Chapter 1: The Revival of the Zontark Kingdom?

"At this rate, demons are definitely going to die out! I declare here and now that I will revive the demon kingdom!"

The demon queen (a ten-years-old girl) announced after visiting us all of a sudden. To be honest, I feel like telling her to go for it, if she feels like it. But, since it'd turn into a diplomatic issue, if we got involved in this, we naturally won't help her, nor have we any reason to do so.

"Once we found our kingdom, I'd like to form an alliance of equals with the Helmut Kingdom and Holy Empire Urqhart in the future. Accordingly it's not like we came here today to bug you about it."

"We'd become indebted to you, if we were to get your assistance, and it would likely put the Zontark Republic on guard. Your Majesty, you sure have a keen, discerning eye."

"Umu, this is yet another result of your education, Lyra. You have my gratitude."

"Those words are wasted on me, Your Majesty."

Lyra-san, the prime minister, seems to have a decent level of judgment. Despite being rather young, the demon queen doesn't seem to harbor dreamy views of the world either.

"But, why now?" Luise asked.

"The demons have been under a stable rule as a country, without being invaded by foreign powers, for more than 10,000 years. And because of that excessively peaceful life, the demons' instincts have clearly decayed. But, now we were able to confirm the existence of two human countries. This will cause big changes among the demons. There might be good and bad parts about it, but there's no guarantee that the Zontark Republic will make decent decisions. Therefore we decided to make our stand now!"

"Having two countries also comes with the pragmatic reason that at least one of them should be able to pull through."

This demon queen is pretty grounded in her thinking for a ten-year-old. Because she's a girl, she might be growing mentally faster than boys her age. Her prime minister Lyra-san is also the levelheaded type of woman, so maybe the women are exceedingly superior within the current demon population?

"You say the demons would be destroyed by us humans? You think that's realistic?"

It was only natural for Eru to be puzzled about this. All demons are magicians and they excel humans in magic engineering by centuries.

No matter how you spin it, the humans would be the ones getting decimated. Rather, the demons' advantage is so overwhelming that it justifies us getting worried instead.

"As you have already noticed, the demons' population is declining due to low birthrates. On the other hand, humans are constantly growing in numbers. Once the development of the Lingaia Continent finishes, you'll likely extend your hands for other islands and continents. Certainly, us demons excel in magic engineering, but even that advantage can vanish, if enough time passes. Her Majesty rose now as her outview is directed at a very long term."

"I rose up." Elisabeth boldly declared while pushing out her chest.

But, unfortunately she was still lacking in the departments of height and chest size. Though I believe her intention to be quite splendid...

"Still, will you be able to become independent all of a sudden? Won't it all be over once you get suppressed by the republic's police unit?"

Well, considering it normally, it'll conclude in a way similar to what Ina has mentioned. The Zontark Republic has many problems as well, but they aren't in such a disarray that they'd split apart.

"Independence is still a matter of the future. It'll probably be impossible during my lifetime. But, it's quite possible to establish a base of operations! Well, you can just watch our great exploits."

"Your Majesty, it is about time for you to go back home."

"Yep, my teacher told me to get back home before it becomes dark outside."

""""""""""......""""""""""

I feel like she was just now talking about founding an independent state and so on, and yet she listens so attentively to what her teacher tells her to do? What a surreal being...

"Well then, see you until we meet again!"

"Excuse us."

The two left the room after having said all they wanted to say. They took with them the high-class cream puff I gave them as a souvenir and the forest mate tea which Elise had kindly filled into a takeaway bottle for them.

* * *

After seeing off the demon queen and her prime minister, I ended up brooding about the true motive behind their visit and announcements.

"Dear, this is a fairly dangerous story, is it not?"

I can understand Elise being anxious about this.

If the demon queen, who was believed to have no power in this country anymore, were to plot an independence from the republic right after meeting us, it'd very likely be interpreted as me and the Helmut Kingdom behind me scheming to divide the demons.

However, there was someone who laughed down all those worries. Lumi, our local news reporter.

"I doubt there's any need to worry 'bout this."

"Hey, newspaper report, this would usually count as a perfect chance for you to stir your readers by claiming that such a plot was afoot, no?"

"We've got many higher-ups who do as told by the politicians of the CRP, and that's being regarded as a problem, but even so, our newspaper is the bestselling paper on the market. No need to fall back on yellow journalism."

"So you want to say you're a quality paper?"

"Right, that's it! That! Earl Baumeister-san, I've taken my job hunting seriously after all, unlike my juniors."

"""We're taking it serious too!"""

Mall and the other two heavily objected to Lumi's remark.

A crushing defeat after seriously looking for a job, huh...? In their shoes, my heart would have been broken by this. My job in my previous life was quite taxing, but it's good that I was able to find a decent job.

"In the first place, the defense force isn't vigilant about this at all! The defense force is occasionally criticized for scandals and they're being hated by certain anti-militaristic groups in society as the defense force stands in the way of those people, but in reality, they have a lot of excellent personnel."

Whenever you try to land a job with them, the competition seems to be quite high. It's probably because the income and salary is quite stable since defense force members are public servants, so it's easy for them to gather skilled people.

"Anyway, let me tell you that it's nothing to worry about."

"It'd be great if you're right about this..."

* * *

And then, on the next morning, the details of the declaration of independence by the demon queen and her prime minister were made public. Lumi had brought in the morning newspaper of Everyday Journal.

"It's come out. Look, it's written here."

"Let me see."

The article had been placed in the newspaper's category for livelihood matters. I wonder why. What's with this sense of discomfort I'm feeling?

"Umm... 『Her Majesty the Queen of the olden Zontark Kingdom has taken office as ruler of the reborn Zontark Kingdom』. The crucial details of the article..."

As I kept reading the article, something along following lines was written in there:

At present three quarters of the island inhabited by the demons is deserted. In the past, up to three quarters were inhabited, but the population gradually shrunk, leading to land being abandoned.

The uninhabited area decayed and fell into ruin. Often nature took over, and sometimes those abandoned places also turned back into monster domains.

Young demons, who left exploitative companies with bad pay, and jobless folks have started to revive those deserted places. They basically lead lives of self-sufficiency. As for the infrastructure necessary for them to survive, they repaired and reused those which had been abandoned.

Their main source of income mostly depends on the sale of the agricultural produce they planted themselves. Their average pay is generally low, but because they provide for themselves, they don't live in poverty. Rather, you can even say they're leading bountiful lives that are good for their mental health.

Is their challenge going to work out smoothly?

It's something I'd love to keep an eye on to see where it's going.

"..."

All I could feel when reading this article was a deja vu. This was something that also happened in countries on Earth, wasn't it? I mean the one where city folks started to live out in the sticks while using ghost towns and abandoned farmlands.

(TN: In Japan, they have a big issue with the countryside literally dying out. You can basically get old houses there for free. And they got this weird law where you can occupy a place and it'll become yours, if no owner claims it after x time. It was mentioned in D-Genesis as weird, super technical trivia knowledge.)

If I remember correctly, they talked about farm village revival as work-out, LOHAS, or some such, didn't they?

"I see. So you said it would be fine because you knew that the demon queen and her supporters were participating in those activities."

"I mean I'm a reporter, so I'm aware of such things going on. But, the ones in charge of that are the folks at the Livelihood department and I'm an outsider for them, so I only got to know the details today."

"You sure are saying some things you'd expect out of the mouth of a government official, Lumi."

"Earl Baumeister-san, you understand the demon society way too well!"

No, I don't really know the demons all that well. It's just that it resembles a social phenomenon in a country I know all too well.

"Is this really an independence? To me it looks like they're merely doing some farmland reactivation campaign..."

"Who knows? I can't tell." Eru cocked his head upon my question.

* * *

Just as all of us were worrying in front of the new article, the demon queen and her prime minister showed up.

"Forgive me for visiting in a normal dress today."

"Her Majesty attended school today."

Today Elisabeth wore a common one-piece dress. And a kindergartener backpack...

It looks like demon children go to school while carrying such backpacks.

Personally I think her outfit is more like casual wear than demitoilet, but... well, it's cute, so who cares.

"Is this an independence movement?" Ina showed them the newspaper.

"Quite so! People who are unhappy with their current life or have no job, have gathered on the land abandoned by the republic folks, and formed into groups. A journey to distant shores begins with a single step! We aim to increase the subjects in such a matter, eventually reaching a quota that allows for the independence of our kingdom!"

It might be more appropriate to call them union members or group members than subjects. She's calling it a kingdom, but no matter how you look at it, this seems to be closer to a company or a NGO. I think any government official would perceive it as such after receiving the documents.

Otherwise, the state would have long assigned defense force members to monitor the situation.

"Her Majesty has taken the post of president for the NGO which carries out all these activities. I ceased my part-time job which I had been attending so far to devote my undivided attention to my duty as vice-president and accountant. Her Majesty has to go to school on the days outside school holidays. As such, it is planned for me to usually run the organization."

A NGO which gathers farmland located in abandoned regions, eh...? Elisabeth and Lyra-san are groping for a way to become independent by gathering unemployed youths in areas which are labeled as worthless by the republic's government.

The number of people, who cease to receive welfare, has been increasing, and deliberately hindering those people from living in the abandoned areas would only come with drawbacks, as long as those people pay some taxes, even if just a bit. In the first place, the demon queen and her people aren't considering to arm themselves.

No wonder the defense force hasn't said anything about them thus far. After all, there exists no confrontation between the demon queen and the republic's government.

"But, that is insufficient. It will probably be difficult to achieve during my lifetime, but my children and grandchildren's generations will vastly expand our organization. It should be possible to achieve independence in a peaceful manner without having to rely on military might."

"Nothing less of you, Your Majesty. That is an extremely clever plan."

"What, isn't it all thanks to your suggestion, Lyra?"

That sounds more like simply expanding the scope of an organization than going independent...

Even the NGO guys are probably using the demon queen as a figurehead for that very reason. If you discreetly tout a little girl who happens to be the current demon queen, it won't trigger any alarm bells with the authorities. Besides, the common people usually like kings or queens.

They'll likely just watch over this young demon queen with gentle eyes as long as they don't suffer any inconveniences, even if they were to let her be a little dictator. Above all, the demon queen is a pretty girl.

"Your Majesty, it is time for you to go to school."

"Oh, it's already this late? I must work hard at studying well so that I'll become a demon queen who's loved by everyone."

The demon queen went to her school together with Lyra-san. She seems to properly take her education seriously without skipping on school.

"Though there are some people like us who can't find a job even after having studied well."

Mall, I don't want to hear any such depressing, ambitionless stories.

"Truly, reality is cruel."

"""Wilma-chan! You're so meaaan!!"""

"Do these people actually suffer from some sort of major issue?"

"""Katharina-san, you're just as heartless!!"""

Even though they look like this, Mall and his friends are smart and their specs should be pretty high. Maybe they're unlucky after all.

"Dear, it's good that it hasn't turned into a problem."

"True that."

* * *

Once school ended, the demon queen showed up again. It looks like she has taken a liking to us. Currently she's doing her homework while drinking the forest mate tea brewed by Elise and eating the cake we bought at another high-class Western-styled confectionery.

But rather than that, for some reason the demon queen has started to frequently visit our room. I don't think it's a good place for studying since my babies are here too.

"Earl Baumeister, your babies are cute. Children are a country's treasure. Next the division of fractions, huh...?"

The demon queen occasionally threw a glance at my sleeping babies while solving math exercises as her homework.

"I must also give birth to a fine successor once I become an adult. Though it's questionable whether I'll find any partners for a formal marriage interview..."

"Isn't it okay to marry out of love? Political marriages are dated."

"Just when I wondered what you'd say... us of noble standing marry for the sake of our land and country. A romantic marriage is fine, but you four male demons over there aren't even married, are you?"

"Your Majesty, the things you say are quite harsh..."

Having the reality of being single pointed out to them by the demon queen, Mall's group felt depressed.

"I regard my research as my lover and wife."

Of course, only Arnest didn't mind it though.

"Certainly, marriage with a noble or another royal would be the most desirable, but it is also possible that you will find a wonderful husband."

"Does that mean you found a good husband, Elise?"

"Yes."

It's embarrassing to be told so directly, but I'm happy to know that Elise thinks of me like that.

"It means there is a chance of a Prince Charming to show up for me as well, huh? I guess I'll put some hope into that. By the way, Earl Baumeister, I don't understand this calculation."

Elisabeth showed me her math homework. It seems like she doesn't have the option of skipping on her homework by using her authority as demon queen.

"Division of fractions, right...?"

All the answers to the problems, which the demon queen had done during class, were marked with an X. That's because she had divided the fractions without inverting the numerator and denominator. Like this it was no different from a multiplication of fractions.

"(1/2)/(2/3) is 3/4."

It's been quite a while since I last had to do schoolwork, but when it came to the division of fractions, which I had learned during elementary school, I wouldn't forget it so easily."

"Earl Baumeister, why do you turn the numbers around here?"

"Please ask the people over there since they got lots of smart people."

Arnest is a former professor of a famous university with the highest education in this country. Mall's group actually belongs to the selected few who managed to graduate from the same university. And Lyra-san also graduated from a good university.

It'll be much safer to ask them than me, who only went to a second-rate Japanese university.

"Vel, you're incredible!"

For some reason me having simply solved elementary school arithmetic earned me deep respect from Luise. I suppose that's because it's enough to be able to read, write, and do basic arithmetic calculations on the Lingaia Continent. Something like division of fractions is unnecessary if you don't go to the academy.

That place was a den of study freaks who made even Elise draw back. By the way, I never went to the academy myself.

"Well, if it's a simple problem..."

If I get unnecessarily cocky here, it's possible that I'll shoot my own leg by being asked to do harder calculations. The best is to push it on the demons who have studied it all properly.

"My specialization is archeology."

"I belong to liberal arts."

"Me too!"

"Arithmetics are unexpectedly difficult. If it's mathematics..."

However Arnest and his former three male students didn't live up to my expectations. I thought they'd be able to divide fractions, but they probably can't explain why you have to invert the numerator and denominator of the divisor during the calculation.

"What's the point in having you guys around if you're of no use during such times!?"

"Earl Baumeister, this is an affront. I am useful when it comes to the discovery of underground ruins."

Now that he mentions it, I suppose Arnest contributes quite a bit. Though he's got various issues if it comes to everything besides ancient ruin excavation.

"Okay, what about you three then?"

"Our work is to assist your group during your stay in this country, not to explain the theory behind the division of fractions..."

"Right, right."

"I, liberal arts."

Since those three were lost cases, I decided to rely on the talented Lyra-san for an explanation here.

"Division of fractions, you ask...?"

"Yes, why are the numerator and denominator of the divisor switched?"

"Please ask the school's teacher about that. It's that person's reason for existence. Her Majesty understands the special traits of the subjects serving her. Using the right people for the right work is crucial for a ruler. By the way, Your Majesty, about the inspections starting tomorrow..."

She friggin' dodged it!!

Because she didn't know herself, Lyra-san switched the topic without providing an answer. Still, it was a skilled way of sidestepping this topic.

"The inspections? I sure look forward to them."

"The subjects of all villages have been looking forward to Your Majesty's visit."

"Umu, I see. Those are my cherished subjects, indeed."

I cannot help but feel like she's being used as a figurehead for a simple farm village revival project, but I guess that's still better than reckless talking about revolutions. Even if they did something like that, they wouldn't have any chance against the defense force as an enemy to begin with.

That means Lyra-san is a realist.

"Earl Baumeister, won't you come with me?"

"Hmm, let me think..."

The all-important negotiations haven't proceeded at all up until today. The frequency of us being a topic of interest in the Zontark Republic has decreased significantly, too.

I hear a famous singer got married and that news has been dominating the frontpages. We seem to be seen as less important than that singer, and the newspapers have even stopped writing about the negotiation teams of both countries for the most part.

According to the leaks from Lumi, the negotiations seem to be so stuck that it's not even laughable anymore. The government has apparently pressured the media to not report on the negotiations too much as they connected the failure at the negotiation table to the popularity decline of the CRP.

When I heard her say that, I cried out, "Hey, what's with democracy!?"

"Being told so by you, Earl Baumeister-san, sure strikes hard! Many members of the CRP were originally newspaper reporters. It's tough if you're being told by your former seniors to not write about something. The tiny amount of news making an appearance in the politics category is the best the young reporters can offer as resistance!"

It's a nasty story, but because such circumstances also played a role, we now had nothing to do. Therefore I think it should be okay to go out to visit the farm villages.

"The question is whether the defense force will approve of it."

This was my sole worry, but the defense force readily agreed to it.

"Ah, you mean that farm village revival project? Sure. Given that those villages contain no people that would require extra surveillance, the guarding should be easy too."

"Eh? They don't have any?"

"Look, Her Majesty the Demon Queen stands at the top, even if as the figurehead of that movement, right? Those who hate nobility and royals, won't approach. But that's only natural since they have a bad compatibility."

Certainly, activists of that sort have many members who hate nobles. I guess they'll stay away with the demon queen being the top dog.

Because we got permission, we decided to travel all over the place in the countryside of the Zontark Republic starting with tomorrow.

* * *

The next day was Day of Five. Day of Five is like the day's names in my previous life. A week goes from Day of One to Day of Seven with school apparently being off from Day of Five to Day of Seven.

A three-day holiday from school every week...that's quite enviable...

"You sure have a lot of free days."

Not only Ina, but all of us humans thought so. As long as nothing really special was going on, Roderich allowed me to only have one day off per week.

"If they were to rush and finish the curriculum quickly, the higher schools would be hard pressed on what to do with all the students."

According to Mall, this seemed to be a desperate measure to lengthen the education time. Even if they finished their education quickly, they'd just add to the unemployed because of the lack of jobs. And given that the criticism of the government would grow in proportion to the number of unemployed, they simply stretched out education by increasing the holidays.

Basically, they bypass the criticism by calling the young demons students instead of unemployed.

"You could also call it procrastination."

"Arnest, that's way too blunt."

Just because he himself got a job doesn't really give him the right to be so nasty about the education policies here.

"Earl Baumeister-dono, we have arrived."

Because I heard the village we were going to visit had an old port, we moved through the underpopulated area with our private, small magic airship. We were also accompanied by a small ship of the defense force.

Interest in us vanished quickly, but we're still state guests so far as it goes, so we're being guarded.

"Your Majesty, thank you kindly for visiting our humble village."

When we reached the village together with the demon queen, we were greeted by around a hundred young demons. Going by their appearance, all of them were around twenty, but since demons don't really grow old visibly, I can't determine their genuine age. But, all of them should still be below 100 years.

"All of you, thank you for deliberately coming out to greet me today. I'm happy to see the village thriving with energy."

"Everyone is full of motivation."

"Your Majesty, farming is fun."

"Sometimes we're depressed because the produce doesn't grow as expected, but those feelings are quickly blown away when you hold your own harvest in your hands and actually experience the fruits of your work."

"Your Majesty, I have started to raise chickens. And just recently they finally became big enough to lay eggs for me. This is much more fulfilling than my previous job where I sold expensive down quilts to old people."

This made me think that a society, where the young folks can't find work, has serious problems. Yet, since they found their meaning in life by living as farmers, the demon queen, even if she might be no more than a figurehead, can be quite useful for everyone.

"Today there are also many visitors with you."

"Indeed. Earl Baumeister-dono and his family have come visiting us from the Helmut Kingdom, a nation located in the far east on the Lingaia Continent. They are my guests."

"We must welcome them appropriately then. Given that now is the time for harvesting potatoes, we were planning to go dig for them today."

"Potato digging!? I'm so looking forward to that!"

Even if she might be the demon queen, she's still a child. As fitting for her age, she frolicked around as soon as heard that she'd be able to dig for potatoes from the village's representative.

"Potato digging? That sounds fun."

Of course, I'm also looking forward to it. Or rather, I'm completely fed up with living in that hotel which has nothing to do.

The government's treatment of us is too irresponsible, so we started to actually doubt the purpose of us being here.

"I wonder if I can make some baby food out of potatoes."

"That's a great idea."

"We can also eat potato dishes."

"However, freshly harvested potatoes aren't all that tasty, so the ones picked up today will be preserved. The ones we will offer all of you are potatoes we harvested a few weeks ago," a young demon explained apologetically.

Come to think of it, sweet potatoes won't become sweet if you don't let them rest for a few weeks.

"Sad. A bit tasteless."

"But, Wilma! I got my magic to make the impossible possible!"

I can mature monster meat and tuna with my magic. There's no reason why that wouldn't work on potatoes.

"As always, I can't really make up my mind whether you're incredible or not, Vel."

"No, that's amazing magic we cannot use."

"Despite being demons?"

Eru cocked his head in doubt as the young demon admitted they couldn't mature potatoes through magic, but even if you have mana, this will be the natural outcome if you don't practice your magic. It's something anyone can immediately understand with a look at Mall and his friends.

"It'd be great to be able to eat the potatoes we dug out ourselves."

"It's as Ina-chan says. Let's get pumped and dig!"

Ina and Luise become very eager about this, and after entrusting our babies to the maids, all of us participated in the potato digging. I also used my own two hands to dig out the potatoes without relying on my magic.

"Huh? Aren't these kind of small?"

"Hubby, the ones you dig up are all small."

I psyched myself up and pulled out a potato vine, but all the potatoes on it were small. Seeing that, Katia laughed at me.

"Katia, you're in no position to say that, seeing how your potatoes aren't big either, you know?"

"Eh? Potatoes are our family's specialty, though..."

Certainly, these resemble sweet potatoes, but aren't they different from maroimo?

"Because we don't use any synthetic fertilizers, their size varies and can be lacking."

Synthetic fertilizer? Is that something like a chemical fertilizer?

I understand what the demon queen wants to say, though. Basically, they're doing what was called organic farming in previous life.

"Since we don't meet the crop standards, we cannot sell them through regular distribution channels. But, supporters of this movement buy our produce and the reputation is quite good, too."

More and more I feel like this is a movement I've heard about before. They've reverted to using the old methods for farming and they finance the expenses by selling their produce to those supporting them. I feel like wanting to call this an organic farm.

"Hubby, what's synthetic fertilizer?"

"It's fertilizer that uses sorcery craft, right?"

"It only extracts the elements necessary for crops to grow. It's a fertilizer that's being produced at factories, I've been taught at school." The demon queen answered my question.

Soil was staining the tip of her nose as she had been engrossed with digging out potatoes, but this is also part of the fun. She's usually behaving like a level-headed adult, but in the end she's a child, nonetheless.

"Your Majesty, you got dirt on your nose."

"Uh huh, quite irksome."

Noticing the dirt, Lyra-san wiped it away with a handkerchief.

Looking at the two of them, they seem to share a relationship of mother and daughter rather than queen and servant.

"Heeh, if big bro got that, it would make it much easier for him to grow maroimo too, wouldn't it?"

"I don't know. In the first place, if the negotiations in regards to commerce don't conclude in some way, importing the fertilizer will be quite hard."

"Those guys sure are tough for being able to have meaningless talks every day on an uninhabited island. You think so too, don't you hubby?"

I don't know whether it's meaningless, but it's a fact that their talks aren't going anywhere at all. So I can fully understand Katia's point.

"I heard that my big bro is struggling quite a bit with fertilizer production."

