Chapter 88
While waiting for my audience with the king at the castle, I have been taking on requests from the princess.
The requests have varied widely, from catching rats to exorcising ghosts, and as a reward, I was permitted to enter the royal library.
That was pretty lucky. Using a PC and scanner I bought from Shangri-La, I successfully smuggled out precious magic books by digitizing them—a rather cheat-like method.
A maid escorted me back to the house set up in the castle's rear courtyard.
The sun was beginning to set, and the castle walls cast long shadows.
"Boss, you're late. I'm starving." "Me too, nya."
The beastfolk and Bell were sitting on the ground, waiting for me to return.
"Sorry, sorry. There were lots of interesting books."
"Kenichi, I want to read books."
"After dinner."
"Okay!"
"Boss, if there are leftovers in your Item Box, those are fine by me." "If there's curry, I want curry, nya."
Since the beastfolk said leftovers were fine, I served Nyamena beef stew and Myaree curry.
"Sake for Nyamena."
She had seemed eager to drink Japanese sake even while we were exorcising ghosts, so I brought some out for her.
"Yeah, this is the stuff."
"Wouldn't wine be better with meat?"
"Ha-ha, as long as it's alcohol, I don't care."
"Myaa!"
Myaree seemed to prefer curry. I decided to open a can of cat food for Bell. Maybe I should try a tuna can sometime?
I opened a can of cat food onto Bell's plate, and Bell eagerly gobbled it down.
"Hmm, I want gyudon for the first time in ages."
"Gyudon?"
Anemone tilted her head at the unfamiliar word. Well, it would probably be better to let her try a sample.
Since the princess, a big eater, had come over, I had cooked plenty of rice.
I bought three ¥500 bowls from Shangri-La and filled one of them with rice.
Then I bought Yosh○ya's gyudon base from Shangri-La. It was sold in packs, just like the kind served at the restaurant.
Thirty large servings cost ¥15,000. ¥500 per serving, huh...? How much did a large gyudon cost again? I hadn't eaten it in a while, so I'd forgotten.
When I was young, there were no gyudon restaurants in Hokkaido. I ate gyudon for the first time in Tokyo, and I think an extra-large serving cost around ¥550 back then.
I ate it almost every day. I had Anemone heat three packs of gyudon with her magic, then poured one over the rice in the bowl.
"Anemone, this is gyudon. Want to try it?"
"Yeah!"
I scooped up a bite with a spoon and brought it to Anemone's mouth. She ate it with relish.
"This is delicious!"
"Is it? Then that's settled for dinner. What about you, Primula? Do you want the same thing?"
"Yes, I would like to try it as well."
Since she said that, I offered her some gyudon. She immediately brought it to her mouth.
"Huff, huff—the soup has soaked into the meat, making it so tender."
"Come to think of it, there isn't any food like this in the city."
I took a bite of the gyudon too. The sauce-soaked beef and rice blended together in my mouth.
"With this much meat, it would be too expensive for the city's residents to eat."
There weren't any large-scale livestock operations, after all, so meat was something of a luxury.
Even when you bought soup from an ordinary street stall, it often contained almost no solid ingredients.
Anemone and Primula were eating the gyudon with spoons, and so was I.
Since coming to this world, the only thing I'd eaten with chopsticks was cup ramen. I'd eaten gyoza with a spoon too.
I sometimes wanted cup ramen, but whenever I ate with everyone else, I never had a chance to eat noodles.
The princess might find it amusing and try noodles, though...
Once we had finished dinner, I decided to make the copied data readable for Anemone.
Shangri-La sold its own e-book readers using electronic paper, so I bought one.
I took the laptop out of my Item Box and converted the data from the books I'd scanned into an e-book format.
Then, if I connected the e-book reader to the laptop with a USB cable, the computer recognized it as storage, so I could simply copy the files over.
As a test, I copied one of the scanned books to the reader and turned it on.
"Hmm... Oh! It's surprisingly clear."
Since it used electronic paper, it was entirely black and white. The response was a little slow, but it was perfectly usable.
I taught Anemone how to use the e-book reader.
"To enlarge a picture, use two fingers like this."
"Amazing!"
"Don't take that board out when there are people from the castle around."
"Okay!"
Good, it worked, so I decided to convert the rest of the data as well. These were precious books, so I needed to make backups too.
I bought an external HDD and copied the files over. I'd heard that data on SD cards and the like could disappear if they weren't receiving power.
If I kept the HDD in my Item Box, it probably wouldn't deteriorate either.
I'd heard that CD-Rs could deteriorate too. If you wanted something durable, perhaps MO was the way to go? When I searched Shangri-La, MO media and drives were still available.
