hear you. It's surprisingly simple. You can use the radio like you're connecting to the internet.'

"Apparently. It's practically like a smartphone."

Good. We were ready to leave.

'Akira, can you operate this summoned beast?'

'No problem, Sensei! Just sit back and enjoy the ride!'

'We are on land, though. There is no boat.'

I could hear their conversation coming through the radio, and everything seemed fine.

"Princess Lilith, we're ready to leave."

"Very well! Is it truly all right to let Akira use your summoned beast?"

"He is a mage too, and he knows this summoned beast, so he is accustomed to handling it."

"What? Can that man summon an iron beast too?"

"No, it seems he cannot summon one."

"Hmm..."

When Maid Chief Mairen-san headed toward the ducal residence, the duke and his son came running out to see us off.

The maids and servants of the ducal residence lined up alongside them.

"Your Highness, we were unable to properly entertain you..."

"Nonsense! I accomplished what I came here to do!"

While the duke and his son apologized profusely, the princess climbed into the passenger seat of the Hi○ce.

Then my family and the maids climbed in through the sliding door.

When I looked behind me, Akira's family were getting into the P○ado too.

"Are you trying to cram me into this iron monster again?"

"Shut up, Clementina! Get in already!"

Akira's shout reached us as he shoved the female knight into the back seat of the P○ado. Reiran-san would apparently be riding in the passenger seat.

"Akira—are you all right?"

"Woohoo!"

He stuck his hand out the window and shouted.

"Then let's go!"

We said goodbye to everyone lined up at the ducal residence and headed toward the mountain pass.

However, the duke's son's eyes were clearly following Reiran-san.

"The duke's son seems to have taken quite a liking to Reiran-san."

"Hmph. He was desperately trying to persuade her to become the Rainlily ducal family's personal mage!"

"Oh, dear. Akira and Reiran-san definitely won't agree to that."

"Men! Are you the same?"

"No. I have Princess Lilith with me."

"...I see."

I had nearly mentioned Primula and Anemone, but it was essential to flatter the princess here.

However, Anemone, who had been listening from behind, objected.

"Why not me?!"

"Of course you too, Anemone."

The smile on Primula's face in the rearview mirror was frightening. But what else could I do?

I drove the Hi○ce through the gate of the ducal residence.

Beastfolk were gathered in front of the ducal residence again today.

"Hey, everyone! The Forest Cat-sama is going back home now!"

"Where is the Forest Cat-sama's home?"

"By the shore of a large lake near Astrantia."

There was no sliding door on the right side of this Hi○ce Commuter, but there was a small window in the glass.

Anemone opened it, and Bell poked her head out.

"Whoa!"

The beastfolk dropped to their knees all at once.

"Take care of yourselves! See you!"

We left the ducal residence with a large number of beastfolk seeing us off. I could see the P○ado driven by Akira in the rearview mirror, and he seemed to be doing fine.

He didn't know the way, so I had to lead. There was no GPS or navigation system here.

"Still, won't there be trouble if we bring two archmages who sought asylum to the castle?"

"There probably will be. But it remains a great achievement that no one else could have accomplished."

As we continued down the street, I saw a familiar group of three beastfolk.

"Hey! You three! Don't you have work?"

I leaned out of the window and called to them.

"Huh?" "Ah, Boss!" "Good morning."

"We're going home by way of the royal capital. Take care."

"Where is your home?"

"By the shore of a lake near Astrantia."

"Really?"

When I stuck my hand out the window, the three of them rubbed their heads against it. Their large ears brushed my fingers and twitched rapidly.

"Hey! You lot! Don't put your weird scent on him!"

"Yeah, that's right, nyaa!"

Myaree and Nyamena complained while the three beastfolk stuck out their tongues.

"See you!"

After saying goodbye to the three, I turned right at the main street and entered the highway to the royal capital.

From here on, it was a single road, so we shouldn't have any trouble finding our way.

'Testing, testing. Kenichi, can you hear me?'

A transmission came from the P○ado behind us, so I picked up the handheld microphone.

"Yes, go ahead!"

'Is it a straight road to the royal capital from here?'

"Yes. There are a few side roads, but there is only one major highway, so we won't get lost."

'Okay!'

"What's this about a bucket?"

The princess reacted just like the beastfolk.

"In my country's language, it means 'understood.'"

"I see. Is that a magic tool that lets you talk with people far away?"

"That's right."

"How far away can you talk?"

The princess leaned toward the equipment mounted on the dashboard.

"About twenty leagues, or thirty kilometers, I suppose."

Explaining it was a hassle, so I made up the number.

"Hmm. That could be used to command an army!"

"Must you always connect everything to warfare?"

"I am royalty! I have a duty to protect my country and its people!"

As I continued discussing this with the princess, we carried everyone toward Hell Pass in the Hi○ce and P○ado.