Come to think of it, Veith-san was growing the maroimo while only using natural fertilizer. Would he be able to produce a lot more easily a great number of maroimo if synthetic fertilizer were to be imported?

"Synthetic fertilizer has its merits and demerits, too. It's convenient for uniformly producing a large amount of produce, though."

In short, it's a matter of how you use it and it depends on each case. Using natural fertilizer properly is important, explained the youth serving as village representative to us.

This young man was unable to find employment at the big farm of his family, despite being the son of a certain large-scale farming enterprise. Now he's teaching the participants of this movement the techniques to grow crops while approving of the movement's ideas.

The demon queen arbitrarily mentioned that he was a candidate to become her future Minister of Agriculture.

"We're using natural fertilizer because the costs for buying synthetic fertilizer are nothing to sneeze at."

Because this is a movement trying to live without needing money, it'd be pointless if they were troubled by expenses for fertilizer. It's the same with types of agricultural chemicals. It'd make no sense for the farmers to become poor while only the producers of fertilizer and agricultural chemicals profited from this.

"As long as you do it correctly, you can grow delicious produce even with just natural fertilizer. The bug repellent we use to get rid of harmful insects is our own creation, too. We also weed without using herbicides. We send the produce with good shapes and sizes to our supporters while eating the rest ourselves. With this it's more than enough."

"Vel, this one is quite big."

"Hehen! Mine is bigger."

"At times it is also good to go back to such a childish mindset!"

"You think my daughter would be happy if I brought her here?"

"Every once in a while it is not bad to get your hands dirty with soil."

From the young folks to the three middle-aged guys we got with us, everyone enjoyed this. Because it also served as a regular harvest, all the potatoes on the village's fields were safely dug out by the villagers and us.

"Are we going to use these to make baby food?"

These are potatoes that grew completely naturally, so they might be perfect for babies.

"Wilma, Friedrich and the other babies still don't have any teeth, so it needs to be as soft as possible. I'll turn them into a paste."

"Vel-sama, you know a lot about this."

I used to deal with baby food in my previous life after all. For some reason, my company acted like a major trading company during an era of declining birth rates and got involved selling baby food, but ultimately failed. I had learned enough about baby food that I knew how it was made, but the section chief in charge of this segment was ousted to a branch office of some country I haven't heard of much. He was apparently told by his wife that she'd stay back in Japan since that country's public order was too dangerous for her and their kids to follow him, so he became all teary-eyed during the farewell party.

"Too strong flavors aren't good for babies, so I'll rely on the natural tastiness of the ingredients. Ah, wait, don't use honey."

Babies below one year in age don't have a working environment in the intestines , so you should avoid feeding them honey.

"Vel, as always, you got a bounty of knowledge about weird stuff..."

"I read up on it."

In my previous life, that is.

My knowledge isn't that great, but it's unexpectedly often seen as amazing in this world.

"Earl Baumeister, it's almost as if you're a person of this country."

There are surprisingly many similar parts after all.

"Elise, I think it'd be better for you to use a strainer."

"You're right. I think the flavor should be okay like this."

"It's sweet enough, yeah."

Elise, Therese, and Lisa finished up the baby food and fed it little-by-little to Friedrich and the others.

"Daa─"

"I see, so it tastes well, huh? That's great to hear, Leon."

"Eru-san, he's eating it so happily, isn't he?"

Eru and Haruka fed the baby food to Leon as a couple.

"It's enviable to see you have so many children. There are no children among us."

I think the demon queen fully qualifies as a child, but there are definitely no other children besides her here.

"Children are a treasure for a country, but the majority of those participating in our movement are formerly unemployed. Most of them are single, so there's naturally no way for them to have children. Our nation's founding plan is facing many difficulties."

"Still, some got married after meeting here. Given that several women are pregnant right now, the outlook isn't that pessimistic either."

Leaving aside the demon queen, Lyra-san seems to regard the situation in a different light.

"But, what are you going to do about school?"

This place is quite far away from the towns where demons live. Because they revived a place that had been abandoned to begin with, there was no school nearby for the children to go to later on. Even the demon queen couldn't really come here to inspect things unless she had no school.

"I guess it'll be necessary to take care of education for children in order to create a country."

"There are several retired teachers and people with the qualification to teach among us. Somehow I'd love to build a school where we can carry out compulsory education for our children. I think it'd be fine to call it lucky, but we also got a building that used to be a school."

"Are you going to get permission to do this?"

That was the point worrying me the most. Assuming this is a country resembling Japan, you probably must hand in many documents to build a new school. Lyra-san will probably become the landlord and negotiate with the public office in charge of this area, but it should be an arduous and difficult path.

"You do have a point that it's bothersome because you have to meet a lot of conditions on top of handing in too many documents."

If the children must leave this village to attend school, it'd be like putting the cart before the horse. If they can't build a school that would allow the children in the countryside to get their basic education, I think it'll be difficult to expand the village's scope.

"Also, what are you doing about medical care?"

"Doesn't healing magic cover that part?"

"Well, as a matter of fact, doctors are forbidden to use healing magic in this country without the necessary qualifications."

"Seriously?"

"That's quite an amazing truth."

Not only Elise, but I was startled as well. It seems like unlicensed people are in danger of landing in jail in the worst case, if they use healing magic in the current demon country.

"Who would come up with such a dumb idea?"

From Therese's point of view, it appears to be unbelievable that the demon country would impose a restriction on the use of something as convenient as healing magic, if people can use it.

"If you hear the reason, it does sound dumb indeed..."

The demon country developed magic engineering to the extreme for the sake of granting its citizens a prospering, abundant life. As a result of that, the country's flourishing is powered by a wide spread of extremely fuel-efficient magic tools.

Demons possess a lot of mana from birth, so they don't need to increase their mana through unreasonable training regimes. Rather, if they used convenient spells, the mass-produced magic tools wouldn't sell. And if they don't sell, the county will fall into a recession.

Accordingly, the state has set relatively strict rules when it comes to the use of magic and magic tools. For example, magic bags that are capable of storing food for a long period of time aren't available. In addition, people, who aren't qualified as doctors, are forbidden to cast healing magic, just as mentioned before. They reason here seems to be: 『Are you going to take responsibility if you, as an amateur in medical care, cast healing magic on someone and something happens to them?』.

If they put it like that, it's surely a problematic issue. The number of people practicing offensive magic appears to be fairly low, too.

Even the members of the defense force seem to perform training similar to the military and police forces of advanced countries on earth such as how to use the weapons provided to them──it's unnecessary to use magic since the weapons can be used by pouring mana into them──and physical training. For example, at the times when terrorists appear──though those seem to be mostly demonstrations about wanting to get employment──the defense force would receive heavy criticism by the media and demon rights organizations, if wounded or casualties were to appear after the defense force suppressed the terrorists with offensive magic.

Lightning-based magic, which would be suitable as means for mob suppression, is difficult to adjust so that it won't cause any casualties, so hardly anyone uses it as demons usually don't practice magic. But, they do have tranquilizers that will shoot the optimal charge of electric current to stun an opponent, if you pour mana into them. Because it's easier to use these, only few people go out of their way to use magic.

"It's quite a waste if you don't use your abilities despite being blessed with them innately."

"If you use magic inside a town, you'll be arrested," Mall explained to Therese.

Using a magic tool is no problem, but you'll be criticized for using magic.

Because of their wariness about what they should do, if they suddenly used offensive magic and injured or killed some bystanders, demons never use magic in places with many people. Magic tools, on the other hand, are built so that you know their effect if you look at them after pouring mana into them.

That's why everyone thinks it's fine as long as you have the necessary mana to use magic tools.

"We use some spells in this village. A lot of the infrastructure has been neglected for many years, so we have no choice but to compensate for the things we cannot repair with magic."

There's lots of documents about magic left behind, so they seem to be referencing those documents to use magic for carrying heavy stuff, tilling fields, or maintaining roads.

"Doesn't that mean you went back to the past?"

"We don't have money, so it's this village's rule to do what we can do by ourselves. Fortunately, we have someone with the qualifications of a pharmacist and various types of medical plants have been growing in this area, too."

I suppose that means they contort magic potions to prepare for injuries and diseases.

"A healing magician with the qualification of a doctor has been interested in this village, so I think we'll be able to resolve the issue with the healing magic soon."

The village where the demon queen served as village headman, was continuously taking shape.

"Let's leave the difficult talk at that. I'm hungry."

"Me too."

The baby food that used the potatoes we had harvested was done as well, and my babies had eaten it while enjoying it very much. Maybe it's a good idea to keep increasing the ratio of baby food from now on.

"We also finished other dishes."

With Elise and my wives helping out, dishes such as tempura, mashed sweet potatoes, and so on were completed. We began to eat them together with the villagers.

If you cook and eat ingredients you harvested yourself, they naturally taste good. It might be my imagination, but taste is nothing you only experience with your tongue.

"Look, Earl Baumeister-dono, aren't my citizen candidates enjoying themselves?"

The young villagers happily ate the food they had harvested and cooked together. Because each of them had also brought over extra dishes, booze, and sweets, this whole event seemed just like a harvest festival.

"Jobless or unable to marry? If such people are interested in this village, I'll accept them. And at some point the revival of the Zontark Kingdom will become a possibility, too."

"Your Majesty, the preparations for that are steadily proceeding. We have settled on a store to sell the produce of this village. The clients will know the names and faces of the producers. It's a setup to allow the customers to buy their produce with peace of mind, even if it's slightly more expensive."

"Oohh, that's a marvelous idea!"

What, I actually know that method quite well myself...

"We will revive several other abandoned villages and gather the produce in the village that's closest to the capital to regularly hold a market. Let us develop special products based on the local produce. We have named the market, where they will be sold, as 『Crossroad Market』

"That's a great idea! Nothing less of you, Lyra."

"I'm honored to receive your praise."

"....."

Umm... Lyra-san, that sort of stuff has existed in Japanese farming villages for centuries now.

Still, I'd be troubled if I were to be told, "So what about it?", and thus I remained silent...

"If we can expand the scale at a good pace, I think we will be able to revive the Zontark Kingdom without a doubt."

"Ooohhh! That's totally what you'd call a plan of a millennium to revive the kingdom!"

"(Hey, Vel...)"

"(It might really be possible to revive the kingdom, so they're rejoicing over that. It's better to not pay too much attention to it.)"

"(It could be bad to dampen their spirits by pouring cold water on them, huh?)"

It seemed like Ina wanted to say something about this, but I gently stopped her from doing so.

"Having said that, it's not like we aren't troubled at all. Please look at this."

"I see. Damage to the fields by wild animals, eh...?"

The plan to revive the Zontark Kingdom─I guess it'd be more appropriate to call it a plan to revive abandoned farm villages─seemed to proceed well, but it wasn't as though they had no worries at all either. After eating the potatoes, we were led to foliaged vegetable fields. The plants there had been tragically devoured.

"Because it's been only around hundred years since this land was abandoned, it hasn't declined into a monster domain yet, but there's a lot of wild animals around, so the damage to the fields is quite intense. We've spanned nets, but the effect is rather lacking."

"If your fields get damaged, you have no choice but to cull."

"Cull... you mean like killing the animals? I feel that would be too pitiful."

This girl is the demon queen, and yet...

Feeling sorry for the wild animals who ravaged the fields... my image of a demon queen audibly crumbled apart inside my mind.

"You've got a point... killing animals is pitiful, or rather..."

"Can't we handle this by simply chasing them away somehow?"

"We've also had plans to set up barbed wires or scatter chemical agents to keep the animals away."

"If you come in contact with wild animals, home centers sell ropes that paralyze those touching them with lightning magic. Since you can supply the mana yourself, I feel like that would be a possible way to deal with it."

"We've tried to set up such ropes before, but their output was too low and they got severed quickly. I wonder what we should do about this?"

The young villagers were similar to the demon queen. Because they were close to modern people, they held reservations about killing wild animals. Although they're demons themselves...

This made me wonder what they were doing about the cattle meat they usually ate, but... they resembled Earth in this regard as well.

"The animals, who tasted your wonderful farm produce once, will come back here no matter how often you chase them away. You have no choice but to exterminate them in order to prevent the damage to your fields."

Wilma stated her own opinion.

"But, we occupied this land and started living here on our own accord. I feel it'd be pitiful to drive away the animals as a result of that..."

"Then you just don't need to live here. You can survive, even if you stay in the city. At times it's necessary to become selfish for the sake of your own ideals."

"""""......"""""

The demons fell silent due to Wilma's fair argument. It wasn't as though they'd starve if they remained in the city, but as they hated a life that felt like they were simply allowed to live, they had moved to this inconvenient place as they wanted to do something productive.

If it required the extermination of wild animals to protect their own living space, they shouldn't hesitate to carry it out.

"It's just as Wilma-san says. We hated the life of relying on welfare while receiving food to survive in the city, so we came here."

"It's a home we've finally obtained for ourselves."

"It's bad if we can't hunt down wild animals for the sake of protecting this place."

"Alright, let's do our best!"

Demons quarreling whether they should exterminate harmful animals or not...if people on Earth heard of this, they wouldn't be able to believe this... I mean, the demons in books have a considerably brutal image.

"Vel-sama?"

"Yeah, maybe it would be better to teach them?"

"Katharina, Katia, you too."

"You're right... These people are completely different from the demons I read about in old documents..."

"But they sure do have a lot of mana..."

Afterwards, Katharina, Katia, and Lisa, centered around Wilma who was also known as Fishing Girl or Hunting Girl (outdated), taught the demons how to kill harmful animals and how to lay traps since they were used to it.

"I didn't expect you to be able to lay traps, Wilma."

"I can do it, but they aren't overly efficient."

"I see."

"It's faster for me to ambush the prey and take it down myself. It also yields me more game, but seeing how the main objective is to make sure that no harmful animals visit the fields, it's not necessary to catch a huge amount."

"I understand. Hunting with traps cannot yield you that much game."

Since I've heard that the number of young people, who got a license to hunt with traps, was increasing in Japan, I thought you'd be able to catch more with that method. In my case, it'd be faster to search and kill prey with magic instead of wasting time on laying traps...

I've never used something like a trap.

"Luckily, we had traps in the storehouse."

"Yeah, it looks like the previous inhabitants left them there when they abandoned this place."

The traps were the cages. You place bait inside the cage, and once an animal enters, the entrance closes, trapping the animal within. I've seen those on TV in my previous life.

"This is... a rope trap? And over here we have a foothold trap."

"Vel-sama, well-informed."

I've just seen it on TV before.

"You're not going to use these?"

"It'd be terrible if people got caught in them."

Figures.

Since they'll be set up near to the fields, they might cause injuries among the local demons. One needs to consider such things as well when setting up traps.

"Wilma-san, what would be the best place to install this box trap?"

"Over here."

We didn't have a clue where to place box traps in this area, but Wilma briskly instructed the demons where to set the traps up. Those were box traps that had been left behind in the old storehouse of an abandoned village, but they didn't break down, which made me realize the high level of engineering the demons possessed.

"I think it'll be fine to use produce as bait."

"Will we be able to catch the animals with those, Wilma-san?"

"At first, yes. The prey isn't accustomed to traps yet."

In the beginning, the animals will have a low sense of danger, so they'll likely be able to catch a lot of harmful animals who gather here to eat the fields' plants.

"I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

Since the animals would eat the plants at night, we decided to wait for a night after setting up the traps. We went back to our ship and spent the night over there.

◆

We went back to our ship to rest. When we came back to check the box traps early in the morning, several boars and deer had been caught.

Just like the ones in the undeveloped areas of the Baumeister Earldom, these animals greatly differed in size, fur color and fur pattern from the ones on Earth. Moreover, they were quite ferocious. Especially the big boars had continued to charge against the cages, earning themselves a bloody snout.

"Quite brutal, aren't they? And big on top of that..."

"Umm... Your Majesty, what have you been doing for a while now?"

"You see, we regularly get research projects as homework at school, so I've been recording this event in my diary. Luckily, Lumi has agreed to share some of her pictures later."

"I'm having you and Earl Baumeister-san help me out with the news coverage, so it's only fair. Besides, isn't this a great topic for a research project?"

The demon queen had been noting down the state of the box traps in her diary. She apparently planned to draw pictures based on Lumi's pictures below the text afterwards.

So it's a diary with illustrations, huh...? I think it'd be no problem for her to just attach the pictures themselves, though.

"So, what are you going to do with the caught prey?"

"Of course, you finish them off, drain their blood, and eat them."

"So it's come to this after all? Don't you pity the animals?"

""""""""Eh?""""""""

Us humans could only be astonished by the demon queen's comment. The image of a demon king or queen I had harbored so far finally shattered altogether.

"I already thought this yesterday, but I believe it'll be just fine if we release them in some distant place. If we do it like that, they won't come back her anymore, right?"

Demons certainly have moral values close to modern people in this regard. They had judged that it'd be a good call to return the caught animals to nature. In my previous life, I also saw how a captured bear was returned to nature. I think it's the same idea here.

"That's no good. It won't reduce the damages caused by the wild animals."

However, Wilma immediately rejected that idea.

"Why is it not good?"

"These boars and deer have already experienced the taste of crops. Since they can eat delicious crops over here, they'll prefer coming here over food they can procure in the wilderness. If you don't maroon them in a fairly distant place, they'll come back here again. And even if these boars and deer don't return, other animals will start to eat the crops over here. It might be pitiful, but you have no choice but to cull them regularly."

"Wilma's opinion is sound, I think."

I think the demons are against culling the captured animals as they also feel guilty for having stolen the animals' living space, but seeing how they've started farming, wild animals will keep approaching the fields to eat the crops. As such they have only the two choices of regularly culling the animals or accepting the damage to their fields.

Given that they won't be able to harvest crops if they leave the animals to their own devices, they won't have any other option but taking the departure from this village into consideration.

When I mentioned that, I was told, "Leaving here is out of the question. We've finally managed to build a foundation for a good life over here. But, I also believe that it's necessary to be merciful towards the animals. That's what you call the benevolence of a rule."

"You think so?"

"Earl Baumeister, do you object to Her Majesty's words?" Lyra-san snapped at me with a dangerously low voice.

I get that her loyalty is high, but we're talking about a small girl here. It's necessary to correct her if she says something wrong.

"Your Majesty, why did you go out of your way to revive the farm village in this area?"

"For the sake of reviving the lively demon kingdom as it existed in the past. Their lives are guaranteed, but having no job, being unable to marry, and being unable to give birth to children is just too sad a fate for the demons."

"Your Majesty, that is a splendid mindset."

"If it's for the sake of that goal, you people have to stick to your own principles, I'd say. This also applies to the harmful animals ravaging your fields."

But even if they don't do that, the demons don't have to worry about their livelihood. They don't really have to live out here and produce their own crops. After all, they'll be provided the least amount of necessities if they live in the city. As such, no one is forcing them to revive farm villages and do their own agriculture.

If the people of Lingaia knew about the demon country, not a few of them would see it as paradise. Yet, the demon queen and her followers willingly relocated their living space to this place.

"If you don't remove the elements harming your living space by yourself, you won't be able to maintain your self-reliance. If you believe the animals to be pitiable, you can simply go back to the city and live your old life there."

However, seeing how they've started to live out here because they hated the welfare life, they must remove the harmful animals, even if it might be cruel, to protect their own livelihood.

"Everyone should have gathered in the place because they couldn't fill the void in their hearts, even if they had no need to worry about food and shelter. If you cannot put in the necessary effort to protect your new life, I think it'll be just fine to go back to the city under the protection of the welfare system. I mean, no one is going to blame you for whatever choice you make."

"It's just as Vel says. If we hadn't killed the harmful animals in the territory of my family, it'd have affected our harvest, resulting in people having too little food. That'd trigger new problems. It's not like I like killing animals or anything like that, but I'll do it for the sake of survival."

"Right! It is the same with adventurers hunting monsters! People cannot survive unless they kill other creatures!"

"Yep. I do feel sorry for the animals, but in such a case, I think it would be best to not kill more than necessary while making sure to not waste any of the materials provided by the culled animals."

Eru, Doushi, and Elise stated opinions that contradicted the demons' view. From the eyes of Lingaia inhabitants, the demons must look like pure spoiled brats.

"If you hate the idea of killing animals, it'd have been best if you had left this place alone."

"...No, we're already fed up with just being kept alive by being provided a little allowance, food, drinks, and shelter in the city."

"That's right. We can live in the city without having to starve, but the days over there are empty..."

"The looks by our families are painful."

"When I heard them talk about my cousin having married, I got disgusted by my parents being awfully gentle."

"I hate being unable to answer whenever the grannies and grandpas in the neighborhood asked me where I was employed! I don't want to leave this place!"

"Me neither!"

Many demons opposed Wilma's remark. They had no intention to go back to their old lives.

"In that case, your only option is to protect this village and its fields. I'll teach you how to process the game. You can thank them for their lives by eating them without wasting anything."

"Understood! Please teach me!"

"I want to learn it too!"

"Me too!"

Because Wilma usually isn't very talkative, her words do carry persuasiveness whenever she talks. The demons began to passionately learn how to dismantle the boars, deer, and also rabbits as well as badgers which got stuck in the box traps.

"Wilma, you sure are good at this..."

"Eventually, everyone will be capable of this much."

Eru, Ina, Luise, Katharina, and I... certainly, almost all of us are able to do this. Amalie-san is naturally able to dismantle game as well since we wouldn't have been able to eat meat in the former Baumeister Knightdom otherwise.

"As expected, for me..."

Former Duchess Therese couldn't do it, but since she helped out with the work anyway, she was still better than Lyra-san whose face had gone ghastly pale after seeing the blood and intestines of the animals.

"I've gathered quite a bit of experience on the battlefield despite my appearance, so I guess thou can say I'm somewhat okay with this."

"I'm the prime minister, so if I don't get used to things like this..."

"No, you don't really need to do that, do you?"

No matter how you think about it, the revival of the Zontark Kingdom and a war with another country or power won't take place within Lyra-san's lifetime.

"No, Her Majesty is challenging herself! So I must shape us as well!"

"Come to think of it..."

Given that the demon queen is a child on top of having received a higher form of education, I had wondered how she'd stomach all of this, but she was watching Wilma's work attentively.

"It's a pity, but we won't be able to eat any meat if we don't kill living beings like this."

"Even the meat sold in the city's store has been processed like this by someone else."

"Now that you've mentioned it, I must admit I didn't realize it at all. There are many people supporting a country by doing such hard and strenuous work, I suppose."

Animal husbandry is popular in the Zontark Republic. You can eat meat in any store without any hesitation, but that's only true because some people have dismantled the livestock. The demon queen has apparently understood that harmful animals and cattle are no different in regards to being living beings.

"Fish, vegetables, and grains are living beings, too."

"It's just as you say. Humans, demons, other animals, and even monsters cannot survive without killing other living beings. I have comprehended that truth just now."

"That's why it's okay to be grateful for their life without capturing them pointlessly."

Wilma taught the dismantling to the demons by actually doing it herself. It was no exaggeration to describe her skill as outstanding. But, that was no wonder for someone who had mastered hunting, gathering, and fishing in order to procure her own food at a tender age.

"It's done with this."