How nostalgic. Back when I had to bring data to work, I used MO. I might buy an MO drive and make another copy when I had time.
"Um... Could that possibly be...?"
Apparently, perceptive Primula had realized what we had done.
"Ha-ha-ha, Primula is my wife, so we're in this together."
"Huh?"
She tilted her head.
She didn't seem to understand.
Was that because it was a Buddhist expression? Maybe it was because the plant called lotus didn't exist here.
I explained what the phrase meant.
"Of course, but if we're caught, we might lose our heads."
"If we say we made copies somewhere else, there won't be any evidence. We'll be fine."
"Honestly..."
Primula looked somewhat exasperated, but we might be able to make Anemone the greatest mage in this world.
By some twist of fate, I'd come across a talent like this. I might as well provide her with more than enough funding.
Once I had finished converting all the books, I transferred them to the e-book reader. All thirty-five books were now on it.
At Nyamena's request, I took some butchered bird meat out of my Item Box. She planned to roast it over the campfire as a snack to go with her alcohol.
"Come to think of it, we should get a share of the reward for exorcising the ghosts..."
"Ha-ha, that doesn't count as work. We were just wandering around." "That's right, nya." "Myaa."
It had grown dark, and while we were relaxing beneath the light of an LED lantern in the castle's rear courtyard, a maid came over.
Anemone saw her and hid the device.
"Kenichi-sama, Her Highness requests your presence."
"Boss, you did it. It's an invitation for some nighttime fun, you know?"
Nyamena said something outrageous, making Primula's face turn red with anger.
"She's an unmarried member of the royal family. That's impossible."
Regardless of what the matter was, the fact that I'd been summoned meant I had to go.
The maid escorted me into the castle.
Using the lamp she carried, she illuminated the darkened hallway and climbed the stairs. Then she led me to a room.
A large, splendid brown door stood before us.
When I opened the door, I saw a large canopy bed, with the princess and the head maid standing beside it. But rather than the princess's private room, this seemed more like a bedroom for guests.
"Lilith-sama, did you summon me?"
"Indeed! You have been of great assistance to me, so I thought I would grant you a reward."
"A reward?"
Hmm, I thought I'd already received a fair share of rewards. I'd even copied the precious books in the library.
"You prefer women like this Mairen, do you not?"
Her black hair was tied up, and she wore glasses—along with a generous chest and a white-and-navy maid uniform. Was there any man who disliked that? No, there couldn't be. That was a rhetorical question.
"Pardon me? Honestly, she is my type, but how did you know?"
"You paid no attention to me and kept your eyes on Mairen, did you not?"
Really? Had I stared at her that much? The princess was still a child, after all... She was only about two years older than Anemone.
"That is deeply embarrassing. What would you have me do?"
"Indeed, this is your reward. You may do as you please with Mairen."
The princess had just said something outrageous.
"What?! Please, wait a moment."
"Are you dissatisfied?"
"Perish the thought. I am honored, but I have a wife..."
"How unexpectedly rigid. I thought you would be a more ambitious man."
"No, no. I am merely a commoner who wishes to live quietly in some remote rural area."
"Hmm..."
The princess grinned as she thought about something, but she did not have a particularly pleasant expression. She looked as though she had come up with an outright scheme.
"You said that your Item Box contains many magical tools for tormenting women. You should try one on Mairen."
"What?!"
I glanced at the maid, but she turned red and lowered her head.
"What is it? Do you mean to say you cannot even do that?"
I leaned toward the head maid and spoke to her in a whisper.
"Are you sure this is all right?"
"I am accustomed to Her Highness's unreasonable demands... Besides, resisting would not be wise."
As she said that, the head maid hitched up her long navy skirt.
Hmm... I felt bad for her, but apparently this was not a situation in which I could refuse. I took various items out of my Item Box.
"Um, could you please be gentle?"
Unfortunately, when a man hears those words, he turns into a beast.
Then the head maid's screams echoed through the dark castle hallway.
"Eeeeeek! Your Highness, please forgive meeeee!"
The head maid's bare bottom was exposed as she was forced onto all fours on the floor and punished by the princess.
Good grief, what a fantastical sight—every man's dream.
"What incredible power! Is this what I should use to punish the maids?"
"Lilith-sama, unfortunately, this requires special mana, and only I can charge it."
"What? That is unfortunate."
"Aah! Ahhh!"
"But there is a mage at the castle who specializes in making magical tools, is there not? Why not have that person make a copy?"
"Oh! Of course! Someone! Summon Kaldon!"
I heard the sound of someone hurrying away, so apparently someone had gone to call the mage in question.
