Side: ??? — Enaria Royal Capital
"...!! ...!?"
It was noisy outside.
And just when I'd finally managed to sleep soundly after pulling three all-nighters...
"Geez, I'll go give them a piece of my mind... They've got some nerve interrupting my sleep."
Still half-asleep, I practically tumbled out of bed and staggered toward the door leading into the noisy hallway.
Thud... Clatter... Crash!
"Ahh! My books, my documents, my materials..."
Well, I suppose it's my own fault for leaving everything scattered across the floor.
Still, none of this would've happened if they hadn't interrupted my sleep.
"Yeah, I'm not at fault. Let's go outside for now."
As for cleaning the room...
Prism should be back soon, so I'll ask her to help.
After all, this place serves as both my laboratory and my bedroom. I can't exactly let just anyone inside, and an untrained person could easily touch something dangerous.
Anyway, I finally reach the door to the hallway.
It's strange that it takes this much effort just to leave my own room.
But the commotion outside showed no signs of stopping.
"Seriously, keep it down!! I can't sleep like this!!"
I flung the door open and shouted loudly.
Naturally, the people making noise nearby turned their attention to me, and the racket stopped.
"So, what's all this about? You all know this entire wing serves as both my laboratory and my private quarters, don't you? And you also know just how important the research conducted here is."
That's right.
I'm someone of considerable standing here in the Holy Kingdom of Enaria.
This laboratory itself is located inside the royal castle in the capital.
That fact alone should tell anyone how important I am.
"U-Um... well..."
The soldier I was staring at stammered, unable to form a proper response.
Maybe I scared him a bit too much?
At this rate, it's going to take forever just to get a straight answer.
"Hey, you perverted woman. Cover your chest already. Even if it's small, you're still technically a woman, so you should have some modesty."
At those words, I looked down at myself.
My shirt had come undone, several buttons had popped off, and my chest was completely exposed—not just one side, but everything.
To make matters worse, I wasn't wearing any pants or a skirt either.
Without the shirt, I'd have been completely naked.
"Ohh, my bad. You should have said something."
"M-My deepest apologies..."
"Don't be ridiculous." a familiar voice sighed from the side. "Considering your rank and authority, there is no way a regular soldier would dare point that out to you carelessly."
"I have zero intention of abusing my authority over something like that, though?"
"Well, you certainly looked like you were throwing your weight around just because someone woke you up."
"That couldn't be helped, could it? I had literally just managed to fall asleep."
Exactly.
No matter the reason, interrupting a person's sleep is an unforgivable offense.
If humans don't sleep, they die. I was merely asserting my fundamental right to survival.
"'Finally'? When was the last time you even slept?"
"Let's see... three days ago?"
"So you haven't slept once since the day I saw you!? That's incredibly unhealthy!"
"Ahh, please don't shout so loudly. I just woke up. Anyway, since you're here, do you happen to know what's causing all this commotion? Dual-wielding magic sword user—General Prism?"
Well then...
Now then, let's hear the reason and go back to sleep quickly.
Conveniently, a friend who can help clean my room has also arrived.
"I came to talk to you about that. Actually, His Majesty is calling for you. Change into your audience clothes. It's going to be an official audience. While you're changing, I'll explain the situation. Aegil Thomson-sama—the discoverer of the Holy Sword and the wielder of the Lightning Demon Sword."
"Huh? Is this commotion seriously that big of a deal?"
"Just get back in your room and put your court clothes on!"
She ordered, dragging me right back into my messy laboratory.
Ahh, my formal court clothes... Now, where on earth did I leave them?
* * *
Side: Yuki
For the time being, we had dinner that evening, chatted for a while, and then called it a day.
Well, there was no point in rushing into detailed talks on the same day. We could only take it easy.
Or rather, if there were a rebellion, or if the enemy army were nearby and attacking, defence would be impossible from the start.
Sometimes knowing when to give up is important.
Ah... no, that's not quite right.
It's more like knowing when to make a strategic withdrawal.
"Onii-chan, I'm done peeling everything!"
"Oh, thanks."
I thanked Aslin and accepted the peeled ingredients from her.
"Anii-sama, is this the pot you'll be using?"
"Yeah, that's the right one."
Filia brought me the pot for cooking.
I finished preparing the stove and was thinking about today's menu — or rather, various things.