"If you hunt them down to an extent, the animals will become vigilant and the number of animals ravaging your fields will decrease. It might also be good to put up fences and nets. You could also research products for exterminating harmful animals and adapt them for your village," I added some advice from my side.

It wasn't necessary for them to catch all harmful animals. If they let the wildlife know that this was demon turf, the number of animals requiring catching might decrease.

"Now then, let us enjoy all of the meat of the animals we caught without leaving anything behind."

"Boar and deer meat, huh? I'm curious how they taste."

"Which reminds me, that will be my first time eating such meat."

We, on the other hand, have rarely eaten the meat of cattle ever since we were born... or in my case, since I got reincarnated into this world...

Elise and my other wives cooked the fresh meat and intestines, and the demons helped them with that while seriously taking notes.

Humans teaching demons how to eat wild game... from my point of view, that's an extremely surreal sight.

"First we're going to roast it normally and eat it like that."

The boar and deer meat was grilled on a mesh alongside veggies that had been harvested in the village. If you ate that with the soy sauce and miso sauce prepared by me, it'd have a reliable deliciousness.

"It doesn't stink."

"If you drain the blood properly and pay attention to its preservation, the meat won't stink."

"We have been taught about dismantling game by you, Wilma-san, but I must say it's quite a lot of work."

"Seeing how you have graduated from the convenient life in the city, you must accept this as necessary evil."

If they had stayed back in the city, they wouldn't need to go through all this hassle like we have to, but now that they picked a life as farmers, they must do this every day, even if it turns into a bloody mess.

"When I was still young, I worried whether I should have killed the guinea fowl when I was letting its blood drain for the first time. Seeing its intestines, I felt somewhat bad."

"Hoh, you did, Earl Baumeister?"

"Your Majesty, I'm the eighth son of a former Knight family. Thanks to various twists and turns, I'm an Earl now, though."

"I didn't know that."

"Such being the case, I think everyone will soon get used to dismantling harmful animals. If you do it while regarding it as work, you'll learn it on the job."

"You're right. We expressly left the city and started a farm village in such a deserted and abandoned area. From the point of view of the animals, we are definitely invaders. I won't try to whitewash it. After all, we're going to establish a country."

"Your Majesty, you have resolved yourself, haven't you...? But the sauce around your mouth..."

If you do farming, harmful animals will show up. They were talking about what to do about this particular problem, but for some reason the demon queen and her prime minister made the whole story more grandiose than it was. And then Lyra-san used her handkerchief to wipe away the sauce around the demon queen's mouth.

"Come to think of it, I was thinking that we might try to keep a lot more chickens once our farming has stabilized. We will be able to get their eggs, but if we can't process the chickens, we can't sell their meat. So it's something indispensable, isn't it?"

The young demon, who was the one in charge of this village, had reached the conclusion that the techniques to dismantle animals were necessary.

Referencing my previous life's memories, raising chickens was indispensable for these types of farming village revival movements. For this reason, they had to work hard so that they wouldn't waste the chickens.

"Wouldn't it be fine to also sell the meat of the harmful animals? It might sell for its scarcity value."

"Earl Baumeister, is that something you can sell?"

"Well, it's rare, so why not."

Even in Japan, selling the wild game after exterminating harmful animals such as boars, deer, and bears succeeded in some places. Catchphrases like "Support your local farmers by eating this" weren't overly rare in Japan either.

In other words, it should be a business method applicable to demons who closely resembled modern people.

"Certainly, it is as you say, Earl Baumeister. We haven't eaten the meat of hunted game for a long time. If we don't mess up with the advertisement for this, it should garner quite the demand."

The meat of wild game wasn't sold in the city of the demons. Given that cattle meat, of which they had too much, was commonplace, there was no room for other meat to get a foot onto the market. But, at this point it's a blind spot.

"Because it's rare, you can also sell it for a slightly expensive price. In exchange, you must drain the blood properly and you'll need perfect your dismantling and processing techniques since it won't sell if it tastes yucky. You also must use adequate advertisement."

Officially─the real objective is difficult to achieve at present so it's not even necessary to consider it─the goal of the demons was to revive the farm village. If they use the earnings for the farm expenses and do the sale for the sake of not wasting any of the meat, it'd be best to honestly inform people about it during the sale.

"Well, kind of like 『Support us by eating』?"

"That's a nice catchphrase. It will do very well."

"I got totally motivated now."

"I feel you. We must protect our home with our own hands."

Lyra-san praised my suggestion and the other demons apparently got pumped as well. So it's probably a good thing if this livens up the village.

"(Vel, they're demons, so is really alright to teach them all sorts of things?)"

"(It doesn't really matter, does it?)"

Three quarters of the subcontinent inhabited by the demons is uninhabited. Assuming the young demons were to restart the reclamation at their current speed, it's questionable how many centuries they'd require to finally reach a point where they'd have the leeway to focus on other continents. Moreover, demons like the demon queen and her followers are an extreme minority.

"(From the human point of view, it will buy us time.)"

As long as the humans use that time to catch up technologically as much as possible... In the first place, humans have an overwhelming superiority in numbers, and since the demons basically possess calm dispositions, they probably won't look for any conflict with the humans if they can profit from trading with humans.

"(It sounds like you're not just giving advice on weird stuff, but also think of the future... unexpectedly.)"

"(The unexpectedly was unnecessary there!)"

I quietly but forcefully retorted against Eru.

"Because Earl Baumeister-dono kindly gave us such a wonderful idea, let us all work hard to make it succeed."

"It'll be the first step for my plan of a Millennial Kingdom."

"It shall be as you say, Your Majesty."

"""""""""""......"""""""""""

As always, there existed a big gap between what she was saying and doing, but I guess it's fine either way since she's peaceful.

"Umm... she said, 『It was this beautiful, young demon queen who devoted all her efforts into reviving the farm village...』 This is the truth. It's definitely no guesswork, yep."

Even Lumi cut corners in that area...I mean just how many demons would believe her if she wrote down the conversation between the demon queen and Lyra-san just like that.

"How about we also make smoked meat? It also works as a method for preservation. And it will be demanded as a side dish to go with alcohol."

"How about selling it as canned food, retort food, and stew? I can get my hands on second hand food processing machinery with broken parts for cheap."

"I think we should try that."

* * *

Afterwards, the demons sold the animal meat as wild game, succeeding in raking in quite a bit of profit. However, I would receive a sample of that much later in the future.

『(They've used an illustration of the demon queen on the package!)』

『Hey, Vel, Is there any point in this having a drawing of the demon queen?』

『Somehow, according to the accompanying letter, it was immediately sold out as soon as they shipped it.』

『For real, Luise? I don't really get those demons.』

It might not be comprehensible for the humans of this world yet, but as a former modern Japanese person, I could fully understand the reason why the wild game products with the demon queen illustration were selling so well.

Those demons definitely resemble the modern people of Earth to a tee.

Chapter 2: Curry and Camping

"I think it is still too early for Her Majesty."

"You do? On the Lingaia Continent she'd have already done it a long time ago. Elise will teach her, so it'll be fine."

"Even if she were to cut her finger, Elise can immediately fix that with her healing magic."

"Yeah, Ina is right."

"Your Majesty....right now is time for you to go through an ordeal..."

"Isn't she just going to cut vegetables with a knife? What's the big deal?"

"It's as Luise-san says. Lyra-san, you're too much of a worrywart.

"That's what you'd think, but..."

The inspection of the farm village had ended, but even if we had gone back to the city, we'd have had nothing to do. Accordingly, we decided to do some camping at a lake that was a slight distance away from the village.

And far from opposing that idea, the defense force members, who were guarding us, seemed to actually be in favor of it.

『This place is uninhabited, so we will immediately know if someone gets close. Guarding you in the city is much more difficult in comparison.』

Given that demons are capable of suddenly firing magic while pretending to be ordinary passerby, it's only logical that it's easier to protect someone in a deserted place.

In this country they don't have any larger anti-societal or anti-governmental movements. It goes so far that Wilma even said, 『Depending on how you think about them, the demon queen and her followers are the biggest anti-governmental force』.

For that reason, we anchored our airship on the lake and cooked at the shore while using the boat as a sleeping place. At first we were making curry, which is a standard menu for camping, but since the demon queen said that she wants to try cooking as well, my wives taught her how to use a kitchen knife.

Her guardian Lyra-san seemed worried, but with Elise present, there would be no need to worry about small injuries, I'm sure...

"Oh my, you are good at this." Elise praised.

"You think so? The pieces don't have the same size as yours, though."

"Curry is going to be cooked for a while, so it will be okay. Rather than that, we need a lot of veggies."

"I see. Please leave it to me."

Because of the big number of people, we used a large pot for the curry. Eru, Mall and the other men caught the meat while the women were in charge of the vegetables. I was responsible for frying the onions until they'd become amber enough for putting them into the curry.

The onions being in such a state was such a perfect combination that you could call it indispensable, but frying onions for a long time was quite tiring. Accordingly I dealt with this using a secret trick.

"Earl Baumeister, frying the onions until they become amber is the only right way to go about this, okay?"

"Yep, yep!"

"The only thing we have an abundance of is time, so we won't cut corners on that part."

Hearing the demons say that they wouldn't cut any corners when making curry since they had the time due to being unemployed... is just sad.

"Then let me ask you instead: why do you fry the onions until they turn amber?"

"We want to draw out the onions' sweetness to the lit. Besides, by adding the onions' aroma, the curry becomes even more delicious."

As expected of demons with an advanced academic education. They answered with a theoretical reason as to why you'd add fried onions to curry.

But.

That theory has a loophole.

"In short, you just need to draw out the sweetness from the onions. Am I right, Mall?"

"If there's a method to do that."

"There is! Look at this!"

I spread hot water in a frying pan, cut off the ends of the onions before peeling them, and then boiled them. This was a certain way to shorten the time needed to extract the onions' sweetness.

"Boiling allows for the sweetness to come out even faster. On the other hand, frying onions is a lot more hassle since it takes so long."

"But, that method has a flaw."

"What sort of flaw, Mall?"

"You add not only the sweetness but also the onions' aroma to the curry by frying the onions, don't you? You lose that aroma when you boil the onions."

"I see. But, I think that theory doesn't apply here."

Ramul, you think I haven't noticed this issue a long time ago?

"Why not, Earl Baumeister!?"

"It's because the aroma of the fried onions will be drowned out by the curry's fragrance! Therefore, we're going to thoroughly saute the curry powder."

The aroma of curry powder is strong, so you don't need the aroma of onions.

"With cooking, it's not just fine to add as many ingredients as possible. Sometimes it's also necessary to not add unnecessary stuff."

"However, although the fragrance will come out if you saute the curry powder, won't it cause the individual aromas of the various spices to dissipate? What's your take on that?"

Silas... good of you to have noticed that part. But, I've already predicted that this question would crop up.

"In such a case, you just have to slowly and carefully saute half of the powder used for the curry while adding the other half just like that. If you do it in such a way, you can enjoy a curry that contains a sweet aroma and the individual aromas of the spices contained in the curry powder at the same time."

"""Oh, I get it!"""

How about this, guys? It's a truly great idea, isn't it?

This world shouldn't have any curry pioneers who are superior to me. I'm banking on my previous life's experience here after all.

"Somehow it looks like it'll result in a great curry, so I'm starting to look forward to it very much."

"Is the boar meat fine like this? I fried its outer part in boar grease first. It's a trick to lock in the meat's deliciousness."

"Meaning it's another technique to make things tastier. By the way, Ramul, we don't have any potatoes. Aren't those being cultivated in that village?"

"They are. They've been growing there normally. Why don't we have any?"

"It's weird, isn't it? Silas, don't forget stuff all the time."

"It wasn't me!"

Haah? Does Mall and his friends belong to the people who add potatoes to their curry? The other day, we didn't add potatoes when we made curry while camping out, right?

"You don't add potatoes to curry. It was the same the other day, wasn't it?"

"At that time, we didn't have any potatoes, so it was inevitable. But, usually you put potatoes into curry!"

"Yep! It's as Mall says!"

"Curry and potatoes are a perfect match."

"No, that's not true."

In the first place, if you add potatoes to curry and cook it too long, they potatoes will fall apart and the curry will become powdery, no? Potatoes are truly unnecessary when it comes to curry.

"It's fine with just meat, onions, and carrots, isn't it?"

This is the simple-is-best approach. It's obviously better to leave potatoes out of it.

"Do you hate potatoes, Earl Baumeister?"

""Are you a kid or what?""

"It's not like I hate potatoes or anything like that. I'm simply saying that they don't fit with curry."

No matter how outstanding an ingredient is, its evaluation will drop quickly, if you mess up how you use it. Potatoes in curry is the perfect example for this.

"Wouldn't it be better to make another dish like potato salad?"

In such a case, we can enjoy eating potatoes and adding another dish to the menu will improve the dining table, making the meal even better, right?

"Isn't that way too bothersome!? Besides, I do like boiled and crumbled potatoes in my curry quite a bit."

"No, no, no, that cannot be!"

"Earl Baumeister, Mall, you are boot fools... there exists a method to avoid the potatoes from getting over-boiled and crumble. You just need to fry them in oil first."

"Ramul, that's quite a hassle, isn't it? If you cook the potatoes in the curry after boiling them with their skin first, it will be harder for them to fall apart."

"Silas, you let the cat out of the bag, didn't you? If you do something like that, you might as well make potato salad, no? Frying them in oil? Those are fried potatoes!"

It's not that curry and fried potatoes don't fit together, but that only because curry is too omnipotent. Besides, if you add fried potatoes to curry and cook them together, the fried potatoes' oil will melt into the curry, spoiling the potatoes crispy exterior and soft as well as flaky interior.

"You just need to dish up the fried potatoes at the end, don't you?"

"Eeeh!? I've never heard anything about a fried potato curry!"

In that case, you could turn the boar and deer meat into cutlets and enjoy them with the fries being the garnish, couldn't you?

Sheesh. Demons and humans will never run out of topics to quarrel in this world.

"Let's go with potato salad as an additional dish. As for mayonnaise, I got my own creation."

I always store stuff like mayonnaise in my magic bag for times like these. As long as there's mayonnaise, I can deal with most kinds of emergencies.

"We should go with fried potatoes here!"

"The one having said that was Ramul, right? If we steam them ahead of time, they won't crumble apart during the cooking!"

"Silas, what about the butter to add to the steamed potatoes?"

"""We don't have any!"""

Our dispute continued without an end being in sight.

"Your Majesty, you mustn't turn out like those useless men over there."

"Indeed. A wise rule wouldn't indulge in pointless arguments."

"It is as you say."

""""......""""

Lyra-san... calling me a useless man... I've been working properly, okay?

Moreover, upon the request of the demon queen, potatoes, which had been chamfered by Lyra-san, were put into the curry at dinner.

* * *

"Like this, Ina?"

"Yes, you're doing great, Your Majesty."

"But, teaching the demon queen how to change diapers... is she actually going to have any opportunity to put it in practice?"

"Katia, I plan to take care of my own children. I intend to become a new type of ruler, so I won't leave everything to a wet nurse and servants. It's important to find a balance between traditions that ought to be protected and reforms that ought to be introduced. My ancestors went under because they tended too much towards old traditions."

"Hmm..."

"Katia, you didn't understand even half of what the demon queen said, did you?"

"Big Sis, you know that I'm an idiot. Anyway, with this all diapers have been changed.

After dinner, we went into the magic airship floating on the lake to sleep. We had been told to give up on the idea of camping outdoors as it'd be too risky from a guard's point of view. The demon queen said that she wants to take care of the babies, so my wives told her how to change diapers.

She seems to be a fairly apt girl, so she picked it up right away.

"Now I can give birth to children at any time as well."

"""Buffgh!?"""

Doushi, Burkhart-san and Erwin spat out their wine when they heard the demon queen's comment, which took them by surprise.

"Is it something so surprising?"

"Demon, you sure are calm about this."

"Doushi, it is something like a child's dream. A show of innocence. The majority of the demon children, with me being an exception, think that they want to get a job and marry in the future, but only half of them achieve that wish."

At the end of Arnest's line of sight sat Mall, Ramul, Silas, and Lumi, enjoying their after-meal mate tea and sweets. Lumi has found a job, but it's true that marriage is still far off for her... though I've got no intention to deliberately spell it out.

"Therefore it bears no point to pay it that much attention. Her Majesty is studying all sorts of things for the sake of her future."

"Those who rule cannot govern rightfully and fairly if they don't grasp the lives of the lower classes. A royal family won't persist unless their women give birth to children, and I'm the last direct descendant of the royal family."

"Her Majesty is the last hope of the royal family. Therefore it is necessary for her to study how to be a new, good ruler."

Studying to be a good ruler...aren't they mistaking that for an education in sensibility? Especially when it comes to changing my babies' diapers.

"Alright, all that's left is for me to properly write down today's events in my notes."

The demon queen took out a notebook and started to write in it. She's quite eager about it, but maybe she'll get scolded by her teacher if she doesn't hand it in?

"Come to think of it, you've been away from school for several days, but is that really okay, Your Majesty?"

"I've been doing self-study like this in exchange for not going to school. I'll hand in this notebook to sensei afterwards. If I do it like that, it's no problem."

"Well, there's quite some leeway in the curriculum of demon schools, so..."

Which reminds me, demons stretch out their time at school a lot to cover up the low employment rate of young demons. She probably won't fall behind that much over being away for several days. However, it seems necessary for her to hand in a diary with illustrations in exchange for her absence.

"A sensei, huh...? I wonder what sort of sensei they are. Are they different from Seeckt-sensei of the adventurer prep school?"

Eru, an adventurer prep school is kind of like a considerably specialized vocational school. I think it's different in various ways when compared to the elementary school attended by the demon queen.

"Francoise-sensei is very kind and she teaches me all sorts of things. She's my master."

"Yes, she has been worrying very much about Her Majesty after the previous demon king and his queen passed away. She will likely go down in history as Her Majesty's first master."

If you listen to Lyra-san, she's a teacher who guides a young protagonist in a historical fiction work...if you use some famous example, you could get the impression they share a relationship like Luke Skywalker and Obi-wan Ben Kenobi or Harry Potter and Prof. Dumbledore, but in reality, I think they simply share a relationship of elementary school student and her homeroom teacher.

Since she's been paying attention to the demon queen who has no parents, I'm sure she's a nice teacher.

"Is that Francoise-sensei young? Beautiful?"

"She's single, right? Or does she have a boyfriend?"

"Introduce me next time!"

"Francoise-sensei is young and pretty, but she's already married. I've heard she's married to another school teacher.

"Gahaaa!?"

"My dreams and hopes have been shattereeed!"

"In the end, all the folks with good attributes end up married early on..."

"Juniors! Look at yourself right now! It's not that you've got bad attributes. It's just that your circumstances are slightly different from Francoise-sensei's."

It's not like Mall's group or Lumi don't wish to marry. I remember times when I also wondered whether I'd be able to marry with my current lifestyle in my previous life, but since I easily married in this world (although it's because of the course of events), circumstances might be quite important.

"Do you wish to marry that much? I cannot understand that mindset."

In a certain sense, Arnest transcends other people. Demons and humans alike.

We spent the evening with random chatter and then decided to call in early since we planned to play a lot tomorrow as well.

* * *

"Have a nice day, Dear."

"I'm off. It'd be nice if we manage to catch something."

"Vel, even if we don't catch anything, we should cook lots of food."

"How unreliable..."

"Well, if you look at Vel's performance during the fishing out at the sea the other day... Ina-chan, you're not the only one trusting him on this. Everyone else doesn't have much faith in him either."

"......"

We decided to go fishing upstream of a river that enters the lake. Since it's a mountain stream with no paths leading to it, we can only take those with us who can use magic to fly. As such, Luise, Katharina, Lisa, Doushi, Burkhart-san, Arnest, Mall and his friends, Lumi, Lyra-san, the demon queen and I would be going.

I didn't expect Arnest to accompany us at all, but it looks like he's actually more social than I took him for. Maybe it's because there will be a lot of his brethren with us.

Elise and the others will wait for our haul while making food and sweets. The catch should be quite plentiful with that many of us going, so even if they don't trust in my ability to catch fish...saying it myself makes me quite sad, to be honest.

I'm going to definitely catch a bunch so as to show Ina and Luise how wrong they were.

"Folks, it's going to be evening if we keep standing around here like that."

"For heaven's sake, what a waste of having so much mana."

We could only take people capable of flying with us, but Arnest, Mall and his friends were extremely bad at Flight despite owning a lot of mana. Under the guidance of Doushi and Burkhart-san, the four male demons were unsteadily bobbing through the air.

"You suck so much at it although it's super convenient to be able to fly."

"Luise-san, that is not quite true."

"Why, Lyra-san?"

"Nowadays demons will be arrested if they fly inside the city without permission..."

"Really!? Why!?!"

"It's the same reason as with other offensive spells. If they lose control and crash, they could hit other demons, and in the worst case, it could lead to deaths."

So that's the reason, huh?

Certainly, if a demon loses control and falls down, it'll result in a major accident if someone else is present at the crash site. Maybe such deadly accidents have happened before.

"Only the defense force and a small fraction of other organizations have been given special permission to use Flight in the city. Of course you're free to practice it on private property, but since you can't fly around as you want, it's normal to practice the spell after entering the defense unit."

It's quite incredible that common demons don't practice magic almost at all even though all of them possess mana. It probably shows just how convenient the magic tools are.

"Fortunately, the previous demon king and his wife left behind a house with a garden, so I was able to teach Her Majesty how to fly."

Compared to the male demons, the demon queen and Lyra-san were flying quite skilfully. They probably learned it because it wouldn't speak for a demon queen and her prime minister to be incapable of flying.

"It sure feels nice if you fly freely outside."

"Your Majesty, you do have a talent for it. You guys should take an example of her."

You could say it's just as expected of a demon queen. Burkhart-san praised the young girl for her swiftness in learning magic. And since his praise was honest, she must have quite a talent indeed.

Though it'd be troublesome in various ways if that wasn't normal, seeing how she's the demon queen.

On the other hand, Mall and the other guys got scolded for not getting their flying fixed.

"I mean, we never needed this in our life so far. Her Majesty owns a house with a garden as an inheritance of her parents, but my place and my parents' home is on rent!"

"Right! Even if you write in your resume that you can use Flight, it won't bring you an advantage in getting hired! On the contrary, you'll be treated as a dangerous person because you bear the potential risk of causing an accident, so it actually turns into a disadvantage! Likewise, being able to use offensive magic makes people think that you're suspicious and companies will even reject your application!"

"Even the defense force members only learn Flight in training courses after entering the force. Most of the ordinary demons aren't able to fly decently either! Burkhart-san, you should praise us for having become able to fly this well in such a short period of time!"

"You're at least good at running your mouths... Well, I guess you could improve if you train a bit more. But still, it's quite a waste when you see how much talent demons have in magic."

If the people on the Lingaia Continent had the magic talent of average demons, they'd doubtlessly train magic with great delight. From the eyes of Burkhart-san, who trained many magicians, the demons are clearly wasting their talents.

"It's necessary to levitate with magic at times, even while knowing the illegality of it, for the sake of catching a scoop."

"I'm not going to comment on that."

Unexpectedly, Lumi was quite good at Flight. Flying for catching news feels profit...illegal, but maybe that's a gray zone. Burkhart-san deliberately didn't comment there because the other party was a young woman.