In the meantime, the princess continued punishing the head maid. Just as the maid's body, clad in her uniform, went limp and she passed out on the floor, a tall man appeared.
He wore black clothes and a black cloak, with his long black hair tied back, and had a small, round pair of glasses over his left eye. He looked nervous.
He looked close to forty—about my age.
"Your Highness, did you summon me?"
"Indeed. Come closer."
The mage knelt before the princess without sparing a glance for the head maid sprawled on the floor, where a large stain marred the carpet.
Perhaps he simply had no interest in women. Or maybe this sort of thing happened every day and did not concern him—or perhaps both.
"I want you to make a copy of this."
"Let me examine it."
The mage inspected the toy from every angle, then switched it on and exclaimed in surprise.
"Oh, a mechanism that produces vibrations?"
"Indeed."
"A magic stone could produce vibrations, but the construction around the neck..."
"Kenichi."
The princess called on me to explain, so I took a sketchbook out of my Item Box and drew a diagram of its structure.
"There should be a spiral-shaped steel wire inside the neck, like the one shown in this diagram."
"I see. That is what allows it to move freely. This is fascinating—would you permit me to borrow it?"
"That would be difficult. It is a magical tool I keep hidden away."
"I see. That is unfortunate, but I understand the general structure, so I can make one."
The mage turned back toward the princess and knelt again.
"Good. Begin production immediately."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The mage bowed and left. If he could really make a copy, this toy might become popular among royalty and the nobility.
"By the way, Kenichi—are you truly not going to do it? Everything is prepared like this."
As she said that, she gave the head maid's exposed white bottom a smack.
"I will not."
"How boring."
"Besides, what would you do if I did?"
"Naturally, I would watch."
The nobility really was different from commoners. They were treating something like this as entertainment.
"Then I would never get it up. Besides, things like this are supposed to be about two people confirming their love for each other."
"Oh? Then someone like me, a pawn in a political marriage, will never have that opportunity."
"That is not true. A man and woman who have never met can fall in love from the very day they first meet!"
"You are quite the poet."
Well, the viscountess in Astrantia had been similar, but she seemed rather far removed from love too...
"Thank you for the compliment. Nevertheless, even if you ask me to do such a thing, I am a timid man."
"Ha-ha-ha, what an amusing joke. A timid man could never remain calm in a situation like this."
"Is that so?"
"Indeed. You remain calm because you believe you can escape any situation, do you not?"
"I would not call it calm—but if necessary, I intend to use Anemone's magic and my summoned beasts to half-destroy the castle and flee."
"As expected, a Unique Magic user is dangerous. I wonder what Father intends to do after summoning such a dangerous man."
From those words, it seemed the princess had not been involved in summoning me this time.
I had assumed that the bored princess had asked the king for a toy, but apparently that was not the case.
"If they do nothing to me, I will do nothing to them."
"But if they do something—would you take me hostage and flee, as you mentioned before?"
"That is one possibility."
"In that case—would I end up like this?"
The princess stepped on the head maid's bottom as she lay on the floor, and the maid wore an ecstatic expression.
I felt a little sorry seeing the maid bullied like that—but perhaps this was a mutually agreed-upon game they played all the time...
"That would depend on Her Highness."
"Hmm. That sounds rather interesting in its own way."
However, that would be equivalent to being stripped of her position as a member of the royal family. When I asked her about that...
"I do not care either way. My father would go berserk, though."
The princess did not seem attached to her position as royalty. After everything that had happened, it seemed this really was all she wanted. She had made me into a toy because she was bored.
I also learned something important—the audience would probably be scheduled soon. Finally.
Once again, I let the maid escort me back to the others.
When I returned to the house, everyone else had gone inside, so I stored the table outside in my Item Box and entered.
Nyamena seemed to be sleeping in her own shed.
Beneath the orange glow of the gasoline lantern, everyone was sitting on the beds or along the edge of them.
Bell came over and rubbed against me—but perhaps it was because I smelled different than usual.
However, I'd only been with the princess and the head maid, so I didn't think their scent had rubbed off on me that much.
"Oh, you're back, nya."
"Welcome home."
"What did they want?"
"They asked me various things about magical tools."
Well, there was no way I could tell them the truth, but I hadn't technically lied either.
"Also, the audience seems likely to be scheduled soon."
"Finally, nya! Staying in a place like this is making my body stiff, nya. We can't even hunt."
"Myaa."
Bell seemed bored too, since she had been cooped up in such a cramped place the whole time.
"Kenichi, how do you make this? I want to make one."
Anemone showed me the e-book reader's screen. It displayed something shaped like a cross with a round head. It seemed to be made of wood.
It looked somewhat like a sea angel—the creature found in the ocean.