"Yuki-san, why are you cooking lunch yourself again? Officially, we're in a higher position than Horst-san, the local lord... his servants are terribly uneasy about it."
Shella glanced toward the kitchen entrance, where the cooks and servants stood stiffly with tense expressions.
"Yeah... I figured me cooking would stir things up like that. But doing this is actually a necessary step for the future of this town."
"You mean your delicious cooking, Yuki-san?"
"Whether it's delicious or not depends on the person. Anyway, it's needed for talking things over with Horst-san and for this town's future. Now then, let's get to frying already."
I turned to look for a frying pan...
"Here, Yuki. Frying pan."
"Oh, thanks. As expected of Labyris."
"Of course. Now, I'm climbing up."
The short busty girl, having fulfilled my request, climbs onto me as if it's only natural.
Since this was a daily occurrence at this point, pointing out how ridiculous it was felt like a waste of time.
"You know, I wouldn't mind if you poked me once."
"Not that kind of 'poke.'"
"What a shame."
"Um... Yuki-san? When you say 'future of this town'..."
"Oh, right. My bad."
While cooking, I decided to explain our future plans to Sheila.
"Sheila, what did you think after seeing Horst-san and the town yesterday?"
"Well... it doesn't compare to Weed, but I'd say it's governed exceptionally well. It seems he's earned the trust of the townspeople."
"Exactly. That's what I think too. Which means you understand why we can't just come in here and start doing whatever we want."
"Yes. Forcing our rule would only create backlash."
"So how do we avoid forcing it?"
"Let's see... Horst-san may not be a perfect ruler, but pointing out his flaws under the current circumstances would only turn the people against us. I think the best course would be to make him the central figure while gradually introducing our ideas to the city through him."
"Exactly. This is the first step. Weed's system has a lot of unconventional elements, after all. First, we start with something universal — food. We'll win them over from their stomachs. There's room for improvement in defense too, but suddenly implementing big changes today would cause problems, right?"
"Indeed..."
Defense especially requires the full cooperation of the townspeople. No matter how strong a castle is, it becomes fragile if it collapses from within. If we disrespect the popular Horst and cause that kind of situation, it would be disastrous.
It's like we've suddenly acquired a large human town after the demi-human village. The Jilva capital isn't bad, but this place is better suited as a base. Retreating isn't an issue, but losing this place would be troublesome, so we'll do this properly.
"The enemy isn't going to arrive today or tomorrow. First, let's build a solid foundation. Oh, Sheila, could you ask those servants standing at attention to bring us some cheap wine? We could make everything entirely with ingredients from Weed, but that wouldn't be very considerate."
"Yes! Right away!"
Sheila hopped off cutely, her bunny ears flapping as she ran toward the servants.
"All right then... time to put my heart into this meal."
No matter the situation, food is important. It's part of daily life — something inseparable. Even after coming to this distant other world, it's still something that reminds me of home.
Though, today's comfort food is just a standard cream stew.
Banging out traditional dishes like raw sashimi or miso soup right off the bat in a brand-new continent takes a level of culinary audacity I'm not ready for. I'll stick to the safe bets for now.
Side: Aegil Thomson
Rattle... Crash!
"I see... Yeah, that would cause a commotion... Light, the Holy Sword user, lost? That's something."
While combing my hair, I put on the audience outfit that Prism had found for me. Meanwhile, Prism explained the situation as she cleaned up.
Apparently, the Holy Sword user Light, who had been sent to counter the Jilva Empire's invasion, was defeated.
"My goodness... There's so much dust... The difference between the used and unused areas is extreme. And it's not just that the Holy Sword user lost. It happened only a week ago. Do you understand what that means?"
She waved her hand in front of her face as though trying to fan away the dust.
What a rude thing to do in a young lady's room.
"Hm... I'll overlook your behavior in a maiden's room, Prism. But if Light was defeated a week ago, that means the fortress had already been under attack for a while, right?"
"No. The invasion had actually stopped once, and there was no contact for nearly six months."
"Right. I don't know what caused their delay, but during that half-year window, we reinforced the fort's defenses, deployed extra troops, and sent Light out as our ultimate trump card, correct?"
"Yes. And yet, that fortress—which should have been an absolute, unassailable stronghold—fell in a mere half a day."
"...Half a day, huh? Did they have a Holy Sword wielder on their side too?"