"You too, demon!"

"Humans and demons will always try to eagerly learn what they deem necessary. Human, you have too little patience."

Arnest possesses a tremendous talent in magic, but even he hasn't practiced flying overly much because he didn't need it. In the eyes of Doushi, that was outrageous.

But. no matter what he was told by Doushi, Arnest handled things at his own pace, which soured Doushi's mood all the more.

"We have arrived."

"Katharina, you're oddly pumped about this, aren't you?"

"Please leave the fish in mountain streams like this one here to me, okay? During my time at the adventurer prep school, I've often caught fish from streams located in the mountains."

Trout types that closely resemble masu salmon and chars inhabit steep, remote mountain streams on the Lingaia Continent too. Since you can sell them for a lot of money, a fixed number of adventurers and students will go catch them.

Because Katharina has been earning money in such a way as well, she probably wants to tell us that she knows all about mountain stream fish.

"But you see, today we're going to angle. Things might not be so easy without Wilma here."

"Be it angling or magic, you can count on me when it comes to places with fish."

Katharina sounds strangely confident.

Everyone had safely reached the mountain stream and after casting our fishing rods, we started to angle together.

"Ah, I got a bite."

"Bah! That's way too fast!"

Suddenly Luise pulled in a fish, and as expected, it was a trout-like fish. Its skin patterns didn't resemble chars or trouts, but its shape was close to those.

"The river is full of fish because no one has been here in ages."

The fish are probably not very wary towards people and fishing rods they haven't seen so far.

"I got one!"

"Caught one."

"If you always had such rivers available, adventurers would have an easy life."

"You can catch a good amount here!"

Given that it's basically an untouched mountain stream, the fish bit like mad once you put the bait into the water.

"Lyra, I got one more."

"Nothing less of you, Your Majesty."

The demon queen enjoyed angling from the bottom of her heart. Lyra-san exclusively supported her by dismantling the caught fish and throwing feed into the river.

"Can't you become a professional angler?"

"And how would you earn money?"

"Even if you sell these fish, they're nothing special and coming all the way out here is lots of work."

Are Mall and his friends planning to run a company?

"I see. The patterns of these fish are slightly different compared to fish of the same species you can catch in other mountain streams. This stream and the lake are not connected to any other water sources, so because the fish here have not crossbred with any other species, it is possible that they were able to maintain their original patterns."

"In short, you're saying it's very likely for the fish here to be endemic species who only live in this stream?"

"You are unexpectedly well-informed."

"The unexpectedly is unnecessary!"

Scholars tend to belittle the comprehensive capabilities of laymen, don't they...?

"Okay, this will serve as a great subject."

The demon queen immediately flipped her notebook open and wrote down the theory Arnest had mentioned in her diary. Then she started to draw a picture of a fish she caught.

I think it's a fairly challenging subject for the self-study of an elementary schooler, but maybe it flies because she's the demon queen?

"Studying at school is different but also useful, isn't it?"

"Learning and playing well is for the sake of becoming a good ruler."

"It's as Lyra says."

Lyra-san seems to be suited as a school teacher. I have been worrying that she might be teaching the demon queen anachronistic stuff because she was talking about studying how to be a good ruler, but it's good to see that it's common school knowledge.

"Earl-sama, we've got enough already, don't we?"

"We caught a lot!"

"Vel, let's go back."

"No, wait! Not yet!"

"Eehh!? Why? Didn't we catch a bunch!?"

I was the only one opposing an end of the angling, but there was a deep reason for that. After all...

"Only I haven't caught a single fish."

"Really? Katharina."

"Now that he mentions it, Wendelin-san hasn't caught a single fish."

"With the density of fish so high... maybe he got some sort of curse?"

"......"

I sure hope I didn't have a curse that hinders me from catching fish, as Lisa suggests. Even if the worlds might be different, something like that shouldn't be possible... right?

"Vel, it's already late, so let's go back."

"We have enough fish by now. Wendelin-san, you just need to catch something on the next occasion."

"And when is that going to be? I'm busy..."

"Dear husband, Elise-san and the others are preparing our food, so we need to go back quickly."

"Just wait a bit! Only five more minutes!"

I'm the only one without a single catch. I want to go back after fixing that!

"Earl Baumeister, being unable to let go of things is disgraceful for a man!"

"Doushi, I won't go back!"

"No choice then!"

"Doushi, let go of me! Guhh!? Your muscles are hard!"

Just one fish!

My prayers were in vain. While I was surrounded by Doushi's tough muscles, we headed back to Elise and the others.

* * *

"Oh my, you caught so many fish. How should we prepare them?"

"Of course, we're going to grill and eat them."

"Vel, I'm glad to see you cheered up after having sulked all the time because you were the only one to not catch a single fish."

"Luise-kun, one shouldn't pry open the past wounds of others..."

When we got back to Elise and the others, they had already completed a multitude of dishes, but now they'd be able to add another menu. We managed to catch fish similar to salmon and chars at long last, so it'd be only proper to eat them after charcoal grilling them.

"First you cut open the fish's belly and remove the gills and viscera. There's a red lump along the backbone, but since that will become a source of bad smell, scrape it out with your fingers and wash it thoroughly with water."

"I see."

The demon queen also processed a fish while following my instructions. Moreover, she doesn't forget to note it down in her diary either. The demon queen is a good girl who properly does what her teacher tells her to do.

"Next, you draw out the fish's moisture and sprinkle it evenly with salt. Make sure to not forget to sprinkle salt into the opened belly as well."

"Okay."

She eagerly wrote down everything while doing the work.

"And don't forget to cover the fin part with plenty of salt."

I added plenty of salt to the fin. Restaurants specialized on grilled mountain fish always smeared lots of salt on the fins. If you don't do it, the fins will get scorched and fall off during the grilling, spoiling the appearance of the dish.

"The fin won't be eaten, but appearance also matters with food."

"It's rare, grilled mountain fish after all. That's a dish appropriate to be added to a ruler's dining table, don't you think?"

In reality, many restaurants in Japan sell this, though.

"Next, the way how to grill it. Wilma!"

"Ready. Have raised the heating power."

"As expected of you."

"Accustomed to this sort of work."

With the preparatory work finished, the fish would be grilled over charcoal, but Wilma took care of preparing the grill since she's good at this part. Also, the charcoal is high.class stuff from Mizuho.

"The point is to initially grill fish at a distance with a high heat. You need to be carefull with the distance to not burn the fish...and you bring the fish close to the charcoal fire with its back first. Once the moisture has escaped, you flip it over, grilling its exterior so that it becomes crispy."

"I see. That's very informative."

"Once you've grilled the fish exterior, you lower the heat of the charcoal so that they become glowing charcoals and slowly cook the fish inside."

"Why have you split this in two stages, Earl Baumeister?"

"You see, cooking for a long time so that even the interior becomes well-cooked results in the small bones becoming soft, making it easier to eat the fish. Moreover, the fish smell is directly connected to the excess moisture inside the fish, so you can remove that moisture by heating the fish for as long as possible. Lowering the moisture also leads to a concentration of the meat's deliciousness. Once the moisture has escaped the belly side, it's done."

"I'm going to immediately sink my teeth into it! ...Oh it tastes great!"

"Wow, the meat is soft, flaky and very tasty. The small bones aren't that much of a problem either."

The demon queen seemed to like grilled fish.

"It tastes great, Dear."

"It's still too early for the babies to eat this, though..."

I'm sure my children will be as delighted as the demon queen once I treat them to this after they grow up a bit more. As I watched her happily stuffing her cheeks, I judged this to be a good rehearsal for the future.

"As always, you're well-informed about the strangest shit."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Eru. It's useful, so why not."

"I might not have been able to take it this far when I was still active as an adventurer."

"Ah, Burkhart-san, please give me the head and backbone."

"Sure, but what are you going to do with those?"

"I will make 『Bone Sake』 out of them."

I thoroughly grilled the left-over fish heads and backbones on the net, put them into a glass, and poured piping hot Mizuho sake into it. This finished the Bone Sake.

"This is pretty neat! Awesome!"

Burkhart-san was very satisfied with the Bone Sake.

"Earl Baumeister, me too!"

"Doushi, what about the fish heads and backbones?"

"I ate all of them!"

"..."

In this world, people who eat grilled fish whole... my grandfather, who should still be doing fine, was the same, but I guess it's just what you'd expect of Doushi...

I used my own share of fish heads and backbones to make Bone Sake for him.

"Sorry! Oh, this has a good flavor!"

"Pheeewww! Every once in a while sake is nice as well."

"Sake you drink without having done any work sure is sweet."

"This feeling of corruption rocks!"

"It's been quite a while since I last drank sake. If I did so at home, my family would just look at me as if cursing me for doing it despite being unemployed."

The demons... have it tough in various ways. They enjoyed the Bone Sake, though.

"Pheeww! It definitely penetrates your whole body!"

"Even though you are my student..."

"That's the reason why senpai isn't popular."

"Yep, yep, you must take an example of the demon queen and Earl Baumeister's wives."

"You lack any hint of elegance, really..."

Arnest and Mall's group flooded Lumi, who drank the sake totally like an old man, with their frank, unfiltered opinions. Though Eru and I actually agreed with them there.

"Usually I've got to deal with lots of stress! I must take on my old-fashioned, shitty bosses! Their thinking is completely outdated!"

"You sure don't hold back here..."

That does remind me of a certain company...

Because I could fully understand her feelings on this, I secretly topped up Lumi's cup with heated Mizuho sake.

"Your Majesty, I believe you will also encounter opportunities where you will drink sake after becoming an adult, but I urge you to keep it moderate."

"Is sake that delicious? All the adults drink it. Well, Elise and the other women don't do it."

I don't drink alcohol every day, so my wives don't drink either outside of special occasions. Wilma hates alcohol and although Lisa can drink quite a lot, she never drank it because she likes alcohol.

The majority of the alcohol we obtained is used for gift exchanges or vanishes in Doushi and Burkhart-san's stomachs.

"I have drunk quite a bit in the past as well. I had stress every day as a duchess."

"Is that so? That sounds quite terrible."

Therese drank alcohol everyday during her time as Duchess Philip. The amount wasn't that high, but maybe she couldn't keep up without drinking everyday.

"Nowadays it's no particular problem even if I don't drink at all, though."

Just like Elise and my other wives, she stays clear of alcohol these days. I guess it's because she isn't under stress any longer.

"I'm quite stressed as well."

"Wendelin, you eat instead of drinking, don't you?"

"You got a point there."

"I understand... so you're saying adults will often drink alcohol if they're under stress."

"How is your teacher going to assess that if she reads this in your diary?"

"Who knows..."

She might judge it as a bad influence for the demon queen's education, or she could unexpectedly praise her for the good observation.

The evening of the second day passed just like that.

* * *

"Earl Baumeister, look at this!"

"Her Majesty discovered it during her morning stroll. It was halfway buried in the sand of the lake shore."

"A box?"

"It looks like an old box, but maybe it holds a treasure."

On the third day of our camping, the demon queen showed us something similar to an old treasure chest that could be carried under the arm while we were having breakfast.

"Professor Arnest, what do you think?"

"Even if it is old, it is something from 1,500 years ago. I heard that this land had been abandoned in a past lying much further back than the farm village Your Majesty is trying to revive. It is probably a relic left behind by those who lived around here at that time."

Isn't it quite rare in that case? In the eyes of a human, 1,500 years ago is old, but you can't call it that for a demon.

"Still, this looks kind of like a treasure chest. Maybe it contains riches that could become funds for the revival of the kingdom."

"You think something so convenient is going to happen?"

Eru voiced his doubt, but even if it's no incredible treasure, it might contain a small treasure. I feel like this way of thinking is a lot more visionary.

"We just need to open it and actually take a look!"

"That's true."

Doushi and Luise wanted to peek into the box as fast as possible.

"There is value in looking at the contents of a box! Very well, let us get this opened then!"

"Wait, Doushi!"

"Burkhart-dono?"

Burkhart-san stopped Doushi just as he was about to open the box.

"Isn't it common sense for any adventurer to suspect that a treasure chest might be trapped?"

Burkhart-san snatched the box out of Doushi's hands and started to check the box for traps with Detection.

"How is it, Burkhart-san?"

"There are no traps, but there's no key to open the lock of this box."

"In such a case, it is a custom to pry it open!"

"Wait a moment, please!"

This time Arnest stopped Doushi who was about to force the box open.

"This is why I hate to deal with uncivilized humans. The shape of this box's keyhole is slightly special. Even if it might be only 1,500 years ago, it could still be a precious, cultural asset. Opening it without breaking it apart will allow us to leave it behind for future generations."

From Arnest's point of view as archaeologist, forcing the box open was probably on the same level as committing a crime. He immediately drew the box to himself."

"There is no key! Hence, you just need to make a key or unlock it by using thin, metallic needles!"

"I do not possess any such skills!"

"Don't say that while acting all proud about it!"

"I am an archaeologist, not a locksmith."

"You have a comeback for everything, don't you!?"

Arnest's argumentation was valid, but it was obvious that Doushi didn't like it very much. He stamped his feet in anger for a rare change.

"Pardon me, but couldn't you open this, Katharina?"

I recalled how she had skilfully used an unlocking spell in the Demon Forest's underground ruin.

"Vel-sama, well done to remember this."

"You're praising me? For this?"

Everyone, you should have properly kept it in mind...

Sure, Katharina occasionally fades away in the background.

"Katharina, how about it?"

"If it's something of this level, it will be alright. It's simple."

Katharina inserted a cluster of her mana into the box's keyhole and after waiting for a few seconds, the box opened with a click. Just as before, it's a pretty neat application of magic. In the end, I was never able to learn this unlocking magic, was I...?

"Incredible. I can't use magic to open locks."

"Me neither!"

Burkhart-san highly praised Katharina's unlocking spell. For Doushi... this is the type of magic that suits him the worst. I mean he tried to wrench open the box earlier, saying that it'd be faster to break it with his superhuman strength.

"Earl Baumeister, what is inside?"

So what's inside the old box with the lock? I think it's only natural for the demon queen as a child to be excited about this.

"Gold coins!"

"Gems!"

"Anything's fine as long as it's gold!"

On the other hand, the scummy, unemployed adult totally exposed their greed like with the whole dragon drool incense from the other day. In a certain sense, they're very demonic...not. They're more like humans.

"Wendelin-san, only one parchment is inside this box."

Katharina placed the parchment on the table. Considering it had been buried in sand that would get wet for a long time, the box must have been hermetically sealed for the parchment inside to not get wet.

"I expected as much. Her Majesty was able to carry it normally because it's light."

Just as Katia says, gems and gold would have made the box heavy.

"But, it might be a treasure map."

"Lisa, nothing is written on it."

Therese checked the parchment, but nothing was written on either side.

"Vel, what do you think?"

"With these sorts of things, won't something appear if you heat the parchment or some such?"

"That sounds like it comes straight out of a story."

"Eru, you asked for my opinion, didn't you!? Let's give it a try!"

I released a flame from my fingertip, heating the parchment, but unfortunately nothing surfaced.

"No good, huh...? Is it a method other than fire? Maybe you have to soak it in some sort of solution?"

Going by the circumstances we found the box in, I really don't think that it's just a plain old parchment... it should hide some sort of trick.

"Arnest, what's your take on this?"

"Let me see. This sort of box had been often built around 1,500 years ago and it was used to store away valuables. It is a container that prevents its contents to get wet. It is resistant against fire, and it has a lock."

"""""""""""We are not asking about that!"""""""""""

We reflexively retorted at Arnest who had started to give an explanation about the box for some reason, although I had asked about the parchment.

"The parchment? Just let some mana flow through it."

"Mana?"

"That is right. If you charge it with a certain amount of mana, it will reveal the text written on the parchment. It is a trick that has been regularly used in the past."

Letting mana flow through it, huh...? For this parchment to hide such a trick...

"However, you must let pure mana flow through it."

That makes sense. If you were to blunder and activate some spell, the parchment could go up in flames, freeze over, or get torn to shreds.

"Earl Baumeister, I will handle this," the demon queen offered.

"Here you go."

Having said that, it's not that difficult to make mana directly flow through something. If the demon queen says she wants to do it, I have no problem with letting her do it.

"Mmmmhh! Oooh! Something appeared!"

Right after the demon queen took hold of the parchment, something surfaced on the parchment. This speed... no wonder she's called the demon queen... it's clear proof of her possessing an abnormal amount of mana.

"It looks like a map."

"I'd say it's a map."

Not only Elise and I, but everyone else also grasped that a map had appeared on the parchment.

"This part represents the lake here, and there's a symbol on the summit of the nearby mountain. Isn't that the mountain where we've been fishing yesterday?"

"It looked like an untrodden mountain, but I guess some sort of treasure is hidden on the summit."

Maybe someone climbed that mountain often in the past?

"To the treasure on the summit of that mountain!"

"I wonder what I'm going to buy with all the riches?"

"It's so hard to decide, yep."

"You people..."

I feel extremely sorry to get in the way of their excitement, but there's something I want to tell Mall and his friends.

"The one who found this map is Her Majesty, so I don't think you have any claims on a potential treasure. Also, isn't this area treated as state-owned land?"

It's abandoned land, but that doesn't change it being part of the Zontark Republic. Very likely the country owns that mountain, and even if not, another owner might exist.

"Won't the rights of ownership become quite a bother when it comes to buried valuables and artifacts?"

In the case of the Lingaia continent, one has to pay a fixed tax sum from a treasure's proceeds to the noble or country owning the land where the treasure was found, but once the laws advance to the level of the Zontark Republic, the whole issue should become quite a hassle, if there's someone making a strong claim.

"It is not necessary to consider things so strictly. It is abandoned land anyway. So the government would not be able to tell...what sort of treasure was found buried there."

Arnest that bum seems to have a track record of having arbitrarily dug for ruins on abandoned land in the past. If he hadn't done that, he wouldn't have been able to really work on excavation, though.

But, currently members of the defense force are with us. I think it'd be hard to hide the discovery of a treasure.

"I suspect that half the rights will belong to the country, but we can take the other half. We will take the liberty of allocating it as activity funds for the nonprofit organization that is currently managing this area.

"I agree with that. This will also allow us to call a lot more young demons to the village."

"Lyra-san, Your Majesty, that's an admirable idea. Compared to that, you guys should be old enough..."

"Guuwhaaa! Please don't say it!"

"This is yet another negative effect of not having a job!"

"Society is at fault for not giving us enough financial leeway that would allow us to be so generous!"

Burkhart-san admonished Mall and his two friends for only thinking about themselves, unlike the demon queen. They shouted their protest while making it obvious that a guilty conscience was plaguing them.

"Maybe it's a treasure that used to be valuable in the past, but has now lost most of its value."

"It'd be the quickest method to simply check things out."

"That makes sense. Earl-sama, Katharina jou-chan, let's go."

"Of course I will be going as well."

"I shall accompany you, Your Majesty."

According to the map, it's actually inside a dungeon within the mountain...or something like that doesn't seem to be the case here.We headed to the summit with the treasure, using Flight.

* * *

"Three round stones have been set up on the summit and the treasure seems to be buried in the middle.

"That's a fairly simple hiding place, isn't it?"

"It probably means that it's not that valuable as a treasure."

We arrived on the summit of the mountain said to hide the treasure. At one we began looking for the three stones recorded on the map, but...

"You can't really tell because of all the undergrowth."

"No choice but to prune it away, I suppose."

Once I cut away the rampant weeds and grasses with Wind Cutters, we spotted three round stones halfway buried in the central part of the summit.

"The treasure is buried beneath the middle of these three stones according to the map, huh?"

"That's how it is."

"Then we have to dig."

Of course, we used magic to dig since it'd be too much work to do it with our own hands. As Burkhart-san, Katharina, and I dug, we eventually hit upon the same type of box as the one containing the map at a depth of around five meters.

"Katharina-sensei, it's all yours."

"Wendelin-san, what's with that weird way of calling me all of a sudden...? Oh well, only I can open the lock of this box..."

Katharina opened the box with her unlocking spell. Once we checked its content...

"That's a big egg, isn't it?"

"Right. But, an egg for what?"

An egg filled out the box almost to its limits.

"Burkhart-san, do you know what kind of egg this could be?"

"I wonder. Or rather, it seems like its insides are rotten."

It's an egg that has been buried deep in the ground for at least 1,500 years, so it's not unusual for its contents to be rotten by now.

"I guess we've got no choice but to show it to Arnest."

"So it seems."

Since he's the one with the broadest knowledge in this area among us, we decided to show it to him at once. We headed back to the campsite, carrying the egg.

"How many portions of omelets can you make out of this?"

"Katia, this egg is 1,500 years old. And you're going to eat it?"

"Big Sis, I just tried saying this. Maybe the shell is precious as material?"

Everyone rambled on about random stuff while looking at the big egg, but only Arnest was carefully scrutinizing the eggshell's surface with his magnifying glass.

"This is... a dragon's egg, and moreover that of a fairly mighty specimen."

"Eh? A dragon's egg?"

"In the past I excavated the shell of a dragon's egg."

As might be expected of an archaeologist. He's already seen a dragon's egg.

"A dragon, huh? But, this region is no monster domain, is it?"

"A place will not turn back into a monster domain after being abandoned for just 1,500 years."

"That's kinda weird, isn't it? The Savage Land on the Baumeister Earldom has been abandoned for close to 10,000 years, but it has never been eroded by the adjacent Demon Forest. I wonder what's different between the Savage Land and this subcontinent?"

"In the distant past, the whole subcontinent used to be a demon domain. The demons cleared patches of land for their respective clans. The different clans fought each other, but eventually merged. As those mergers continued, soon a country was born, marking the birth of the Zontark Kingdom."

The demons had reclaimed the entire subcontinent thanks to their high combat power and belligerent personalities.

"However, as technology advanced, the demons' numbers grew, but talks about it being inefficient to live all over the subcontinent started to come up. Besides, over the last few hundred years, the population decline has been conclusive."

In the end, they abandoned most of the land they cleared. I guess depending on the location, the land will return to being monster domains after many, many years pass.

"Even on the Lingaia Continent you will encounter the same phenomenon, if you wait for tens of thousands years."

"I guess it's too early right now then."

At present it's unthinkable for us humans to abandon the land we reclaimed at great pains, so we simply didn't know that the former monster domains we cleared with our hands would return to being monster domains once more.

"If I remember correctly, this area used to also be a monster domain in the past. The dragon's egg... as long as it remains as an egg, we can freely take it with us. I suppose it might have been buried over there seal it away."

"I see."

Arnest seems not only knowledgeable about archeology, but also dragons.

"So, is this thing still alive?" Luise asked.

"Of course it is. It is normal for the eggs of higher ranking dragons to take several hundred years to hatch. Probably because of that, it is possible for it to survive for an eternity as long as it stays in egg form."

"Those statements contradict each other, don't they? How can a dragon's egg, which hatches for several hundred years, live on for an eternity while being in egg form?"

For a change, Eru had noticed the contradictions in Arnest's explanation, now pointing them out.

"That's a fairly smart observation to make for someone like you, Eru."

"Luise... you're hurting my feelings here... anyway, how about it?"

