Preparing for Departure

Before heading to the gorge, we visited the workshop of Kaldon-san, the court mage, to ask him about magical tools.

The place was on the outskirts of the royal palace. We descended into a semibasement through a door beneath the stairs.

We came to a thick wooden door reinforced with iron plates at all four corners.

"This is the room! Kaldon! Are you there?! It's Lilith!"

We heard hurried footsteps approaching from the back of the room, and the door opened.

The mage who emerged was wearing a rather rough-looking pair of coveralls.

His hair was unbound and sticking out in every direction. Perhaps he had been taking it easy.

"Why, Lilith-sama!"

However, he seemed surprised when he saw the queen accompanying us.

"Her Majesty the Queen as well! Please forgive my appearance. What brings you to such an out-of-the-way place? The magical tool Her Highness the Princess ordered is not finished yet, however..."

"It's a separate matter."

"Kaldon-sama, I heard that you are knowledgeable about magical tools, so I wanted to ask you something..."

"Ah, Kenichi-dono!"

I took the magical tool shaped like the character '不' from my Item Box—the one I always used to produce fuel.

"This is a magical tool that separates the components of liquids. Would it be possible to make another one like it—or perhaps purchase one somewhere?"

"Hmm? Hmm, hmm... Ooooh! This brings back memories!"

He had been examining it through the lens fitted over his left eye, turning it this way and that, when he suddenly shouted as though he had remembered something.

"You know it?"

"This was probably a magical tool made by my grandfather. I remember seeing it when I was a child—no, this design is unmistakable."

"In that case, could you make another one just like it...?"

"No, my grandfather has already passed away..."

"I see..."

But then Kaldon seemed to remember something.

"No, wait! Come to think of it, there was one just like this left unsold in the warehouse at my family's home. It may still be sitting there covered in dust..."

Seriously?! I wanted it! But how could something this amazing have gone unsold...? Well, if no one knew how to use it, it was just oversized junk.

"If that is true, I would very much like to purchase it!"

"Oh, I'll give it to you for free. It's been nothing but a nuisance, ha-ha. Though I hope my mother hasn't thrown it away or burned it..."

A man's romantic ideals were difficult for women to understand. I could almost hear a voice saying, "When you die, all that stuff will be garbage!"

"But where did you buy a magical tool like this?"

"At a tool shop in Astrantia. The owner was an old woman named Snowflake..."

"Oh! So that's where she was?"

"Your Majesty, you know old lady Snowflake?"

"She is the mother of Marquis Nasturtium, is she not?"

She really did know her. But if she was the marquis's mother, that meant the child who had been taken away was a boy.

I had never asked the old woman about that.

The queen told me that the former queen and the old woman had attended the same school.

The former queen had been in the general studies department, while old lady Snowflake had been in the magic department, so they apparently had no direct connection. Even so, Snowflake had been famous for her beauty and was something of a celebrity.

"She was born a commoner, so her child was taken from her and she was given a settlement..."

"That sort of thing happens all the time."

The queen wore a pained expression too, but perhaps there was nothing she could do about it.

"So... how much did you pay for this?"

"Five gold coins (one million yen)."

"What? You were ripped off terribly."

That old hag... Well, she probably never thought she would be able to sell it.

"But it has paid for itself. It is extremely important to me. That is why I wanted another one."

"I see. My grandfather would be pleased if it went to someone like you."

And so we decided to head to his family home the next day. If we went by car, it shouldn't take long.

Our business was finished, so I parted ways with the queen.

"I'll be waiting for you!"

"No, no, I won't be coming even if you wait for me."

"How heartless."

She was smiling, but her eyes were serious. She really must have been bored out of her mind.

"And, Kenichi!"

"Yes?"

"Make good use of the books in the castle's collection, you hear?"

"Huh?"

Leaving me with that one remark, the queen grinned and vanished into the darkness of the passage.

What?! Had she discovered that we had copied the books and suspected us of being members of the opposition? Was that what had caused this whole mess?

Or was she merely probing me...? No, wait, wait. There was no way that alone could have been the reason.

Or had there been some top-secret documents in there? We had only paid attention to the books on magic.

The princess and I began walking down the castle's dark passageway together. Her golden hair swayed as she walked in front of me.

"Kenichi, you are going to be all right, are you not?"

Was the princess worried about my complexion—or about my relationship with the queen? For now, I was doing my best just to hide my agitation.

"I-I have a wife and children."

"That is good to hear... Still, I am sorry about everything, Kenichi. You must forgive me. There was nothing I could do, however."