According to the description, it seemed to be a golem core. Was this used to construct a golem's body...?
It also said that the size of the core was proportional to the size of the golem. In that case, the giant golem used for construction must have had an equally enormous core.
Naturally, a large core seemed to consume a great deal of mana too.
Hmm, even after reading the book, I still didn't understand it very well. Did it just have to be the same shape for it to work?
Well, there was no way to know without trying to make one.
I took a wooden board out of my Item Box.
"First, draw the shape on the board."
"Okay."
"Then cut around it with a saw."
Saws existed in this world too, so I taught her how to use one.
Of course, the ¥1,000 replaceable-blade saw sold by Shangri-La was much more effective than the ones in this world.
"After cutting it out, use a small knife or a kiridashi to shave down the corners and round them off."
"Got it!"
I bought her a forged kiridashi costing ¥10,000, and she sat on the floor and began shaving down the corners of the core.
Watching her made me nervous, but I had to teach her little by little.
"When it stops cutting properly, you need to sharpen the blade. I'll teach you how to sharpen it too."
"Okay!"
"I guess having a teacher really is important, nya."
"Do beastfolk learn from their parents?"
"From our parents, and from all the adults in our clan, nya."
Apparently, they learned a wide range of things, including how to catch prey, butcher it, make traps, and maintain their tools.
"That's efficient."
If only they could read and write, the beastfolk would be the strongest race—but heaven had not blessed them with that second gift.
"But, nya, they argue quite a lot about whose teaching method is right, or whether this part should be done this way or that way, nya."
"Yeah—everyone has their own techniques and traditions."
They probably all wanted to say, "I raised this one!"
"That's right, nya. We don't really care, though, nya."
The magic book said that the performance of the wooden doll—the golem—varied depending on the quality of its core.
In that case, would making one with machine tools improve its performance? I could shave it down with a wood lathe, after all.
Now I was starting to want to try it.
------◇◇◇------
――The next day.
While we were all eating breakfast, a messenger arrived from the castle.
Our audience with the king had apparently been scheduled for sometime after noon.
"This afternoon, huh..."
"It's finally set, Boss." "Myaa."
The princess arrived, leading a procession of men who looked like merchants and wore flashy clothes.
They came in all varieties—fat, tall, young, old, and white-haired—but they were all dressed in brightly colored primary hues.
"Kenichi, these men have come to buy the giant spiders in your Item Box."
Apparently, even if someone managed to kill a spider like that, they had no way to transport it. Opportunities to bring one to the royal capital were extremely rare, so they might be quite valuable.
According to the princess, they were all royal suppliers. These merchants bought and processed prey, making armor and other items to supply the royal family.
At the princess's prompting, I took the male and female cave spiders out of my Item Box.
The giant spiders that had been occupying my Item Box might finally have found buyers.
The merchants recoiled at the two enormous spiders that appeared before them.
"Ooooooh!" "What a magnificent specimen." "There's hardly any damage."
The only damage was to the head, where I had whacked it with K○matsu-san. Anemone had also hit it with a Fireball, but it did not even seem scorched.
Apparently, it was true that they were resistant to magic.
"Sell it to me!" "No, to us!" "We'll pay more than they will!"
――Which meant this would become an auction. Since we were dealing with merchants, it was time for Primula to shine.
"Primula, I'll leave this to you. It's your turn."
"Of course. Leave it to me. My turn has finally come."
The right person for the right job. Merchants for merchants. I was a merchant too, but I was a cheat.
The result of the merchants' auction was 350 gold coins (70 million yen) for the large female spider and 80 gold coins (16 million yen) for the smaller male spider.
It seemed a little expensive, but plate armor carved from this carapace apparently sold for more than 100 million yen, so this was apparently a reasonable price for the raw materials.
It was light, durable, and even repelled magic—a fine item that wealthy knights and nobles would covet.
Besides, it was white and beautiful, making it visually appealing too. It would surely tickle the vanity of the rich.
However, after buying them, the merchants said they had no way to transport them, so I put them in my Item Box and delivered them as an added service.
Well, they had paid a great deal of money, so this much service was fine.
I warned them not to eat the meat because I had used poison, but they just laughed at me.
Well, it might actually be delicious.
Apparently, nobody had ever eaten one, no matter whom I asked.
It looked like it might taste good roasted, though...
After the auction, the merchants learned about my Item Box and persistently asked me to transport their goods.
I could carry fresh food and large cargo alike, so it seemed extremely appealing to merchants.
But I had more than enough money without doing that sort of work.
Besides, even Marrow-san, my father-in-law, had never asked me to do something like that.
Though that might have been because he himself owned an Item Box and had experienced the trouble of being hounded by people like these.