"As for that, there exist conditions other than time for a dragon to hatch successfully."

"Conditions?"

"The high-ranking dragon parents inject a big amount of mana into the egg while heating it. Or if you turn it around, an egg that doesn't receive a large amount of mana will not hatch, no matter how long you warm it. In exchange, it is possible for the dragon inside the egg to survive for a very long time."

So that's why the egg inside the box could survive for such a long time.

"You sure know a lot about this."

"It is not my field of expertise, but I have found this information written in old documents."

"We don't know anything about the way elemental dragons live in the Helmut Kingdom."

I think that's natural since anyone trying to get close in order to investigate it would get killed. It'd be impossible for scholars to head into the deepest parts of a monster domain to observe an elemental dragon over an extended period of time. It's knowledge he could obtain because he's a demon.

"That means this egg won't hatch anymore, right? I feel slightly sad for it."

Elise is a gentle girl, so she felt pity for the dragon's egg. But, given that it'd come with various troubles if this egg hatched, I think it'd be fine for it to stay like that.

* * *

"You're not going to put it back where you took it from?"

"Will you be selling this?"

"Who would buy something like this anyway!?"

"Universities or some such?"

"At the moment, universities do not have the necessary budget for such a purchase. They are already scraping by as it is."

"No way..."

Mall suggested selling the egg to a university to make at least some money out of it, but Arnest immediately thwarted that plan. According to him, the universities are running low on money.

"You cannot sell this to them, Arnest-san?"

"Milady, all universities have plenty of documents about these creatures."

"Really?"

Does that mean universities and research facilities possess lots of high-ranking dragon eggs? I thought it's a precious item, but maybe I was wrong?

"The old leaders of militant demon clans, powerful families, and the rulers of smaller countries made dragons obey and kept them as pets to flaunt their own power."

"This definitely sounds like what you'd expect of demons."

All humans would immediately agree here with Burkhart-san's comment. I mean, that's the sort of image they have of demons.

"Because lower flying dragons and wyverns were easy targets even for soldiers and retainers who commanded troops, the demon chieftains and leaders invaded deep into monster domains. That is where you usually find high-ranking dragons, or what you call elemental dragons on the Lingaia Continent. They stole the eggs, made them hatch by injecting huge amounts of mana, subdued the baby dragons as their servants, and later appeared on battlefields while riding the grown dragons."

It's easy to imagine that scene. A king swooping down on the battlefield riding an elemental dragon with his subordinates riding wyverns and other lower flying dragons. If you were to reproduce that in an anime or movie, it'd look pretty nifty, I'm sure.

"Because of that, you will unexpectedly excavate many egg shells of high-ranking dragons during archaeological excavations. Hence, all universities have quite a few of those, and even if you get them to buy it off you, they will not pay much for it."

I guess you can't call them worthless in regards to their scientific value since they're old, but they won't earn you any big money because they exist in bigger numbers.

"But, sensei, this egg is alive."

"That does not change anything. Given that it will get dangerous if the egg hatches because of some mistake, it is common sense to open up a hole in the egg and let the content flow out."

Even though Silas hung on, looking for arguments why it could be worth something after all, Arnest shot him down since the dragon inside the egg would be removed either way.

"Sensei, how much would this be worth?"

"At most twenty or thirty thousand En."

"If you consider the time and effort..."

"Even before that, you don't have any say in this, you know?"

"""Uuuuugghhh!"""

That's why I've been telling you so from the start.

"Earl Baumeister, will the baby inside this egg end up dead?"

"Umm... we haven't made a decision on that as of yet..."

The demon queen had silently listened to our conversation, but because Arnest had mentioned draining the insides of the egg, she asked me with tears in her eyes. If I'm being questioned by a cute girl with such an expression... I...

"I can't really tell since I'm no expert on this field. I'm sure Arnest can tell you."

Since I hated the idea of earning the grudge of the demon queen, I pushed the decision on Arnest who brought this topic up in the first place.

"Earl Baumeister... you are terrible."

"You mentioned it first. Besides, I even taught Her Majesty a fine example of the ones standing on top forming their opinion while listening to experts."

"Professor Arnest, will this child be killed?" The demon queen asked Arnest with teary eyes.

"Uuhh... that is..."

I found an unexpected weak point of Arnest. For him to be bad with the tears of children... I'm sure he's bad with pure children because he's such a filthy, corrupted adult.

"Ultimately it has been a method applied by universities and research facilities when dealing with their eggs as material, so the child inside this egg will not be killed."

"That's great news." said the demon queen with relief coloring her face.

And as if being lured by that, Arnest looked at us with an expression as if he just got saved.

"So? What are we going to do with this egg?" Eru asked.

"I will turn this child into my servant. As someone aiming to become a demon queen as they lived in the good old days, I must have a high-ranking dragon obey me."

I strongly feel an urge to tease her that she wants to keep a baby dragon as a pet rather than reigning while having a dragon obey her.

"In short, you want to have a pet, right?"

"No! I'll raise this child into a marvelous servant dragon to make my dignity as ruler known to the world! It's definitely not like I want to dote on some pet here!"

"I see..."

The demon queen insistently objected to Eru, causing him to become confused. He probably thought that it should be quite impossible for a little girl like her to demand much dignity. Everyone except for her saw this as a child wanting to have an unusual pet.

"However, it will be impossible to raise it if the egg does not hatch!"

"It's just as Doushi says. so, when is that egg going to hatch? I don't really have any knowledge about stuff concerning this."

"Eh? Are you going to make this egg hatch?"

Doushi and Burkhart-san started to say some crazy stuff.

"Would that be wrong, Earl Baumeister?"

I wouldn't say it's wrong, but... ah, it might be wrong after all. After all, that's the egg of a dragon, and not some cute dog or cat.

"Is it okay to raise dragons in the demon country? I mean, legally."

On the Lingaia Continent we don't have any laws prohibiting the keeping of monsters or dragons. The biggest reason is the lack of advanced law systems as it's in place over here, but since those are dangerous creatures, it also plays a big role that no one would keep such creatures to begin with.

Among the nobles there should be some people who wish to try keeping them out of vanity, but I think it'd be difficult to put into practice.

"I've been wanting that. A ruler and a dragon ─ that's the best combination, isn't it? The people would be surprised as well."

"But, you could be arrested for doing something illegal. You'd get scolded by your school teacher."

It'll be fine for the demon queen to do as she pleases once she's established her own country, but right now she's in a position where she must abide by the laws of the Zontark Republic.

"That would be a problem. So how is it?"

"It isn't against the law in particular."

Since it's a matter of law, Arnest would be the wrong person to speak to since that guy fled the country after breaking the law. Lyra-san answered in his stead.

"So it's not illegal, huh?"

"Rather, it's more proper to say that they don't assume anyone will raise dragons."

"You said that the kings of old had hatched dragons and subdued them, didn't you?"

"Earl Baumeister, ultimately that only refers to demon kings of a distant past."

After the long, bloody wars came to an end, the reign of the Zontark Kingdom started. As it continued, the kings and nobles gradually stopped subduing dragons.

"The times entered an era of peace, and on top of that, the era of the Zontark Kingdom didn't last over long but not very short either. Since it required time and effort for the king to collect the egg of his own dragon and make it hatch and because it also cost quite a bit of money to raise a dragon... umm... it seems like the kingdom also went through economic difficulties..."

Given the stability of the kingdom's rule, the necessity to coerce enemy forces into submission with a dragon had disappeared. The cost-effectiveness dramatically worsened and as the kingdom's finances were deep in the red, I guess it became something like a disarmament...

"The demons haven't subdued dragons for many years. Therefore the laws of the republic don't assume the raising of a dragon either."

"I see."

I suppose the Lingaia Continent and the Zontark Republic are similar in that regard.

"It would be fine to put the egg back, but could you properly take care of it?"

"Elise?"

"It is unfortunate, but there are a lot of irresponsible people in the Helmut Kingdom. The church has been concerned about that as well."

This seems to be a story connected to keeping pets, but a certain number of people, regardless of their social standing, immediately get tired of their pets and then abandon them. The issue of abandoned pets has become quite a problem in the Helmut Kingdom.

And certainly, I've often caught sight of stray dogs and cats in the capital.

"Once they start raising it, a pet owner must see it through to the end. Your Majesty, do you have that resolve?"

"Resolve?"

"Yes. The resolve to definitely take care of it, no matter what happens," Elise asked the demon queen with an unusually compelling tone.

Because she's been going out into the city to do the church's volunteer work, she must have seen heaps of abandoned pets that had been deserted by their irresponsible owners.

"Even more so, seeing how this is a dragon's egg. I think it will be much more challenging to raise than a dog or cat."

"Sounds like it eats lots."

A very Wilmaesque comment.

Leaving aside the time when it's still a baby, I think it'll eat quite a lot once the dragon grows big. It'll also be a problem if the place for keeping it isn't quite spacious. It looks like the costs for keeping a single dragon will be much higher than paying for some average zoo.

"If you abandon a dragon, the damage it'll cause will be quit devastating..."

Eru, someone abandoning a dragon wouldn't... no, I guess there's no guarantee that you won't find anyone like that.

"I would assume that it's a crime to abandon a dragon."

"If you abandon a dragon, the law pertaining to animal desertion would apply. It would result in a fine."

You'd have an issue with animal protection laws, but it doesn't sound like they treat it as that much of a felony either... They probably pray...no, they simply don't expect an abandoned dragon to run around through a city.

"But, Elise jou-chan, you can only take care of a dragon's growth for as long as you live, can't you? I mean, dragons live for tens of thousands of years."

"Raising dragons is impossible for humans, correct?"

As far as examples are concerned, I can only think of a certain idiot duke who caught a dragon and tried to make it fight in a duel. But, that dragon had been a lower ranking flying dragon, and I doubt he planned to raise it properly.

"That's right. We have never seen any dragon's eggs, let alone the way elemental dragons live. I couldn't even imagine the idea of raising a dragon."

Now that he mentions it, we certainly have only ever seen grown elemental dragons... I never saw a dragon's egg or a baby dragon. Nor did I think about a dragon's way of life.

"Leaving aside wyverns and other lower flying dragons, high-ranking species, which you humans call elemental dragons, should not have laid any eggs, let alone raised any children, on the Lingaia Continent yet. After all, the high-ranking specimens living on that continent have migrated there from other continents after the great disaster ten thousand years ago."

"You're saying they're not old enough to lay eggs yet?"

"Humans treat dragons, who have merely lived for a few thousand years, as 『Elder Dragons』, but that is a great misunderstanding."

"Is that so?"

The one defeated by Burkhart-san's party supposedly was an elder fire dragon, wasn't it...? Arnest's words imply that it hadn't been old at all.

"Okay, in that case, just how many years would the dragon in this egg live after it hatches? I doubt anyone would live long enough to bear responsibility for it, right?"

Just as Eru says, even demons wouldn't be able to keep a dragon and take charge of it until it dies since they only live thrice as long as humans."

"Hey, wouldn't it be much safer to bury this thing once more?" Ina asked.

"Before doing that, just when is this thing going to hatch? Her Majesty might turn into a granny during the times it takes to heat the egg," added Luise.

"You cannot hatch a high-ranking dragon egg by merely keeping the egg warm. It depends on how much mana you pump into it. You must substitute the mother dragon after all."

In that case, I think it'll be difficult for anyone but demons to do this...

Even if a human with a big amount of mana tried to hatch a dragon egg, they'd die before they poured enough of mana into it.

"According to ancient documents, demon kings risked their lives on hatching a high ranking dragon's egg."

"Their lives!?"

"Sometimes even that was not enough, forcing the king's children to hatch it."

Old demons apparently went quite far to hatch dragons to obey them. Given that dragons are easily recognizable symbols of power, they probably followed the ideology that at least their successors would be able to enslave the dragon, even if they didn't manage to do it in the end.

"Demon, you are oddly well-informed about this," Doushi snapped back.

"It is important for humans and demons alive to always strive for more knowledge. But that is probably nothing certain muscleheads can comprehend."

"Grrr...I cannot believe that a dragon would get that attached to a human!"

"The instant of the egg hatching is the most crucial. The baby dragon will regard the first person it sees as its parent. Therefore, the eggs have been stolen from the parent dragons right before their hatching. The ancient documents state that many demons lost their lives during such raids."

So they obtained the dragon eggs while risking their lives, hatched it with huge amounts of mana over many years, and made the baby dragon submit to them, huh?

"That doesn't fit with the current set of values among demons, right?"

"Indeed."

Me, a human noble, and Arnest, a demon scholar; our way to look at this aligned right away since this would become no more than a seed of trouble.

"Lyra-san, it'd be better to seal this away."

"You're right... it goes beyond our current capabilities, I think."

"You will also have the option to dig it back out and hatch it, whenever a time arrives where it looks like you could actually succeed. After making sure that you'll be able to properly keep it, that is..."

"Elise, you are quite insistent on that part, aren't you?"

"Dear, it is wrong to be irresponsible."

"It'd also turn into a huge uproar, if you discarded a dragon's child because you can't raise it."

"The handling of a dragon hatched by a human would be difficult."

All of us agreed on burying the dragon's egg for now. And once they'd have the necessary leeway to hatch the dragon properly... though I don't know whether such a time will ever come. Although it might not happen within the demon queen's lifetime... we concluded that it'd be better to handle it like that for now.

"With that out of the way, Your Majesty, you must endure for now, so... Your Majesty?"

"Ooohhh, when I sent some mana into the egg as a test while all of you were talking about this and that, cracks formed on the shell. I'm sure looking forward to the baby dragon."

""""""""""...""""""""""

"Hey! Mall!" I complained to Mall, asking him why he didn't stop her.

He and his friend should have read the mood and kept a close eye on her.

"Me? Silas and Ramul haven't been told to watch Her Majesty so that she wouldn't hatch the dragon's egg either."

"Yeah, our job is ultimately limited to helping you out, Earl Baumeister."

"You're expecting too much from temporary employees. This isn't a black company either."

"..."

They really got a comeback for just about everything. So these are students who have been educated under a pressure-free system...

The fact I'm indulging in such thoughts might be a clear sign of me being a lost case.

Anyway, right now the dragon's egg matters!

"Arnest, did you say that it'd take time for it to hatch?"

"I can come up with a simple conjecture here. It was necessary to lock away the egg in a box and bury it underground because of some special circumstances. It means that this egg had been on the verge of hatching all along."

It was such a minuscule amount of mana required to hatch it that we didn't even realize the demon queen pouring it into the egg.

"It's hatched at last."

Once it came to this, the rest happened quickly. The top part of the cracked egg opened up and a baby dragon peeked out from there. It was wrapped up in a pink, wet down and its eyes were still closed.

"Vel, it's cute, isn't it?"

"Sure, but..."

Is this really going to turn into an old fire dragon or that Grade Grand? The hatched baby dragon was so cute that it made me doubt this.

Its size was at most fifty centimeters.

"Myuu myuu."

"Its crying is adorable!"

I thought that Doushi might twist the baby dragon's head to save himself some future trouble, but it looks like even he found it hard to do something like that to such a cute creature.

"Hubby, it's no different from wyvern children while it's so small."

"It has a pink color though. What kind of elemental dragons is this?"

"I think it's very likely a fire dragon."

"So it's pink because it's too young for having a perfect red color yet?"

"That's what I think... its mana response resembles the one of the old fire dragon I killed before."

Burkhart-san excels at mana detection, so his theory sounds rather persuasive.

In other words, this pink, cute baby dragon is going to transform into a crimson fire dragon, huh?

"Vel-sama, its eyes are closed."

"I think they'll open soon? ...Oh, see! What did I tell you?"

The baby dragon groomed its wet down for a while, but once it finished that, it opened its eyes. And right in front of it... the demon queen was staring at the baby dragon full of curiosity.

"Myuu, myuu."

"Cute. You shall be my retainer."

"Myuumyuu!"

Apparently understanding the demon queen, the baby dragon flapped its wings, happily flying around her, despite having been born just moments ago, and then settled down inside her arms.

"Myuumyuu."

"Hey, don't lick my face so much. It tickles, you know?"

The baby dragon continued to lick her face.

"Say, Arnest, this means..."

A chick considers the first creature it sees after being born as its parent. That was a piece of trivia you would hear relatively often in Japan.

"It is just as you suspect. As I have explained earlier, the baby dragon thinks of Her Majesty as its parent now that it saw her first."

"I see... that makes sense, I guess..."

We can't get rid of this baby dragon because it'd be pitiable. Above all, its cuteness makes it hard to believe that this could become an elemental dragon in the future.

Even Elise, who had cautioned rather harshly before, was looking at the pink, fluffy baby dragon with sparkling eyes.

"Dear, this baby dragon is very adorable."

"Elise, it's very soft if you hold it in your arms."

"May I, Your Majesty?"

"You may."

The demon queen passed the baby dragon to Elise. My wife immediately started to dote on the baby dragon as if having forgotten what she said earlier.

"Elise, I'm next."

"Me too!"

"Cute, want to hug!"

Still, I think this cuteness is a foul.

Ina, Luise, Wilma, and all the other women enjoyed holding the baby dragon in turns.

"It soothes your heart, doesn't it?"

"Indeed. It'd be great if it always stayed so small, though."

"Vel-kun, I remember you were as cute back when you were small, too."

"How lovely. Look, Big Sis."

"Lumi-san, here you go."

"This cuteness is against the rules, really."

"Eru-san, this child is very adorable."

Everyone held the dragon in turn, but for some reason it stayed very calm about this. Does it like women or something?

"A demon queen who holds a baby dragon..."

"Truly nice."

"Exalted..."

"I see. I think that's proof of my majesty having come out as one being obeyed by a dragon."

Demon queen, I don't think that's what Mall and his friends are talking about.

The combination of a beautiful girl and pink, fluffy, small dragon triggered the ones who have a fetish for this kind of stuff. At the very least, I doubt she has any majesty going for her.

"Cream Puff! Together, you and I as your master shall revive the old Zontark Kingdom in a new splendor!"

"Myuumyuu."

Did it understand what the demon queen was saying? The baby dragon cried, reacting to her declaration.

I think it's just a coincidence, but... something else bothers me beyond that.

"Your Majesty, is Cream Puff possibly the name of this baby dragon?"

"Yes. I love cream puffs, so it carries my wish of wanting to love this child in the same way. Even if it might be my retainer, I plan to love this child. Cream Puff, what do you like to eat? We must prepare your food."

"(Cream Puff... that naming sense...)"

"(Eru, shhh─!)"

Everyone had noticed the demon queen's questionable taste in names. But, since I felt bad about pointing that out, we mustn't do it no matter what.

Besides, the baby dragon itself doesn't seem to be unhappy about that name. It carefreely resumed grooming itself.

* * *

Thereafter, the baby dragon slowly turned into the demon queen's retainer (pet), and thinking back on it now, it turned into a huge uproar afterwards, but at that time it was already too late. There was no way to take the baby dragon away from the demon queen, and Cream Puff started to be gradually regarded as the demon queen's pet.

Chapter 3: Dragon and Puppy

"Oh! I got a bite!"

"I was able to catch one."

"Me too!"

"Cream Puff, isn't that great? You'll be able to eat plenty of fish."

"Your Majesty, can you not somehow reconsider that name? This baby dragon is going to become an elemental dragon, right?"

"It will grow into what we demons call a high-ranking dragon, but this child is my cute servant. Shouldn't I try to remove society's idea that high-ranking dragons are scary? Don't you think so as well, Cream Puff?"

"Myuumyuu."

"Alright, I'll give you the fish I caught."

Early in the morning, all of us were fishing at the lake where our magic airship was anchored. After a series of various coincidences, the demon queen ended up making a baby dragon hatch. He or she─we don't know the gender yet─seems to have taken a liking to the demon queen, remaining glued to her all the time.

According to Arnest, it's the exact same behavior as a chick as the baby dragon considers the first being it saw after its birth to be its parent.

But, elemental dragons live a very, very long life. When I asked what would happen after the demon queen's death, he explained that the elemental dragon would get attached to the descendants of its parent. For this reason past demon kings put their lives on the line to turn elemental dragons into their servants, no matter how many generations had to try.

『To be blunt, whenever royals and the powerful clans started succession struggles, the royal family could suppress them because they had the elemental dragons of the royal family on their side. Our history is full of such cases.』

I guess that makes sense. Is this baby dragon also going to become attached to the demon queen's children and grandchildren, turning into Zontark Kingdom's guardian deity?

"If pushed to say, I'd rather call it a mascot."

"Katharina, this child will be a great servant, so it'll take some time for it to grow big. Ah, here comes the fish. Wait just a moment."

The demon queen tried to give the fish caught by Wilma to the baby dragon with the weird name Cream Puff.

"Your Majesty, it would be better to give it the fish head-first."

"When I previously went to an aquarium during a school excursion, the caretaker lady fed the fish to the serpents head-first too. Maybe it's a measure to avoid the fish getting stuck in the throat?"

"Yep."

"Good job in noticing that, Earl Baumeister. Come on, here's your fishie."

Cream Puff swallowed the fish it received from the demon queen whole. Still, seeing how they even hold shows with serpents, you really can't take the demons lightly.

"Myuu myuu."

"You want still more? Grow big as soon as possible."

"As a practical issue, I wonder how big this dragon is going to become? What would you say, Arnest-san?" Katia asked Arnest, who was fishing next to her.

"He does not know anyway!"

Ignoring Doushi's disruption, Arnest answered, "Well, it is an elemental dragon which is hard to turn into a servant. Demon kings had a tendency to leave behind biographies of their own lives, and I have seen several diaries related to raising elemental dragons."

Nothing less of an archaeologist. If there's any ancient documents, he'll make sure to take a look at them.

"The growth of elemental dragons is extremely slow. it takes them around a thousand years to grow into a fully-fledged adult dragon."

"That is quite a long time ahead from now. None of us will be still alive at that time."

"Neither any demon. At the very least you can safely say that the dragon won't grow big within Her Majesty's lifetime."

The remaining life span of the demon queen would be 300 years, if she lived a long life. The baby dragon would hardly grow during that time...

"In that case, it's no problem at the moment, I suppose."

"You could say the problem will be postponed, but its solution will definitely be unrelated to us."

Therese and Lisa reached the conclusion that it was nothing that required us to worry about right now. At its current size, it doesn't pose a particular danger to anyone either.

Moreover, it's so cute that you could actually call it cheating. Its popularity with women is nothing to laugh at, so it's probably going to be alright.

"Which reminds me, Lumi-san, you haven't taken any pictures of Cream Puff, have you?" Eru thought that Lumi should have taken some pictures of the baby dragon for a news article, so he found it odd that she hadn't done so.

"I mean, look, if I wrote an article about it, it could lead to the public opinion getting quite heated with demands for its disposal gaining in traction, and I'd hate that!"

"I'd think that Cream Puff would be quite popular..."

I can't say that I have any proof for that, but everyone except for Elise, Ina, and Amalie-san, who were preparing breakfast, were diligently fishing and feeding Cream Puff with their haul. Moreover, Burkhart-san was still sleeping because of a hangover. If he doesn't soon return to his usual routine, he might not be able to get back into society.

Doushi...this old guy didn't seem to have any problems rising early in the morning every day, maybe because he's got a strong blood flow or a high body temperature. I think it's an enviable constitution to have either way.