"N-no, well... I understand that the king and queen have their positions to consider."

"Even so, Kenichi, I am impressed that you did not take my mother's bait."

"She was making it so obvious that she was trying to anger me."

I could understand why they had suspected me of being an enemy—but if I had actually attacked the queen in response to her provocation, what had she intended to do?

I asked the princess about it as we walked.

"You were the one whose life was spared, you know?"

"Was I?"

"You could not summon your beast in that room, could you?"

"Well, no..."

"Few among the people know it, and Mother rarely shows her swordsmanship, but she is also a master swordswoman. In a confined room, her sword would reach you before you could cast a spell."

"Do the nobles know that too?"

"Of course."

So that was it. She was powerful enough to brush me aside even if I truly lost my temper, which was why she could provoke me so freely.

No wonder the king could never stand up to her. Perhaps she had even forced him to bow his head to me.

The king was merely a figurehead, while the queen held the real power...

Still, even if she was a master swordswoman, I had a chainsaw and a brush cutter if it came to that. There were explosives in my Item Box too. I had plenty of ways to fight back.

"But a sword? She did not appear to be carrying one..."

"Mother has an Item Box, though a small one, you know?"

"What?!"

Thank goodness.

I was glad I had not lost my temper. Come to think of it, she had produced a folding fan and a key from somewhere...

In other words, if she had been so inclined, the queen alone could have killed everyone who had been in that room and brought the situation to a close.

So that incredible pressure had been killing intent? How dangerous.

"I am sorry, Lilith-sama. I did not realize that you were trying to help me."

"No, I was also arrogant enough to think you would take the bait if I said something like that. You must forgive me. Still, I never expected you to produce pearls... It turned out quite differently from what I had anticipated."

"Was that a bad thing?"

"When a treasure worthy of being a national treasure is dangled in front of her, there is no woman who could remain sane. You completely captured Mother's attention with that, you know?"

"I see..."

All I could do was sigh. I had been walking a tightrope—but perhaps I had brought it on myself.

"But if you had discarded me, what did you intend to do about the gorge?"

"That was already decided. The royal family and the nobles would have handled it in the usual manner."

"...Meaning that even someone with overwhelming power is unnecessary if the royal family cannot control them?"

"Exactly. It would be disastrous if someone like that were taken in by the opposition or defected to the Empire."

Hmm... So if people discovered that I possessed overwhelming power, I would inevitably be dragged into struggles for power like this.

Even if I defected to the Empire, I had heard that mages there were forcibly conscripted into the military.

There was even a story about an otherworlder-like man who had defeated a dragon there, only to have the dragon taken away from him.

The Kingdom offered arbitrary justice, while the Empire forcibly conscripted mages into the military, sent them to deadly battlefields, and stole their achievements. They were both as bad as each other.

The Republic was not an option for institutional reasons—and I did have the king's writ of immunity, ornamental or not. If I kept currying favor with the royal family and stayed on the queen's good side, the Kingdom was probably safer.

"Still... With someone like Her Majesty the Queen at the top of the country, life must be difficult for the people below her."

"Ha-ha, everyone is constantly terrified. But everything she does is for the sake of the country, so no one can speak ill of even her seemingly insane actions—and besides..."

"Besides?"

"Honestly, I cannot imagine His Majesty—my father—being able to stand against Emperor Brünnhilde of the Empire or General Chill of the Republic."

So an overwhelming charisma was necessary to hold a country together. It would be essential in an absolute monarchy ruled by a dictator.

"I often hear about the Emperor of the Empire, but is the general of the Republic also a capable person?"

"Yes. He is an idealist, so his unreasonable policies have certainly caused the country to decline, but his skill in using a powerful army to defeat the former Kingdom and unify the country cannot be underestimated."

A revolution followed by a mess in domestic administration was a common pattern.

"Even so, how insignificant my power is. I am like a rat beneath the castle."

I did not think that was true—but the princess had her own path to follow.

I had wondered what she meant when she told me to become the royal family's possession and asked me for presents, but perhaps this fourteen-year-old girl had been doing her best to save the sacrificial lamb.

I felt as though I had dragged the princess into my troubles.

"Even so, I am on your side, Lilith-sama."

"Is that so...? You have my deepest thanks."

Since there was something else I was curious about, I asked the princess.

"Um, is there really talk of His Majesty taking a concubine? Someone capable of standing against Her Majesty the Queen would have to be..."

"There could be no such talk. Even if noblewomen came here, they would not dare raise their faces in Mother's presence."