"No. According to the soldiers who escaped, all three Magic Sword wielders attacked together. They instantly destroyed the gate, immediately wiped out the defenders stationed atop the walls, and overwhelmed the fortress before anyone could mount any meaningful resistance."
"...Hmm. Strange. The Magic Swords we wield are certainly powerful. But instantly destroying both the gate and the defenders on the walls... You'd need an enormous amount of stored mana and an exceptionally powerful magical attack to accomplish that."
My field of research is, as one might guess, related to these Magic Swords... Or rather, the study of mana and magical theory as a whole?
After researching for many years (well, I'm not actually that old), I discovered that Magic Swords possess the ability to store mana. The magic they unleash is powered by that stored mana. That's why Prism and I intentionally pour mana into our swords every day to build up their reserves.
The swords also accumulate mana by killing enemies, but nowadays Magic Sword wielders are treated as strategic trump cards. Charging alone into enemy lines just to slaughter people is horribly inefficient. As far as I know, only Marley, the Wind Princess Knight of the Jilva Empire, fights that way.
Still...
Only the King and a few high-ranking officials know this fact.
It's not something anyone can actually see. We Magic Sword wielders simply sense the mana accumulating... And honestly, it's better that way.
If people could visibly confirm it, in the worst-case scenario, the corrupt upper echelons might order us to start slaughtering our own citizens just to artificially charge our weapons with mana. That's why we patiently accumulate mana day after day.
Even so...
I still don't think it would be enough to destroy a fortress gate in a single instant.
"...Prism. Could your dual-wielding style destroy a gate in one strike?"
"...I thought about that too. With the Earth Magic Sword, I could probably collapse the ground beneath the gate—or force it upward—and bring it down that way. Though it would likely drain the Earth Sword's mana completely."
"Just having a method is impressive. With my Lightning Magic Sword, I can probably only take out the soldiers on the walls at best."
"Your sword is convenient for sweeping soldiers since it ignores armor defense."
"Well, everything depends on how you use it. But from talking with you, I can more or less guess why they lost."
"What's your theory?"
"They had three Magic Sword users. They probably split the roles. The Wind Princess Knight handled the walls, the Flame Princess Knight took the gate, and the Water Princess Knight swept everyone away. Wouldn't that explain it?"
"Hmm... Scare the soldiers with the Wind Magic Sword, heat the gate with the Flame Magic Sword so no one can approach, then finish them off with a massive water tsunami from the Water Magic Sword?"
"Exactly."
I finished preparing for the audience.
"But if we explain it that way..."
"They'll probably send us out next. Well, we also want the Holy Sword back, and having you with me is reassuring, Prism."
Magic Sword wielders capable of surpassing even the Holy Sword I discovered, huh...
The world really is vast.
It seems I still have much left to learn.
* * *
Side: Low Ranking Goblin A - The Group That Followed Yuki
"O-Ohhhh, what a magnificent flavor!!"
"It truly is delicious desu wa!!"
Right in front of us, Lord Horst and his wife were happily eating Weed's... No, the Boss's special cooking.
We're on guard duty so we can't eat right now, but we'll get our turn later. The Boss is kind in these ways. His training is absolute hell, though.
Still...
Even someone we owe a lot to can be hated sometimes.
"Yuki-san, look over here. Say 'ahhh'~"
Riel-neesan was doing something enviable to the Boss.
"I made it myself, you know."
Even so, he obediently accepted the bite she offered.
"May I feed you too?"
"...Me too."
Tori-neesan and Kaya-neesan quickly joined in.
And of course, that meant...
"As Yuki-san's aide, I have to feed him too!!"
"Onii-chan, me too!!"
"Anii-sama!!"
"U-Um... me too!!"
Ria-neesan, Princess Aslin, Lady Filia, Sheila-neesan...
The Boss was surrounded by beautiful women and cute young girls.
A short distance away...
"Should I be doing that too?"
"No. Jessica has to genuinely want to do it herself. If you force yourself, you'll only make him feel guilty."
"Is that how it works? By the way, Labyris, aren't you going to do it?"
"Of course I am. Mouth-to-mouth, naturally."
Watching this chaotic scene unfold, there was only one unified thought echoing through the minds of every single guard standing in the kitchen:
If looks could kill, the Boss would be a pile of ash right now! I am definitely reporting this straight to Captain Steve later.
Camera... Where did I put the digital camera... Ah, here it is.