"It's not like it won't be any problem if we take a walk with the baby dragon through the city, you know? The area around here has been abandoned, so no guards or government officials patrol around here. Given that the demon queen has to go to school as well, I wonder whether Cream Puff will be able to stay apart from her."

"Cream Puff, I'll come to the village as often as I can, so wait for me obediently, okay?"

"Myuu myuu."

"I see. You're a good dragon."

It sounded as nothing but a 『Myuumyuu』 to our ears, but the demon queen apparently understood what Cream Puff wanted to tell her. Just, I wonder how that works?

"Unnngh! This is...!"

Doushi's rod bent violently.

Because it was fish for Cream Puff, we have been catching small fish like minnows or daces, who inhabited this lake in great quantities, and giving them to Cream Puff, but the fish stuck to the line of Doushi's rod was a trout-like fish.

"Uoooh! This looks pretty tasty!"

"Doushi, I'm surprised you didn't break the rod with this way of handling it."

"Earl Baumeister, that is a difference in skill! This also looks tasty to eat after getting roasted...nohooo─!"

I twas a fish exceeding a length of 50 centimeters, but Cream Puff opened its mouth widely and swallowed it whole in one go.

"Good job at swallowing a fish that is as big as itself."

"Wow."

Not only Eru, but even Wilma was surprised by this.

"Myuumyuu."

"I guess your belly is full now. THat's great, isn't it, Cream Puff?"

"Your Majesty, do you understand the words of that baby dragon?"

"I somehow get it. This child is going to become a great servant."

A servant, eh...? The dragon won't grow big during the demon queen's lifetime, though.

"Noooh─! My fishhhh!"

"Doushi, behave like an adult. It's disgraceful to watch otherwise," I cautioned him because he was acting too much like a little brat.

"Food grudges are terrifying!"

"Isn't it inevitable? The other side is still a child. If you want one for yourself, you can just catch another one."

Just earlier he bragged about his angling skills. I'd love him to catch a second one by all means.

"I will catch that fish once more!"

Doushi got all pumped, attempting to catch a second trout-like fish, but in the end he didn't manage to do it. And despite looking downhearted at the breakfast table, he still wolfed down his breakfast.

* * *

"Myuu myuu."

"It's cute, but I think it would be difficult to keep it as a pet in the city. No matter how small it might be, it's still a dragon. Lyra-san, you think so as well, don't you?"

"You're right... it will be useful as a symbol of the Zontark Kingdom's revival, but..."

We planned to go back to our hotel in two or three days. So, why do we have to think about the baby dragon hatched by the demon queen?

Still, for the moment all that matters is the question of what to do with the baby dragon.

If the details of our discussion were to be leaked without us reaching some sort of conclusion, the demon queen's mood... or rather since we'd be troubled if she started to cry while insisting to stay together with Cream Puff, we held our meeting without her.

An elementary school student, who said they want to keep the dong they picked up, would cry in case of an objection by the adult. And since this was a probable development, Lyra-san apparently wanted to avoid it as well.

"At the end of the day, there's no choice but to keep it at the farm village, is there? The dragon would stand out too much, if she kept it in the city, resulting in the surroundings kicking up a huge fuss."

"Yep. In the worst case, His Majesty could get reported. It's not like it's against the law to raise animals, but even if it might be small, it's still a dragon."

"I think it would be wise to choose a method that does not cause any uproars."

Mall and his friends were against the demon queen keeping Cream Puff in the city. They shared the opinion that it'd be less of a problem, if the dragon remained in the farm village where outsiders wouldn't check anyway.

"My juniors have fair arguments for a change."

"Senpai, that's a terrible way to phrase it."

"You can't get any boyfriends because you keep saying such things, senpai."

"You lack the loveliness which Her Majesty possesses."

I certainly believe Lumi's words were hard, but she cannot speak for others either.

"Still, it is a bad idea to pull the baby dragon apart from Her Majesty."

"Why, Arnest?" I asked.

"According to old documents, the demon kings of old always stayed by the side of their baby dragons to make them stay in contact with their mana."

"For the sake of teaching them their mana, huh?"

"It is, as you say, Burkhart-dono. Humans do not seem to notice it, but mana often has similar qualities if a blood relationship exists. The demon kings taught their baby dragons about their family's mana by staying at their side for as long as possible."

So that's the reason why baby dragons, who were hatched by demons, got emotionally attached to their parent's family as they were raised across several generations, huh?

"In other words, we mustn't separate it from Her Majesty, correct?"

"Because it was stolen from its dragon parent, it only follows logic to take responsibility and raise it properly."

In that case, it looks like it'll be impossible to separate the demon queen and Cream Puff.

"Hmm, what should we do?"

"Can't we get people to mistake it for a dog? It might be fine if we deceive everyone else by attaching a collar and leash."

"As if that would fly!"

Are Eru's eyes plain knotholes or something? Something like a dog covered in pink down doesn't even exist...moreover, its cries are 『Myuu myuu』. Even though it might look like a small plush toy, Cream Puff wouldn't become anything but a dragon.

"Vel, can't you disguise it with a magic tool?"

"Ah, wait!"

I retrieved a plain collar from my magic bag.

"What's that, Vel?"

"It's a mysterious magic tool left behind by Master."

Even nowadays I'm still sorting through Master's inheritance regularly, but on some occasions I found unidentified magic tools. This one here was one of those. If you put it around the neck of someone and poured mana into it while imagining a creature, it'd transform the collar-wearer into that creature.

"For what purpose would you use such a magic tool?"

Maybe it's directed at people who want a pet? Or maybe it exists for people with dangerous fetishes like wanting to turn humans into pets? It's probably a world someone as pure-hearted as Katharina cannot grasp.

"You put this around the neck of your target?"

"Sounds fin. Alley oop!"

"Hey, Luise!"

The plan was to put it around the baby dragon's neck, so why did she put it around my neck!?

"This is a magic tool after all."

It obviously had a size that didn't fit my neck, but as soon as she tried to put it around my neck, the collar widened, before shrinking back into the perfect size for my neck.

"Luise! Take it off right aw... whaa!"

A few seconds after the collar fit itself to my neck, white smoke rose from it and my line of sight quickly became lower... and lower...

"Woof woof! (Isn't Luise looking down at me right now!?)"

Does that possibly mean this collar has activated? What sort of creature have I become?

"Woof woof (Luise)!"

"Whoa, Vel really turned into a dog. I'd actually doubted it quite a bit."

"He's cute, but... Luise-san, now is not the time to mess around."

"Sorry, I didn't really believe it'd work, to be honest. I'll take it off, Vel."

After getting scolded by Katharina, Luise tried to take the collar off my neck. Unexpectedly it came off right away. Looks like it doesn't stick to your neck like the cursed armor piece of a certain RPG.

"But, he hasn't returned to normal."

"True! Won't you turn back into a human, if you take it off?"

"Milord, here you have a mirror."

Haruka showed me my own appearance with a mirror.

"Woof woof!? (I really became a puppy!?)"

"How adorable."

"Woof woof! (But why a puppy!?)"

It might be Luise's preference, but I've turned into a puppy that looked quite similar to a Shiba dog.

Ending up as an animal thanks to Master's magic tools...happened a few times already, didn't it? I was also turned into a kid by a trap in an underground ruin...

Just what's going on with my luck for the same to happen this time as well?

"Hmm, you do not need to worry that much," Arnest looked at the collar he got from Luise. "Since the collar has been taken off, he will return to normal once the mana runs out. He should be back to normal within a day."

"... (I'm going to stay a puppy all day long today!?)"

Just why do I have to go through such experiences? Should I get a purification at the church in the near future?

"At any rate, isn't it great that the magic tool works as intended? We can make that baby dragon disguise itself as a puppy without any problems now."

"It's wonderful that things got resolved without a hitch."

"It is just as Burkhart-dono says!"

"Woof woof! (What's going to happen to me─ee!?)"

The matter with the demon queen's dragon was quickly resolved since we found out that the magic tool could be used to disguise it, but in exchange I'd have to spend all day as puppy today. How unreasonable...

"Vel, it was supposed to just be a joke. Sorry. I'll pet you nicely in exchange."

"Woof woof! (Don't carry me around!)"

"A puppy sure is lovely."

"Ina-san, please let me hold him next."

"Vel-sama, good boy, good boy," Wilma caressed my head.

"Woof woof (The matter with the baby dragon has been resolved, so go and pet that dragon!)"

"Now that he's become like this, Wendelin-san is cute as well."

"Is he going to eat meat?"

"Katia, dried meat is a no-no."

"I mean, isn't he a dog, though?"

"He's just disguising as a dog. Wendelin-sama is a human."

"Woof woof! (That's true─ee!)"

"Should we feed Milord with dog food for today?"

"He might not be able to properly eat food for humans. Should we put it on a flat plate?"

"That is a good idea, Amalie-san."

Umm, I won't say that my own issue doesn't matter, but there's another, big problem remaining... it's not like we can do anything about it right away, though. Even so, it's the wrong time to play around by hugging me in turns!

* * *

"I see. Even Earl Baumeister had become so much of a cutie. Cream Puff, I'll put something nice on you."

"Myuumyuu?"

"Oohh! Cream Puff really turned into a dog!"

As might be expected of Master's inheritance. As soon as the demon queen put the magic collar around its neck, Cream Puff transformed into a dog.

That's fine and all, but...

"Myuumyuu."

"Cream Puff-san, dogs do not myuu myuu."

"Myuumyuu?"

"It looks like this is bound to fail."

Elise, you're talking to a dragon there. Even if you make it transform with a magic tool, I doubt it'll start woofing all of a sudden. As trying to persuade a dragon is rather pointless too, Elise displays some unexpected airheadedness there...

Huh? But why did I become unable to talk then?

There's lots of weird stuff among the magic tools left behind by Master.

"It's still as cute as ever, but its fur's color still remains pink. I've never seen a pink dog, to be honest," Luise commented.

"Me neither... Therese, did you run into such dogs at the imperial court?"

"As if. It's somewhat conspicuous, but I think that unavoidable. It looks like a dog, so it should be alright. As for its crying, you just need to train Cream Puff so that it doesn't cry normally."

"That's great, isn't it Cream Puff?"

"Myuumyuu."

The demon happily hugged Cream Puff, saying that this would allow them to go to the city together. A pretty girl hugging an adorable dog sure makes for a great picture.

"How nice...that's truly wonderful"

"I'll become your fan."

"So noble..."

Mall and his two friends looked as if they had achieved enlightenment as they watched the demon queen and Cream Puff.

Support by her subjects? It's probably because she's got charisma.

"Still, Earl Baumeister, you've become quite adorable, too. You say it's a transformation through a magic tool, but you're as light as a genuine puppy."

"Woof woof (Ugh, I can fight back...)"

After Cream Puff, the demon queen picked me up as well, pressing me against her chest. Though there's nothing soft to be found there as of yet.

"How enviable."

"Should I use the collar as well?"

"Oh, right! That method also existed!"

"You guys, stop being so noisy."

Eru warned Mall's group as they pondered whether they should also use the collar.

"Ah, I must teach Cream Puff how to act like a dog. Cream Puff, a dog doesn't make itself float through magic."

"Myuumyuu."

It seems like the magic tool preserved the original abilities of its wearer. The demon queen cautioned Cream Puff, as the baby dragon was floating in the air out of habit. Seeing how she planned to live with Cream Puff in the city, she had to get the baby dragon to keep in mind acting like a dog.

"Vel, how about you teach Cream Puff what a dog is about?"

"Woof woof! (It's not like I'm an expert on dogs!)"

Not being able to talk is a pain in the ass. Is it because my vocal cords changed into those of a dog because of the transformation?

"You're going to stay a dog for the whole day anyway, right?"

"You do not have anything else to do either!"

"Woof woof (Just because it doesn't affect you guys...)"

Burkhart-san and Doushi said some heartless stuff there

But whatever, now that it's come to this, I might as well go along with it. I guess I'll teach Cream Puff how to act like a dog would.

* * *

"Hand!"

"Woof!"

"Switch hands!"

"Woof!"

"Sit!"

"Woof!"

"Lay down!"

"Woof!"

"Oooh, he was able to do all of it. Amazing!"

"Woof woof (That's only natural...)"

I decided to act as an example for Cream Puff to show the baby dragon how to behave as a dog. First I went on a walk with the demon queen. I showed Cream Puff how dogs walk and run. I also put on a performance.

Luckily, Cream Puff seems to have a good memory, so the baby dragon immediately became able to run and walk like a dog.

Next I taught it how to react to basic dog commands. Dogs, which haven't been properly trained, apparently are targets of criticism in the demon country, so Cream Puff must be able to at least do this much. Otherwise, it'll stand out as a pink-colored dog.

"Cream Puff, hand!"

"..."

"Woof! (You do it like this!)"

I showed Cream Puff a perfect reaction to the command once again.

"Woof! (Give it a try!)"

"Myuumyuu."

"Woof! (That's it! Good work!)"

"Cream Puff sure picks up things quickly."

I wondered what we'd do if the baby dragon didn't quite learn things, but let's just interpret it as children of elemental dragons being smart.

After showing all the various commands to Cream Puff, we had it perform them as a well.

"I guess this much should do."

"Woof! (Being able to do this much will be plenty)"

"""""""Aaaaaahahahaha!"""""""

"Woof! (Don't go on my nerves!)"

The other men roared in laughter as they watched me doing my best. Since they were going too far there, I gathered some soil around me and hurled it at them with wind magic, retaliating with Earth Storm.

"Uh oh."

"Too naive!"

"I expected you to do something like that."

"Pwweh! It got into my eyes!"

"How childish of you, Earl Baumeister!"

"Right, right!"

Unfortunately Burkhart-san, Doushi, and Eru managed to dodge my attack. On the other hand, it looks like Mall and his friends are completely lacking any combat experience. They fully took on the Earth Storm I sent their way with magic.

"Woof! (Also, we must teach Cream Puff to not fly around carelessly)"

"Sure, dogs don't fly after all. I'll constantly warn Cream Puff about it."

"Woof? (You understand what I'm saying)"

"For the most part. Cream Puff is indebted to you. You were a big help with this, Earl Baumeister. You have my thanks."

"Woof! (You're welcome)"

Does the demon queen have an ability allowing her to speak with animals? However, she couldn't understand the boars and deer we caught in the traps the other day.

Is it because there's mana in me?

"(Maybe I'm about to revive a demon queen with a crazy amount of power in this world? ...No, that cannot be. The concept of a monarchy is quite outdated over here, too)"

The demon queen immediately started to cheerfully frolic around with Cream Puff who had learned how to act like a dog. I don't know whether she'll become the ruler of a country, but she might be able to make demons happy. I'm sure this will be fine.

...Probably.

* * *

"Woof... (This is...)"

"Right now you cannot use chopsticks or cutlery, Dear..."

"Given the structure of your mouth, we must place the food on a flat plate."

"Also, since you're a dog, hot food is out of the question, you see."

"Mix, mix."

After training Cream Puff, lunch was around the corner, but my food was the same as the baby dragon's. Grilled meat had been put on a plate after letting it cool down.

"Woof! (What a bland taste! Just like back at my parent's home in the past!)"

I had transformed into a dog, but my taste was that of humans. Thin-tasting food intended for pets was pretty tough on me.

Wouldn't it be fine to feed me the same as a human?

"Even if it's just a day, you're still a dog and food with a strong taste is unhealthy for dogs."

"Earl Baumeister, would you like some more?"

"Woof (I don't need any of this bland stuff...)"

"Dogs have it hard as well, huh? I learned something new."

"Nothing less of you, Your Majesty. You are quite perceptive."

"..."

That's weird, isn't it? Even though I'm supposed to be a special diplomatic envoy; why am I a dog today? And how should I deal with this feeling of helplessness?

According to Arnest, my doggification was canceled after a day, but two full days after this I still felt somehow unsatisfied with the whole situation while spending my time camping with the demon queen and her followers.

* * *

"Earl Baumeister-san, I brought the newspaper."

On the next day after returning to the city from the farm village inspection + camping trip, Lumi brought today's Everyday Journal.

The only ones thinking that it's a Kingdom Revival movement by the demon queen and her prime minister are the two themselves. The newspaper had released an article about a farm village revival movement, which had been covered by Lumi. The article stated that we had visited the farm village after being neglected by the government.

"Does this count as diplomacy?"

"No one would believe something so stupid. In the first place, it's not like those villagers exist outside the republic's legislation," Lumi answered Therese's question with a laugh.

Only the demon queen and her prime minister were talking about aiming for independence. The villagers... well, at present they aren't officially counted as such since the village is treated as abandoned... have a little bit of cash income and thus they pay a tiny amount of taxes.

Since no one, who really tries to break away from a country, would pay their taxes, it looks like nothing more than a farm village restoration movement from an outsider's perspective. Going even further, our inspection of the village as special diplomatic envoys lasted three days and we spent the rest of the time playing around while camping. I even turned into a dog for a whole day thanks to a magic tool I inherited from Master.

I'd think this is unheard-of for a special envoy.

"That makes sense. In the first place, I doubt they could win against the defense force."

This would be only natural since they aren't even armed. The defense force members, who accompanied us on the trip, didn't feel any threat from the demons over there either. They only thought of them as plain farmers.

On the contrary, the farm village folks actually tried to offer the defense force members some food, but they had to turn it down because it goes against their rules to accept such things. Maybe they thought it'd turn into a problem if Lumi, who was with us, interpreted it as bribery.

『Personally I think this much is no problem, but since some of the senior reporters would start to gleefully criticize the defense force over this, I can understand their cautious approach.』

This was Lumi's comment on it. It's not like I've seen all defense force members, but it looks like a lot of them are diligent folks.

"By the way, I heard you're going to return to the Baumeister Earldom today."

"Even if we stay here like this, it won't change the situation in any way."

I came here on a diplomatic friendship visit while even bringing my family along, but the negotiations are as stuck as always. We garnered some attention at first, but soon were forgotten since other topics became more important again. The populace of the Zontark Republic basically has no interest in foreign affairs. Which also means that demons like Arnest are quite special.

"I might come here again, if His Majesty orders, but this time I'll be able to come back here at once with Teleport."

"How enviable. It doesn't take any time for you to move."

There are no demons capable of using Teleport. In exchange, they've developed vehicles based on magic engineering, so I think the demons are more advanced in regards to traveling.

"Earl Baumeister, will we be relieved from our posts?"

"It's impossible for me to take you guys with me after all."

Mall and his friends are people from another country... demons. Arnest is fine since His Majesty has given his tacit consent, but it seems like it's going to cause all sorts of problems if we go back while taking Mall's group with us.

"I'll add a bonus to the promised pay."

"We received money after working for the first time! Unfortunately it was a short-term employment!"

"Yahooooo! Isn't this the road towards full-time employment for us, who missed the new graduate ticket?"

"What a cruel world it is!"

As I listened to the three, my heart gradually cooled down. For me to hear stories about the cruelty of employment in the country of demons...

"Umm... wouldn't it be okay to work in the demon queen's farm village? You might also be able to do archaeological excavations over there." offered Lisa, unable to let those comments pass.

"Oh, that's a viable option indeed!"

"They did say they were accepting applicants, didn't they?"

"It might be even possible to marry over there!"

"""Lyra-saaaaan!""" Recovering their spirit thanks to Lisa's advice, Mall and the other two got all excited about the possible future prospects.

Lyra-san, eh...?

She's definitely a beauty, but is it really possible for those three to win her heart?

"Right! As long as I can assist her skillfully!"

"It'll work!"

"I won't lose to you two! Lyra-saaaaan!"

After receiving their salary from me, the three raced off to Lyra-san.

"At last my unworthy pupils found a job."

We checked out from the hotel and boarded out magic airship. Then we left the Republic of Zontark after a short stay. Yet, the negotiations between both countries hadn't grasped a common ground yet.

* * *

"I took the liberty to read through the notes you handed in, Elisabeth. They were written very well and it seemed like you learned quite a bit. Let's do our best at studying again, starting with today."

"Yes, Francoise-sensei!"

"You also mentioned a cute doggy in your diary. Did you start to raise it?"

"It's called Cream Puff."

"What an adorable name. Very well, I'm going to start the lesson now."

I inspected the farm village, went camping, turned a dragon into my servant, and even got acquainted with Earl Baumeister, a high-ranking noble from another country. Using these accomplishments as foundation, I shall start my road to kingship!

Given that it's my first class in a week, I must listen properly and take notes.

Chapter 4: Magic Didn't Play Much of a Role after all

"Your Excellency! Have you seen this newspaper story?"

"No, not yet. Is there something special about it?"

The negotiations with the Helmut Kingdom, which had caused the airship incident in our airspace, weren't proceeding well. The government, which had just been changed one week before the whole incident, has been a chaotic mess even before this whole matter and this incident only made it worse.

Even so, the folks of the CRP apparently managed to somehow start the negotiations by borrowing the power of the bureaucrats, but the talks weren't moving forward at all. It's frustrating, but right now we don't hold any authority as an opposition party.

The negotiation team had been formed while aiming for a favorable rating by the media and people, and just as we had predicted, they were diverting the talks with their own agendas, angering the Helmut Kingdom. And because a weird group of people had started to appeal for an invasion of the Lingaia Continent to resolve the current stagnation of the demon society, it has become impossible to settle negotiations which should have been solvable under normal circumstances.

The CRP was supposed to be a political party touting liberalism, but in the end they're a hodge podge of different interest groups.

There are also weird folks among them like the ones who are in front of us right now.

Although we've been demoted to being the opposition, our National Sovereignty Party (NSP) doesn't sit around twiddling its thumbs either. We were consulting bureaucrats who were worried about an impending crisis because they hadn't anticipated the CRP to be such a bunch of amateurs, and we also proposed political measures to the CRP, even while knowing that it was pointless.

Well, the CRP folks' pride is pointlessly high, so they've been mostly ignoring our suggestions. Some of their decent parliament members feel that things are heading in the wrong direction, but they don't have much to say as a minority group.

Dumb parliament members exist amidst our ranks as well, and right now I'm talking with a person after being told by those idiots that they'd like me to meet him. His name is Otto Heinz. He's abnormally thin, and his silver-gray hair is parted to one side. He appears to be quite neurotic as his widely opened eyes are constantly darting around all over the place. Given how he seems to have difficulties meeting other people's eyes, it's amazing that he's the leader of a political organization.

『World Conquest Alliance』 was written on the shabby business card he had offered me. And at that time all alarm bells had rung inside my head. Because it was a political organization I never heard of, they must have bubbled to the surface just recently, but with them having chosen this name, it was pretty clear that they were a group of people to be avoided, if possible.

He had first explained the political belief of their 『World Conquest Alliance』, and it seemed like this guy would become suddenly talkative, once he started to speak. Having said that, it's not like his speech was overly skillful. I think he's one of those guys who become excited over their own words.

Because he's running his mouth about world domination, he's obviously scheming to invade the Lingaia Continent. His logic is very simple. He thinks it'll be possible to provide the unemployed youths with decently paying jobs as long as we subjugate the humans and exploit them.

And certainly, it's a good plan if you don't have a shred of conscience.