"I see... That makes sense. In that case, was your birth mother someone as bold as Her Majesty the Queen?"

"No, my birth mother was impossible to grasp. She did not pay the slightest attention to Amaranthus-sama."

"They never came into conflict?"

"No. In fact, they were quite close. When my birth mother died, Amaranthus-sama was terribly grieved and declared that she would raise me as her own daughter. From that day onward, I began calling Amaranthus-sama 'Mother.'"

"..."

Good grief. From the perspective of my original world, this was an unbelievable and complicated family situation.

"Still, if His Majesty worked hard and a son were born between him and Her Majesty the Queen, would that not resolve everything?"

"Do you think there is a man capable of performing in front of my mother? Incidentally, they say His Majesty's manhood has never functioned even once."

A girl that age should not be saying things like that!

"That is true... It might be a little difficult."

"What about you?"

"Ha-ha... I was like a frog staring down a snake, drenched in cold sweat, so I probably would not be able to perform even if I stood naked before Her Majesty the Queen."

"I thought as much... That is why the cup has come around to me!"

By the cup coming around to her, she probably meant that the burden had fallen to her.

Listening to this made royalty seem like nothing but trouble. I did not envy them in the slightest.

I went on to ask the princess about some even more complicated matters.

The king was the eldest son of a branch family, while the queen was the eldest daughter of the main family. They were cousins by blood, but the main family was absolutely superior in status.

Naturally, the king and queen had been childhood friends. But apparently, the king had never been able to stand up to the queen, even as a child.

Childhood friends ending up together sounded sweet if you only considered the words, but I did not envy them at all in this case.

"Um, I hate to ask, but is that not an incestuous marriage...?"

"That is correct."

"You know that incestuous marriages are dangerous...?"

"Of course I do. Countless noble and royal houses have perished after repeatedly practicing incestuous marriage while proclaiming it to be 'pure blood.'"

The Habsburgs in my original world were a famous example.

The princess's partner also seemed to be from a ducal family with royal blood, so it was undoubtedly another case of incestuous marriage.

So this was what the queen had meant when she said that the royal family was in danger.

I told the princess about our plans.

The next day, we would go to Kaldon-san's family home, receive the magical tool, and then head straight for the gorge.

I asked the princess about the gorge.

"Lilith-sama, is there no town along the way through Veronica Gorge?"

"There is a post town at the summit of the pass, but I do not know exactly where the landslide occurred."

So all they knew was that there had been a landslide. They did not know the precise location—and we did not even have a map.

The maps sold in town only showed the approximate locations of cities, mountains, and rivers.

They probably had not even conducted accurate surveys. Still, it was better than nothing.

When the castle passage came to an end, I parted ways with the princess and returned to the others. I was worried about Nyamena.

"Hey, everyone—we're going to the gorge tomorrow after we receive the magical tool."

When I called out to everyone waiting in front of the house, Primula came running over.

"Kenichi! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. More importantly, I'm sorry for dragging everyone into danger."

"It wasn't your fault, nya! Those people were obviously to blame, nya!"

"Kenichi... Did the members of the royal family force another unreasonable demand on you...?"

"No, I only went to raise funds and negotiate for a magical tool."

I also told them that we had copied the books in the castle library.

"If that really was the cause, then I am truly sorry."

"I understand what happened, but I do not think that was the only problem."

"One never knows what the royal family is thinking, nya."

I really did not. There might have been some secret in there—but the princess had given us permission, after all.

"I had heard that dealing with royalty was difficult, but I never imagined it would be this difficult..."

"They seem to have a unique set of values that only makes sense within the royal family."

"It certainly seems so..."

Even so, there was no stronger backing in this country.

"Kenichi, was this my fault?"

Anemone was worried that she had copied the books, but of course this was not her fault.

It was all my fault.

"But knowing you, I thought you would kill those royals and run away, nya."

I understood how Myaree felt, but doing that would solve nothing.

"Come on, if I did that, the whole country would hunt us down. Besides, that queen is no ordinary person."

"That killing intent was as strong as a monster's, nya. I could feel it... Even you might not be able to defeat her, Kenichi."

"I won't know unless I try, but I don't want to involve everyone in something like that."

If I knew my opponent was a swordsman, there were ways to fight them.

For example, even a master swordsman probably could not cut a polycarbonate shield in half with one stroke.

We could close in from all sides with large shields and use bear spray or a stun gun. It would be utterly underhanded, but in a fight, winning was all that mattered.