But, before you can talk about any of that, you need to prepare your military in a way that would allow your army to achieve that. All the unemployed youths would have to be forced into conscription. After all, the demons are already short on hands due to the population decline.

And then it'd still be unknown just how much territory we'd be able to secure on the Lingaia Continent.

His claim was in line with his organization's name, but in the end, it was no more than the prattling of a transient organization. In the first place, he came to me, a member of the opposition party, because he was locked out by the liberal labor federations, citizen's groups, political organizations, and human rights organizations who all form the CRP as an alliance. It's evident that those guys wouldn't go along with his thinking since he's advocating to overthrow the Helmut Kingdom and Holy Urquhart Empire who are still ruled as savage feudalistic countries.

Eh? Aren't you the same, you ask?

Some folks in the CRP are quite capable of word games like for example claiming that it's proper to invade, if it's for the sake of liberating the people of their feudal rulers, even though it's wrong for us demons to attack those countries. And even in my party, a reasonable number of people agree with that way of thinking. In reality, several groups in the CRP also advocate the same idea as the World Conquest Alliance.

It's unclear to me why those groups have excluded the World Conquest Alliance, but these kinds of organization sometimes tend to have fierce internal struggles. Maybe they were defeated in a dispute among far right groups. Also, they're a World Conquest Alliance, but it seems like they aren't a genuine extreme right organization as they've been criticizing the monopoly of capital by rich families. Or maybe they're an ultra left powers, seeing how they're criticizing big capital families?

Either way, they are a group I don't want to get involved with. Even so, being a politician also means that you must humor certain parties, even if you dislike it. Especially when it comes to big organizations. However, there's no need to pay any attention to such a temporary organization. After all, these guys won't be able to win me any votes for the election.

"At last the demon queen has started to move towards a resurrection of the old dictatorship!"

"Where have they written an article like that?"

"Isn't it written right here, Your Excellency!?"

Otto pointed at a single news article in the Everyday Journal. So far as it goes, it was in the politics section. It was signed with the name of the reporter, but I never heard that name.

When you become a major politician, you'll have an idea of the important reporters, and you'll also associate with them to have them write positive things about you in their articles. I'm sure this reporter must be a newcomer.

The article was about youths who got tired of unemployment and their life where efficiency matters first and foremost, and thus started a farm village restoration movement in several abandoned villages. While repairing the infrastructure over there, they provide for their own life. They have the people supporting their movement buy up the leftover produce and use that money for living expenses. There are even some people who married over there and gave birth to children. Their current challenge should be how to make it possible for their kids to commute to school...I guess.

It's not a bad story. Isn't that just fine? The unemployed youths are groping for new ways to design their life. If this way of living goes according to plan, they won't need to receive welfare and since they're young, the number of people marrying and getting children will increase as well. If the NSP was the ruling party, it'd have even been fine to consult with us about a school or two.

"What is the problem with this?"

"Your Excellency! The representative of this movement is the former demon queen!"

"Demon queen, eh...?"

Just how many years have passed since the demon king and his kin gave back their political power and state property. The current demon queen has no power whatsoever, has she? Even her becoming the representative of this movement probably happened out of the calculation that she'd be useful as a figurehead. The current demon queen appears to be a little girl. If you look at her pictures, it's clear that she'll become a beauty in the future. No matter the era, a beauty at the top of an organization is always a great eye-catcher.

If their movement works out well, it'd be even fine to have them run in the elections for the NSP. At the very least they should make for better politicians than the guy in front of me.

"They're dangerous!"

"It's not like they're rampaging around or anything like that, though."

Dangerous, you say... Personally I believe they're much less objectionable than you are, buddy.

"Farming tools can also be used as weapons!"

Well, sure. But, it's unthinkable that they'd be able to win against the defense force with such primitive equipment. What's this guy talking about anyway?

"It's also possible that they'll start a revolt! The demon queen and Earl Baumeister got in contact!"

So it seems. It's written in the article.

"『Earl Baumeister and his wives, our guests from the Helmut Kingdom, helped with today's harvest, and we all enjoyed potato dishes which we cooked after having freshly gathered the potatoes』... that's nothing more than visiting a harvest festival, isn't it?"

It seems like Earl Baumeister and his retinue was sent here to oppose our government which is making absurd demands in the negotiations, such as gender equality, the introduction of democracy, and the ban of hunting specific animals. Earl Baumeister himself seems to understand the political situation in our country quite well. He earnestly worked hard to create a peaceful mood by even taking his family along without concerning himself with the potential dangers of that.

I think it was a smart move, but Earl Baumeister apparently misread that most of our citizens have absolutely no interest in the outside world. People got quickly tired of him and he quickly stopped being a hot topic. The only ones being oddly interested in him are the guy in front of me and a part of his supporters.

"Their objective is as plain as day! He's planning to start a coup d'etat to restore royal rule in this country while colluding with the demon queen!"

"Haaah?"

No, Earl Baumeister was constantly being watched by his defense force guards. Even if he really schemed something like that, they'd see through it in no time. The defense force members not having said anything means they've only seen Earl Baumeister and the demon queen having a regular exchange with each other. Of course, you can't say that the defense force never makes mistakes, but they are a lot more superior than the folks from the World Conquest Alliance who only clamor around. At the very least, I can trust the defense force much more than these shady guys.

"You seem to have a much richer imagination than your appearance gives away."

"It's no imagination! Danger is going to soon befall this country!"

I guess that's a peculiarity of fleeting organizations. They try to garner support from the people by gathering attention from society through absurd claims and statements. Or rather, just who is funding these guys anyway? Capitalists who plan to run their business on the Lingaia Continent? I'd like them to stop pointlessly feeding mongrels.

"I won't exclude that possibility altogether, but the talks between our countries start with trade and diplomacy first, so I think this would be a matter of the distant future..."

If our country's magic tools start being sold on the continent, the humans might imitate those and slowly raise their technological level. And if the humans start sending immigrants to uninhabited regions after growing too much in number, territorial encroachment might become an issue. It's an extremely complicated problem, but seeing how both parties have come in contact, they must find a point of compromise.

Damn! For the CRP to have become the ruling party at a time like this sucks! They're unable to deal with it pragmatically, aren't they!?

"Your Excellency, your perception of the situation appears to be slightly naive."

What a rude fellow. Unlike you, I've been doing my work as a politician. Don't lump me together with an unemployed guy standing at the top of a self-alleged political organization like you!

"Let me warn you just in case, but even if you people head out to use force, it will be in vain."

They'll simply get arrested by the defense force. Our current government is a joke, but the folks serving in the defense force are normal. Even if these guys were to take armed action against Earl Baumeister and the demon queen, they'd be stopped and arrested.

Does this idiot in front of me seriously believe that an attempt to attack an official foreign envoy and his family would go through without any rebuke?

"Your Excellency... I'm disappointed in you. For you to be unable to see into the future to such an extent..."

See into the future? Is that something you should say as someone who still has no job?

"They're dangerous. I must get rid of them while betting my political life on this!"

The idiot in front of me reached a conclusion all by himself. Let's throw out the dumb parliament member who introduced this idiot to me.

"You will definitely regret your decision!"

The idiot got angry of his own accord and stormed out of my room. He only wasted my time pointlessly.

Even though we've been demoted to opposition, politicians are busy.

"Oh right, I guess I should contact the defense force, telling them that there's an idiot who's planning to attack Earl Baumeister."

A different race called humans have appeared in our society, which has consisted of only demons so far, causing our lives to face great changes. I suppose it's not unusual for people like that idiot to show up during such times of chaos.

"World Conquest Alliance... they have ten members, don't they? So few..."

Since I informed the defense force right away, I immediately forgot about those guys. I was busy in various ways in regards to dealing with humans. You could also say it was unnecessary for me to remember each and every transient organization.

"The diplomatic negotiations between both countries not moving at all is bad. Even though they could at least set up a treat about trade and travel between both countries first... damn it! Those blasted fools of the CRP!"

Anyway, what matters now are the diplomatic negotiations between our two countries. Even though it'll obviously end up being in vain, I immersed myself in compiling a policy to propose to the CRP once again.

* * *

"Comrade Otto, what is the outcome of our appeal?"

"Comrade Raymond, it was still in vain."

"Damn it! That blasted imbecile who still doesn't understand the danger! For such an idiot to be the leader of the NSP..."

"Comrade Raymond, the NSP lost its power because that sort of man has been at the center of the government."

Once again, our appeal failed. It's a continuous streak of refusals. First several politicians of the CRP and now even a politician of the NSP.

When I reported the details to Vice-Leader Raymond of our World Conquest Alliance, he could only answer with a vexed expression.

"The demons live in a country that keeps heading towards ruin thanks to the declining birthrate, political measures catering only to old people who have lived past their time, and exploitation by the big capital! Many folks scoff the humans as being savage brutes, but those humans have big populations. Why does no one realize that the demons will be overpowered by the human numbers in the future, leading to life-threatening danger!?"

Approving our notion, 46 of our supporters had gathered last week. The organizer's announcement mentioned 500, but this wasn't a lie. Each of our supporters had more than ten people's worth of motivation as they assembled at this rally.

"We're suffering poverty thanks to the unfair exploitation by the rich capitalist families. They only let us live on a tiny welfare payment without even letting us have jobs! The young demons can't marry, nor give birth to children. At this rate, the demons are going to perish, but the government doesn't do anything about it. The folks of the CRP got into power after winning over the votes of those who were unhappy and disappointed with the policies of the NSP, but you can't expect these people to be useful in any way."

Even though we suggested political measures in order to help them out, we've been completely ignored by them! Just what do they take me, Leader Otto of the World Conquest Alliance, for!?

"Comrade Raymond, what are the other alliance members doing?"

"They're practicing magic as usual."

"That is wonderful."

Magic has become completely obsolete because of the rampant popularization of magic tools, but we aim to revive magic. The demons' biggest advantage over humans should be the ability of every demon being able to use magic by birth. Most demons nowadays would claim that we just need to supply mana to magic tools, but what's the point in giving up our forte as demons?

『What are you going to do if your offensive magic hit someone else?』

『It'd be dangerous if children let magic loose in the middle of the city, you know?』

Because of use idiotic reasons, the government forbade practicing magic in many places!

But, we're different. The nine comrades, who gathered under my command, were spending most of their time training their magic.

Magic is essential for demons. In ancient times, our race gave birth to many great magicians. They obtained many achievements with their mighty magic during the era of warring states.

The demons have to go back to their original calling and conquer the threat of humanity by using magic. If each demon rules over a hundred humans, the demons will be able to develop on a grand scale.

They'll be able to lead a prosperous life even without working...no, all of the demons will become nobles. The difference in standing and income will decrease, and the number of demons marrying and giving birth to children will increase. It's also going to have the effect of suppressing the dangerous humans.

And yet, despite these wonderful political measures which would make everyone happy, those damn bastards of the CRP and NSP ignore us. Just what do they take a genius like me for!?

"Comrade Raymond, I will talk to everyone later."

"I understand."

A few hours later, I gathered my comrades who had finished their training at that point. There was something I wanted to tell them.

"Comrade Otto, the power of our magic has grown significantly."

"That is great news, Comrade Leon."

Our World Conquest Alliance was run by ten elites and several support members. All of them have been leading miserable lives thanks to the stingy capitalists and their lap dogs, the politicians, but once they began their magic training, their expressions quickly brightened up.

As I thought, demons truly shine when they're able to use magic. We will use our magic and conquer the human countries with it.

"Comrade Otto, I heard our appeals were ignored by both parties..."

"It's a very deplorable situation. Even though we offer them an ingenious plan that would resolve all the problems they're facing, they yap about civil rights, combat power, budgets, and such. And on top of all that, they criticize our political measures while spouting some nonsense about humans and demons living together in peace. The capitalist swines who only care about their own well-being, the incompetent government which couldn't stop the decline of the demons, and the media which acts as their lackeys; I feel like barfing whenever I see them only act in their own, selfish interests!"

While providing nicely-sounding lip service, they exploit our youth and kill all their spirit! The civil rights of humans? Something like that will be immediately settled once we rule those lowly brutes. As soon as we demons become the rulers of the world, all talks will be over with us reigning over the humans.

"Comrade Otto, what are we going to do next?"

"Of course we'll take action, but we'll need some more time for that."

"Figures..."

In the end, the CRP only recently came into power. If we rush things, we'll be very likely caught by the defense force after they become wary of us.

"But, the CRP idiots are completely incompetent! They'll surely start to mess up the defense force!"

And at such a time, we'll quickly make our own move.

"What actions?"

"We are few, and our organization isn't big by any means, so we'll garner a lot of support by standing out with our actions!"

"Okay, so what are we going to do?"

"Isn't that obvious? We'll assassinate the demon queen and Earl Baumeister."

Terror against the government and NSP would be bad. Those guys hold themselves dear and thus they'll show no mercy to those trying to kill them.

However, things are different with the demon queen and Earl Baumeister. The demon queen currently holds no power at all, but I hear she's a young but very pretty girl. What if she embarks into the world of politics once she grows older? Many politicians should tremble in fear, worrying that she might rob them off their seats.

And as far as Earl Baumeister is concerned, he's a human from another country.

If we kill these two, we'll earn ourselves a lot of popularity. We'd need to go to prison for around forty years, but the death penalty has been abolished in this country. We'll eventually be able to leave prison.

"If we kill Earl Baumeister, the Helmut Kingdom behind him should become enraged. If we provoke them a little bit further afterwards, it'll lead to war. And once a war breaks out, it'll also become possible to depart to the Lingaia Continent to lower some of our sentences. We'll fight and win. All we have to do is to rule over the humans."

"Oohh! That's Comrade Otto for you."

"Magnificent!"

"He's going to become the cornerstone of us demons!"

Our ideas not being accepted stems from us being nice boys and following the rules of the government, capitalists, and medial folks, who only care about themselves. Yep, we must smash the framework forming those rules and use this as a chance to create a new world and order!

"Right now we must endure! The idiots from the CRP will definitely weaken the defense force! And at that time we'll strike at the demon queen and Earl Baumeister!"

It's not like I have any grudge against these two. They just have to die for our sake.

"With that said, I suppose I'll work hard at my magic training as well."

"Ooohh, Comrade Otto, you're going to join us!"

"I hear Earl Baumeister is a famous magician among the humans, but he won't be able to win against us with Comrade Otto on our side."

My mana exceeds the demon queen who used to be the elite family when it comes to mana. I'll kill those two without fail and climb to new heights.

With that decided, I strove hard at my magic training together with my comrades.

* * *

"...Earl Baumeister, I read your report about the demons and the Zontark Republic. Still..."

We tried all sorts of things in our own way, but to speak plainly, I don't think our visit to the demon country bore much, if any, meaning. At first the public opinion of us was positive because I visited while bringing my wives and children along, but with the negotiations between both countries at a standstill and the demons' interest in foreign affairs being low, it didn't take much time for us to stop being in the center of attention.

It's said gossip lasts just 75 days, but we didn't even stay a topic for an entire month.

The demons live long lives and they've spent all their time with their brethren thus far, so I I believe the number of people with interest in humans is low.

We didn't do anything worth mentioning in the second half of our visit, and only spent some time playing with the demon queen and her friends. Since she was promoting a farm village restoration movement, we helped out with the farm work over there, ate the yield after cooking it together, and did some other trivial stuff.

Given that the government didn't spare us any time, the demon queen and her prime minister were the only ones accompanying us.

Seeing how the negotiations weren't advancing, there was no point in staying in the Zontark Republic for an extended period of time, and thus we returned to the Helmut Kingdom on our magic airship. Even the order to gather in the west has already been rescinded.

Right now both countries were continuing to negotiate, but Margrave Holmia had called off the expensive mobilization and deployed a unit of a select few, who would be able to react immediately, after judging that the number of enemies and scale of the base on the archipelago was low.

Because the negotiations were obviously dragging out, Margrave Holmia and the other nobles would go bankrupt, if they kept a large army on standby for a long time. The wartime policies in the west haven't been called off yet, but even Margrave Holmia should wish for peace to return as quickly as possible.

I also wish for that, but the misalignment in the negotiations between both parties seems to keep becoming a problem for even the royal palace. If they accept the demons' demands as they are, the Helmut Kingdom would cease to exist as a country, but they didn't think that the demons would compromise on this part.

Any normal government would garner criticism for negotiations being stuck, but the demons didn't care about diplomacy. As soon as the big newspapers started to refrain from reporting on the negotiation out of consideration for the government, the people immediately lost interest in the contact with the humans, including the whole matter of airspace infringement.

Occasionally the government proclaimed through newspaper articles that they were negotiating with a strong stance, which seemed to be enough for the people to feel satisfied.

『It gives them a good reputation if they say they're negotiating firmly, but you can also say they're just saying whatever they want to say about this』

When we were about to leave Zontark, Lumi explained the circumstances to us at the port after coming to see us off.

The leaders of demon rights organizations and animal protection groups had joined the negotiation team on the demons' side. They kept insisting on a hunting ban and the introduction of democracy and civil rights in the Helmut Kingdom.

"Why are they doing something like this?"

"It's because they lead prosperous lives."

"Considering that, your population keeps decreasing, does it not...? I do not get it."

I don't understand it either, but among humans it's usually the poor families who have many children. I heard they give birth to many since they're uncertain whether their children will make it to adulthood.

The humans on Earth and Lingaia are the same sort of people, so I suppose they do have parts they share commonly...

"Our foreign minister said that they're persisting in proceeding with the negotiations."

They're persisting, huh...? That man has the flaw of being a braggart.

"They simply cannot conclude an unequal treaty after being overpowered by the other side."

"He is making all the people involved with diplomacy help out, so that should not happen."

Following the negotiations with the Empire after the civil war, this is another big diplomatic job after a long time. It seems like the nobles of the foreign affairs faction, who appear to have lots of free time usually, are actively assisting our negotiation team. In short, Minister Überschaar has set up a system where other people will cover for him, even if he makes a mistake.

In exchange, things follow the proverb 『Too many cooks spoil the soup』 to a tee. Far from them not being able to decide anything, it's also possible that things will head in a crazy direction.

"I have resolved myself that the negotiations are going to take time."

The Kingdom is probably thinking that it's better to stall without coming to a conclusion rather than agreeing to an unequal treaty after hurrying too much. The demons might get criticized by the citizens, but the Helmut Kingdom had no need to worry about something like that occurring.

The other side's impatience would work in our favor. At any rate, the Kingdom cannot accept things like a ban on hunting, an introduction of democracy, or more rights for women.

Even on Earth it wasn't unusual for diplomatic negotiation to not reach a conclusion, and seeing how they aren't finding a common ground, it's also possible to leave things as they are right now.

"Another part in the negotiations is about the return of the 『Lingaia』 and its crew."

"Is Minister Überschaar handling these negotiations?"

"He is, but they aren't going well."

"Why?"

I had heard the details about this matter from the Lingaia's crew, but one of the vice-captains was the heir of Earl Platte and he seemed to be the reason why magic was shot at the demon's ship. The defense force of Zontark had reached the same conclusion after questioning the crew.

Seeing how it was a misdeed by his vice captain, the captain had apologized since he was accountable as his superior officer. Because Earl Platte's son had acted against orders, he'd be strictly punished in the royal air force. The Kingdom would shoulder the costs for detaining the Lingaia and its crew.

I thought it'd be best to strike a deal with these conditions, and His MAjesty also believed that it'd be best to settle things in such a way.

But, one person started to resolutely claim that he couldn't accept those conditions. Of course it was Earl Platte.

『Is there any need for the Kingdom to apologize and thus boost the demons' side in this critical moment when the demons might cause large changes to the situation surrounding the Kingdom itself? That's a dangerous idea!』

At a glance, it sounds like a reasonable argument... is nothing I thought.

In short, Earl Platte feared that the career of his heir would be damaged by receiving a severe punishment. The Platte House was a family which had produced generations of royal air force commandants, but as might be expected, someone who caused an international incident and received a severe punishment would never be able to become a commandant or make a proper career. This meant Earl Platte would be forced to remove his current heir from the seat of becoming the next family head, but for some reason he was doting on that idiot of a son.

Because of that, he started to run his mouth about the pride of the Kingdom, getting in the way of the Lingaia release which was possible to implement.

From my point of view, this was nothing but dumb, but since his opinion had some supporters in the military and foreign affairs faction, the negotiations about the release weren't advancing at all.

"In other words, Earl Platte claims it'd be bad for the Helmut Kingdom to apologize?"

"Those are his words, yes."

If you consider Earl Platte's argument in light of international relations, you can't say that he's completely wrong. For this reason, some people in the royal court support his view, making this whole problem even more complicated.

"Isn't there any point of compromise? All of this only lengthens the crew's detention."

The other side was a country that took civil rights into account, so they wouldn't mistreat or torture the crew. But, a long detention would make the crew accumulate stress.

"What has Earl Platte said about the detention of his son?"

"Because he's aware of the other side's circumstances, he's been demanding to have just his son released first."

What, so in the end he's just doting on his own son, huh? As I expected, he and I don't mesh at all. As soon as I heard this, I started to hate father and son even more.

"In such a case, I believe it'd be fine to have him released last."

In an official stance, the noble man would prioritize the release of the commoners, remaining there to the bitter end. It's what you call noblesse oblige.

Putting aside whether any nobles actually practice it...his stupid son approached me about releasing only him alone, so he's obviously one of the nobles not following that maxim.

"You're right. I also believe it'd be better to release the son of Earl Platte last. Even if the person himself says that he hates it."

His Majesty apparently hated Earl Platte's son as well, but then again, I think the only person liking that guy would be his father.

"What does Minister Überschaar think about this?"

"That man is somewhat weak to pressure from outside. He's nervous since Earl Platte and his sympathizers have been pushing him. However, other nobles of the foreign affairs faction argued that negotiations to release only Earl Platte's son first bear the danger of being looked down upon by the demons instead, and thus this proposal wasn't accepted."

"Well, they'd definitely take advantage of this. They'd likely start thinking that the nobles ruling in the Helmut Kingdom only care about the safety of their family."

"There's that, but if only the noble son gets released, it's possible that the demons will think of the Helmut Kingdom as a country where arrogant nobles dominate the political sphere."

"Democracy or whatever, was it? Right now I have our scholars investigate the concept, but it's a system of rule I don't really understand."

It's difficult to explain democracy to people who have grown accustomed to a monarchy over a period of several thousand years. I answered His Majesty's questions within the range I comprehended the system, but I'm not sure whether I was able to explain it properly.

It's not like I can tell him about my previous life, so I ultimately talked about it as a private opinion.

"Dragging out the negotiations about trade is no problem, but the same cannot be said about the crew of the Lingaia. I have decided. I shall officially assign you, Earl Baumeister, as special ambassador. Please free the crew of the Lingaia."

"Me? But..."

Minister Überschaar will obviously be unhappy about this arrangement. After all, it'll be a transgression into his authority.

"The only thing entrusted to you will be the release of the Lingaia and its crew. Originally I assigned that mission to Minister Überschaar first and foremost. So I'll simply have two negotiation channels, just in case."

"I understand. I shall comply."

It was impossible for me to refuse here, and thus it was decided that I'd be assigned to the negotiations for releasing the Lingaia and its crew.

* * *

"So I'm going to accompany you?"