But if mages and a knight corps willing to charge in and throw away their lives became involved, things would not be so simple.

To give an example from Japan, killing a minister or prime minister after being summoned to parliament because I was treated unfairly would solve nothing.

"And even if we fled to the Empire, they would conscript mages into the military, right? It would just be the same thing all over again."

"Yes. Especially a powerful mage like you, Kenichi—the Empire would never overlook you."

"Then even if I get a little annoyed, I should just bow my head to the royalty here. To put it in a merchant's terms, bowing your head costs nothing."

"I agree, but you should do as you see fit, Kenichi."

Well, even if we had no choice but to flee, there were still options. We could escape to some isolated forest so deep that even the military could not enter.

For now, we had settled on a course of action, but I was still worried about Nyamena.

"Myaree, how is Nyamena doing?"

"She's drunk and asleep, nya..."

"This is my first time seeing a beastfolk in this state—but should we really do that thing?"

"Yes, nya."

"Are you okay with that, Myaree? You are competing with Nyamena, so I thought you would be against it."

"It is painful when this happens and there is no partner, nya."

So beastfolk understood one another's suffering.

What did they do when their heat came and they had no partner? They simply drank alcohol and slept.

"You do not seem to drink, Myaree, but do you still drink then?"

"There would be nothing else I could do, nya. If I went outside and the men noticed, they would just gang-rape me, nya."

"T-that sounds awful..."

If Nyamena went outside in her current state, it would be like throwing meat into a pack of black wolves.

"Still, it must be difficult if this happens every time."

"It is not normally like this, nya. It must be because you defeated the lesser dragon, nya."

"Does it really have that much of an impact?"

"Beastfolk instinctively crave the seed of a strong male. It cannot be helped, nya."

"Then you might end up like that too, Myaree...?"

"I am rational, so I will probably be fine, nya."

I never expected to hear the word rational from Myaree. Was that just my prejudice talking?

"So... I'm sorry, Primula and Anemone."

"It cannot be helped. She looked like she was suffering..."

"..."

Anemone was a child, but she understood what men and women did together.

She had seen it over and over again in Shaga's hideout, where she had been held captive.

It was certainly not good for a child's education, but it was normal in this world.

All right, I would steel myself and do it. Myaree advised me to wear leather armor.

I did have the light armor I had used in the battle with Shaga inside my Item Box, but...

After thinking for a while, I bought a leather motorcycle jacket from Shangri-La. It was thick, so it should work.

If I turned up the collar, it would protect my neck too.

I put on the jacket and entered Nyamena's shed.

"Hey, Nyamena..."

"Shaaah!"

She must have woken up, because she leaped at me the moment she saw me.

"Wait, wait—dammit! Anyway, we have to do this, right?! Fine, then!"

And so we did it again and again, making full use of modern technology too.

All I had to do was satisfy her body, right? But she was incredibly strong.

Even with all my strength, I could not hold her back. With her arms around me, it was like being squeezed in a giant vise.

She bit me and dug her claws into me over and over, and it continued throughout the night.

Thank goodness I was wearing the leather jacket. Even so, her claws and teeth had pierced it in quite a few places. I would probably be covered in wounds once I took it off.

By the time the sky began to lighten, Nyamena was sprawled unconscious on the floor of the shed.

My legs gave out. I somehow managed to put on my trousers, draped a blanket over Nyamena, and crawled out of the shed.

Bell came over and rubbed against me.

"What, you were awake?"

The battered leather jacket went straight into the trash.

I took water and a towel from my Item Box and wiped myself down.

I thought Nyamena should take a bath too, but she was completely worn out.

"Ow, ow..."

As expected, I was covered in wounds all over. I might develop a fever from this.

I bought healing ointment from Shangri-La and rubbed it all over my body.

"Whoa! That is pretty cold."

Goosebumps rose all over my body. The sky was growing much brighter, but the sky overhead was still filled with stars.

On clear nights, radiative cooling caused the temperature to drop. No wonder I was cold when I was wiping myself down with water.

Of course it was cold.

If I went to sleep now, I might oversleep. I brought a table and chairs out in front of the house, along with milk and granola.

For now, I would have everyone eat this in the morning. We were inside the castle, so it was unlikely anyone would steal it.

I bought a thick, long-sleeved undershirt and put it on, then took a sleeping bag from my Item Box and crawled inside.

Bell climbed on top of me.

"Bell, you're a little heavy..."

"Meow."

I was completely exhausted, so I had no choice but to sleep like that.