Seeing how I was supposed to hold confidential negotiations, I couldn't take too many people with me. Accordingly, I nominated Lisa to go with me. Because she's an outstanding magician, she'll be able to perfectly serve as bodyguard, and above all, it had been her pupil who caused the whole incident of firing magic at a demon ship.

Given that the goal of the upcoming negotiation would be to decide what would happen to that pupil and Earl Platte's dumb son, Lisa was most qualified as an acquaintance of the perpetrator. Also, probably because it was about her pupil, Lisa also felt somewhat uneasy about his fate.

"Please."

"I will gladly undertake that mission, but Anakin, huh...? Will it be difficult to get him out?"

Sure, he's the perpetrator who fired the spell, but he was also a victim since he only listened to the order of Earl Platte's dumb son. As far as I could tell from the attitude of the demons' defense forces, they didn't seem to harbor any animosity towards him, seeing how Anakin's magic didn't damage the ship either.

Because of that, it might be possible to successfully negotiate the release of the Lingaia and its crew.

"Vel, are you going to the demon country once again?"

"His Majesty ordered me to negotiate."

"The captain and his vice-captain took good care of us during the case with the bone dragon, so it'd be nice if they could be released without a hitch," commented Ina.

"I mean, they're victims of their subordinate going berserk."

I won't say they don't share any responsibility, but Earl Platte's dumb son is an idiot going way beyond our wildest expectations. Ina and I judged his erratic behavior to have been completely out of the captain's hands.

"I'll head over and quickly negotiate their release."

"You think it's possible to wrap up the negotiations so easily?"

"I feel like it'll drag out if I don't say it like that."

At once Lisa and I leaped to the archipelago with Teleport.

* * *

"Oh, is something the matter."

"I have been officially appointed as special ambassador by His Majesty."

Since it seemed like Minister Überschaar would get angry if I acted on my own device, I made sure to contact him first. I think he was already informed by His Majesty, but this was a move for the sake of us having a smooth relationship.

"I've heard about it, but are you going to be alright?"

"To be honest, I don't know."

It's not like I'm lying or anything. I really can't tell. This is something I won't be able to predict unless I actually try my hand at the negotiation.

"We're currently struggling with just the negotiation in regards to trade-related matters. So feel free to give it your best shot."

The minister seems to believe that it'll be difficult for me to succeed with negotiating a release of the prisoners and their ship. Or rather, any normal person would actually make such a call.

"Wendelin-sama?"

"Anyway, let's go."

Having said that, we're not headed for the demon country. Even if we were to teleport there all of a sudden, we do not have any connections, so we wouldn't be even able to get them to negotiate with us.

"Who are you going to negotiate with?"

"I can tell as much that it's certainly not those guys."

The demon representatives were sitting opposite Minister Überschaar at the negotiation table. But, as far as I can tell, most of them are pretty mediocre, to put it diplomatically. Given that many of their politicians come from citizen groups, they're pretty vocal about their opinions, but they're unsuited for practical work.

Rather than them, I'll instead target the bureaucrats who are supporting those politicians by handing them documents or whispering advice.

"Excuse me."

Aiming for a moment when he was away from his politician, I called out to a demon who looked like a young bureaucrat.

"Is it correct for me to assume that you serve as a bureaucrat involved with foreign affairs?"

"Yes. I'm part of a group of bureaucrats who have been transferred from other ministries after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was restored in a hurry."

The demons abolished the public office in charge of foreign affairs 2000 years ago since there were no foreign countries to deal with. Now the bureaucrats were serving as assistants for the politicians while forming new structures.

"Do you already have someone serving as vice-minister?"

"We do, but what about it?"

"Ah, right...." After lowering my voice, I whispered in his ear, "I've been appointed as special ambassador in regards to the negotiation for a release of the Lingaia on a short call. I'd like to hold a confidential meeting as soon as possible."

As soon as I showed him the authorization I received from His Majesty, the bureaucrat's face changed.

"A negotiation for a release, you say?"

"I mean, there is no need to expressly cause problems for the ladies and gentlemen working as politicians for your fine country. It might not be the best approach as far as public face is concerned, but allow me to be very open here. You do understand what I mean, right?"

"...Vice-Minister Gateau is currently resting, but I will take you to him."

We were led to another room by the young bureaucrat. A demon with grizzled hair was sighing over documents inside the room built into a prefab-like building by the defense forces.

"Is something wrong, Outen?"

"I have brought Earl Baumeister-dono."

"Earl Baumeister-dono? Ah, the person who visited our country as a goodwill ambassador. I have heard the news."

"I'm Earl Baumeister. Today I've come here as a special ambassador in regards to the Lingaia release."

"So, negotiations for a release, huh...?"

"By the way, I haven't told the politicians anything about this. You understand what I mean, correct?"

"Outen, no one is to enter this room for the time being!"

"Yes."

The young bureaucrat called Outen stood watch at the room's entrance while Vice-Minister Gateau and I started our secret negotiations.

As expected, it's much faster to speak with bureaucrats who excel at practical business. I guessed that it'd be easier to negotiate with bureaucrats than politicians, now that the new government was still unstable due to the recent change in power.

"So you wanted to talk about the release of the Lingaia, right...?"

"Yes. The costs for detaining the ship and its crew is nothing to sneeze at, is it?"

"The government officials of the defense forces seem to be unhappy about that part."

Their expenses shot up due to the detention. On top of that, politicians have been running their mouth about invading the Lingaia Continent, despite having cut down the defense budget in recent years.

It'd be weird for them to not be unhappy about this. In such a case, they'd actually demand a budget increase, but the politicians of the CRP got elected on the ticket of reducing the rampant state deficit. They're sensitive to the public opinion, so they're unable to speak about a defense budget increase no matter what.

"For this reason, I think it'd be smart to release everyone except for the related parties, including the ship. Only the perpetrator and the vice-captain who gave the instruction to fire will be excluded from this. We will discuss their treatment in detail later on..."

If it's just the detention of the two offenders, it'll cost the demon country a lot less money than now.

"Just two people? No matter how much the vice-captain might have acted on his own, the captain and the other vice-captain carry a part of the blame as well, don't they? They have neglected their professional duty after all. I've heard that some of the defense members also got slightly injured."

Some defense force members got a few scratches when they counterattacked and took control of the Lingaia. The Vice-Minister keenly pointed out that those offenses weren't to be shirked either.

And sure enough, bureaucrats like him notice even the slightest things. He didn't forget to earn some points for himself while attacking the flaw in my reasoning.

"But, the public opinion would be happier to set the stupid son of Earl Platter as the main culprit, no?"

A noble guy, who suppresses the masses, went against the orders of his commoner captain and ordered a commoner magician, who couldn't talk back because of his social status, to launch a pointless attack. The demons should come much easier to terms with the noble son to be the main offender.

"I certainly cannot deny that."

"I hear the royal air force plans to strictly punish Earl Platte's dumb son for acting against order. I'm pretty sure that he will be regarded as the principal offender there. Either way, in the end he must go back to his country. And even in the Helmut Kingdom, worthless nobles become the target of public criticism."

"I see, so you're saying it'd actually be more convenient to delay his return to your home country."

"Yes."

If we allowed for just his dumb son to return first, just as Earl Platte demands, the criticism would be intense. As such, it won't be a problem even if we keep him restrained here for a long time. Him staying back here alone while the commoners go back first would save his reputation somewhat.

In reality, that scum demanded to be released from detention first, but his will doesn't play any role here. At the most, I'll use him as a scapegoat for the demons.

"This method will lead to just one person being detained, though."

"What about the magician who fired the spell?"

"Wouldn't it be fine to give him a summary trial? His offense is at the level of property damage, right? Moreover, he isn't the principal offender."

In addition, he hasn't caused any damage to the defense force ship he hit with his spell either. If we negotiate this skillfully and set it as a minor offense, it'd be possible to have him return alongside the Lingaia while treating it as deportation.

"Earl Baumeister-dono, you know our country's laws surprisingly well."

"Not quite. I simply read a book about them during my previous stay there."

In reality, the laws of Zontark resemble the laws in my previous life quite well. Even if I had some free time, I'd never read something like a law book of the demon country.

"The accused side won't dispute the case during the summary trial. So it'd normally result in imprisonment with a stay of execution, wouldn't it?"

"In many cases it ends with the payment of reconciliation money."

"Okay, then let us go with that? We'll settle it during the trial and the magician will pay a slightly bigger amount than usual. Even though there's no damage to the defense force ship, you used manpower to maintain and inspect the Lingaia, right? The labor costs shouldn't have been cheap."

It won't reach the expenses for detaining the sailors of the Lingaia, but a part of it will be covered by the magicians under the pretext of reconciliation money. Since it's a reconciliation, our side will recognize the crime and apologize while paying in cash so that he won't get imprisoned.

"Does he have that sort of money?"

"Uuumm... Lisa?"

Since Anakin was her pupil, I tried to ask her about his financial situation.

"He's an elementary magician, so I doubt he has that much money."

A Fireball shot by an elementary magician wouldn't be able to pierce through the armor plating of a warship. In this case, his low level actually saved his hide.

"I will pay the missing money. Of course, we'll pretend it was all paid by him. Anakin will simply get a loan from me."

"If you guarantee it, Earl Baumeister, let me contact the defense force and start the reconciliation negotiations. I will also refer an attorney to him... a proper, professional attorney..."

Vice-Minister Gateau seems to distrust the politicians of the CRP who have many lawyers in their ranks. Well, if they were busy with their main occupation, I don't think they'd become politicians.

"Earl Baumeister-dono, could you please give me some time?"

Vice-Minister Gateau used around an hour to negotiate with various agencies through a MHCD. The way he worked looked very professional. Now I can fully get behind the saying that the demon country is run by bureaucrats.

"Earl Baumeister-dono, I would like you to head to the Zontark Republic together with Outen."

"I got it. We will hurry over with Teleport."

"You can use the lost magic art of Teleportation?"

"Yes."

Arnest mentioned it before, but even though many demons have more mana than me, they cannot use Teleport for some reason. It seems like many of them were able to use it in the past, but nowadays not a single demon alive is capable of employing that spell.

They investigated the matter in various ways, but it sounds like they didn't manage to find out why demons can't use Teleport anymore.

"In that case, it seems like we'll be able to quickly release the Lingaia." Vice-Minister Gateau looked very happy. "To be honest, the maintenance of other ships is being obstructed as long as that huge ship clogs up the dock."

No one uses an old-fashioned ship like the Lingaia among the demons, so they'd like to quickly get it out of the dock. Originally the defense force had stored the Lingaia in the dock since keeping it outside would have carried the risk of them being blamed if the Lingaia got damaged by the weather or some such.

"Very well, we'll hurry then. Lisa."

"Okay."

* * *

Once we leaped to the defense force's base together with the young bureaucrat called Outen, defense force officers in uniform and a young demon man, who seemed to be a lawyer, waited for us there.

"I have heard about your case. We will deal with things in a hurry, but before that, we will have a meeting with Anakin-dono."

"Yes, please."

We hurried to the detention facility managed by the defense forces and interviewed Anakin.

"Big Sis, you've come to bring me refreshments?"

"gh! As if I'd do that, idiot!"

Lisa had recently been quite docile, but thanks to her pupils silliness, she apparently snapped for real. She roared at him with the same tone she used to use when I met her for the first time.

"Listen closely to what my husband is going to tell you from now on and do as you're told! If you mess this up, you're going to stay in jail until you croak!"

"Yes ma'a─am!"

Did he recall the time when he received Lisa's training in magic? Anakin fervently nodded his head, apparently scared by Lisa's extreme statement.

"Your crime will be settled with a reconciliation, so be a good boy, admit your fault, and apologize. Then you'll only need to pay the reconciliation money afterwards."

"Big Sis, I don't have that sort of money..."

"My husband is going to lend you the money you need."

"Thank you!"

"You're going to work it back for us."

"Eh? I'm going to work in the Baumeister Earldom?"

"Yep. You understand that you have no other choice but this, right?"

Given that Anakin looked like he didn't actually understand his own situation, I explained it to him.

"The stupid son of Earl Platte is trash who will request to be released as soon as possible, even if he has to blame everything on you. Now, if you're being released first, not only that dumb son, but even his father, Earl Platte, will hate you for it."

If things go very badly, it's quite possible that Anakin gets killed by a raging Earl Platte. An elementary magician would be hard pressed to oppose an Earl House by himself.

"Even if you work as an adventurer, it might become tricky in various ways."

"I just fired the spell upon the order of the vice-captain, and yet..."

"The other side will come up with the worst-possible story for you, so it'll be pointless, even if you try to explain yourself."

"No way... I want to marry and build a family by earning money with magic..."

Contrary what you'd expect from his appearance, Anakin embraces a very wholesome dream.

"I mean, it's tough to be single for a long period of time like Big Sis, I'd think."

At the same time, he can't read the mood. He offended Lisa by running his mouth unnecessarily. You could immediately see veins pop on her forehead.

"Lisa, calm down. I'm very happy that I married you."

"Thank you."

Somehow I succeeded in soothing Lisa.

"Do you want to stay in prison for the rest of your life?"

"Sorry!"

Once I threatened Anakin who had pissed off Lisa, he immediately apologized.

"The reconciliation money will be a rather large sum of money due to several circumstances. I'll lend you the amount of money you lack, so work it off in my territory."

"Got it."

"Very well, the further arrangements..."

Things after this went very quickly. Outen and the lawyer discussed the case with the defense force officers, and contacted the other ministries, government offices and the court. Anakin's trial thus started after just a day. There Anakin and his lawyer immediately accepted the reconciliation money demanded by the defense forces, agreeing to pay 100 million Yen.

It was a large sum of money, but since it'd help to suppress the backlash by the demon public, it was inevitable. It's a common precedent for a suspended sentence anyway, even if there had been a judicial decision. In such a case, paying reconciliation money was better as it'd give people the impression that the money was added to the national funds.

"How much are those 100 million Yen?"

"Around one million cents."

The value of one En is one Yen.

"I'll never be able to pay back such a huge sum of money! I'm not a high-level magician like you, Earl Baumeister-sama."

"I won't add any interest rate and we'll do a tenth instead of a down payment. Just work at our place diligently from now on."

"That is something I can handle."

Anakin looked relieved.

Even though he's an elementary magician, I still managed to secure a magician for us. And I'll be able to charge His Majesty for the necessary expenses anyway. In short, I was making a profit while getting Anakin indebted to me. I've become a nice noble, haven't I?

"Earl Baumeister-dono, we have reached a compromise settlement. By the way, do you own En?"

Because we settled it out of court, there was no need for a further trial anymore. Anakin's lawyer asked me whether I could pay the money, including his own pay.

"Just a bit from before. I'll sell some gold and pay you later."

"Oh, so you own gold?"

The lawyer's expression instantly relaxed. I sold my money in the city once again and paid the reconciliation money without a hitch. However, I doubt you'd find any novel talking about a noble who sells gold in a pawn shop to pay off reconciliation money.

"So the market price has gone up...?"

Currently the price for gold is 8700 En per gram. It seems to have doubled after the demons came in contact with the humans. Are there many demons thinking that there's demand for gold?

I heard demons have no interest in humans, but I guess some shrewd folks are moving behind the scenes in anticipation of future business opportunities.

"Earl Baumeister-dono, please call me up whenever you need a lawyer for anything else."

Once I paid him a slightly bigger pay than agreed upon, the lawyer became very cheerful. According to him, there are recently too many in the demon country, so many seem to have become politicians instead.

"The defense force has also decided the release of the Lingaia's crew, and all the crew members except for one are working on getting the Lingaia back up running under the watchful eyes of the defense force."

Things were resolved much faster than I had expected. One person was still under arrest and he'd be facing a trial as ringleader behind the attack against the defense force's ship.

The lawyers didn't seem overly eager to defend a noble brat, and Anakin had already confessed his crime during the reconciliation negotiation process. Since the prosecutor would use that confession as evidence, Earl Platte's dumb son would definitely get sentenced to jail. Because it'd be a verdict by demons who have a long life span, I intended to report to His Majesty that I didn't know how long his sentence would become.

『Earl Platte's eldest son has deliberately become a prisoner for the sake of allowing the other crew members to be released』

Of course that was a huge lie, but this would stop Earl Platte from making a move on the Lingaia's crew. After all, the reputation of the Platte family would drop to rock bottom, if Earl Platte did anything to the crew members whom his son had saved by basically sacrificing himself.

"Wendelin-sama, is such a method really okay?"

"Yep, it's fine."

I had consulted with Roderich before carrying out this plan. I had anticipated him to tell me to not do it, but unexpectedly he gave his approval.

『Although he's a noble, he's also a human. It's impossible to get along with everyone. I'd say that your compatibility with Earl Platte is quite bad, Milord. But that's no problem. It's better to clearly know your enemies rather than having to watch out for nobles who keep a weird, ambiguous relationship with you.』

『After all, it's easier to react, if you know your enemies.』

『Yes, and because the other side regards you as an enemy as well, they will keep their distance from you. Nobles who hide their real intentions are much eerier in comparison』

Based on that conversation, I achieved my goal of turning only the stupid son of Earl Platte into a sacrifice.

"I wanted to greet the captain and his vice-captain once more."

"They're your acquaintances, I hear, so it makes sense," answered Lisa.

"In reality, I only met them twice. Once during my battle against the bone dragon and the second time during the previous prisoner visit."

Still, for the same duo that I encountered during the bone dragon incident to be involved in this incident as well means they are prone to get dragged into events, or rather, accidents as sailors.

Huh? Is that possibly because they became my acquaintances?

"Because you are here as a secret envoy, we would like you to refrain from going to the Lingaia where you could be spotted by the press. We will create an opportunity during the departure of the ship."

"I know, Outen-dono."

Since the Lingaia would return to the Helmut Kingdom after finishing its final checks, it'll be fine to postpone the greetings.

"You are not going to meet with Earl Platte's honorable son?"

"I will pass on that since it's certain that he'll give me an earful. Moreover, I think he doesn't want to see my face either."

It's only natural for him to hate me since I succeeded in my negotiations on the term of putting him into jail. So he'd just bicker about me not getting him out anyway. Just as Roderich said, it'd be better to keep my distance.

"There are still two or three days until the departure. We must see the Lingaia off with our own eyes. Is there any place where we can kill some time until then?"

I think the whole situation would be reported on by the press, but it'd turn into an uproar if we showed ourselves too much in public. Currently I was being treated as secret, special envoy, after all.

"If we can have you stay here, it won't lead to any pointless expenses, but when it comes to going out in secret, you will need to pay for it yourself."

As long as I stayed in the defense force's facilities, the defense force and the ministry of foreign affairs would cover the necessary expenses. If I go outside, they want me to pay for things myself.

I feel like that's slightly stingy, but that's what it means for a government to have a limited budget.

"Of course I'll pay for it myself. A place, where I can stay in secret, would be nice, even if it's expensive."

Being bothered by the press and getting questioned about the negotiations would be tiresome, and I'd hate it if my successful negotiations got spoiled by unnecessary meddling.

"In that case, I shall arrange for something. There exists a tight-lipped inn for guests like you. In return, they're quite expensive, though."

I heard rumors about hot-spring hotels used by entertainers and politicians when traveling incognito in modern Japan, but I guess they actually exist in the demon country.

"Wendelin-sama, I'm a former adventurer, so I don't mind this place here, though."

Lisa was considerate of me, trying to avoid spending money on something unnecessary. Without her flashy outfit and make-up, she's a very grounded woman.

"I'll be bored here, and sometimes it's nice for us two to spend some quality time as a married couple as well, isn't it?"

"Us two... yes, that sounds like a nice idea."

Lisa looked very happy and I'd hate to hole up in a plain army facility for two days or more. Outen immediately got everything ready for us, so we headed to a certain spa in a magic car driven by him.

"Demon technology is really incredible, don't you think, Wendelin-sama?"

"This one here is much better than the ones we excavated some time ago."

Cars were common in Zontark. They were the same as the ones we found in the Demon Forest in regards to moving by mana, but it was obvious that the technology had advanced beyond that.

If there's such a disparity in technology, the trade negotiations should prove to be quite difficult.

Minister Überschaar and his team were exposed to pressure from all sides and there was also the issue of the negotiations stalling.

"I think the resistance by the magic tool guild will be quite fierce."

"Right..."

Lisa, an outstanding magician, identified the Helmut Kingdom's magic tool guild as one party exerting pressure on the diplomatic team. They also were our regular customers. They've been buying the relics of the Ancient Magic Civilization's era for a lot of money from us.

Because they have a monopoly on the production of general-purpose magic tools, their coffers were full, and they put some good effort into the gathering and analysis of those relics for the sake of developing their own technologies.

But, for the last few hundred years, it hasn't yielded any significant results. Still, because of their monopoly, they can put any price they want on magic tools. That's one of the reasons why the price for magic tools hasn't fallen at all.

If the Kingdom concludes a trade agreement with Zontark, it'll lead to the newest magic tools being imported from Zontark to the Kingdom.

Let me make a prediction: It'd spell the magic tool guild's doom.

"Outen-dono, how much does a car cost in Zontark?"

"There are various types of cars, but if it's a cheap, used car, you can get it for less than 500,000 En. In addition, you have to pay for the car inspection, taxes, and mana supply, though."

By the way, car production hasn't been achieved on the Lingaia continent thus far. The Empire and Mizuho were at the stage of researching it. Many of them had been excavated, so they were a fairly popular research subject, but no one succeeded in building their own car yet.

Because of that, you couldn't see almost any cars even in the Baumeister Earldom. On top of that, Roderich was strongly against cars since it'd be impossible to prevent theft.

『They can be easily stolen with a magic bag. If you used and left them standing all over the place, our fief would quickly become swarmed by thieves gangs...』

For this reason, we could only deploy a small number in places where we could guarantee a strict guard protocol. And in addition to that, the big tunnel.

As one might expect, there are limits to transport with just carriages and wagons. We had trucks make round-trips inside the tunnel. Thomas had increased his subordinates even further to manage all these vehicles.

Still, for cars to not be usable because it'd worsen the public order...

However, if we reach a point where you can import a large number of cheap, used cars from Zontark, the situation on the Lingaia continent might change altogether. It'd lead to a revolutionary advance in travel and transport methods. Well, right now it's not possible, so it can't be helped either way...

"(Even if the trade of magic tools gets approved, they'd place high tariffs on them...since there are no cars on the Lingaia Continent, I wonder how much they'd tax the import?)"

"(The magic tool guild has moved to prevent the importation)"

"(Oh? Do you have connections into that guild, Lisa?)"

"(Yes, one of my few friends works there...)"

Certainly, in the past Lisa looked like she'd have trouble making friends.

"(The guild is wary of the demons who possess an overwhelming technological strength)"

They might lose all their interests and positions thus far. It's only natural for them to be wary.

"(It's not our job to think about that, so let's enjoy your break)"

"(Yes, I'm looking forward to it)"

"Earl Baumeister-dono, Lady Baumeister-dono, we have arrived."

The car driven by Outen wove its way through some mountains, before it eventually arrived at a hotel. You could tell from its exterior that it's quite luxurious. The spa over there seemed to be good for relieving exhaustion. Outen also said that they offer various entertainments.

"It sounds like a high-class resort."

"Yes, it's nothing I can afford with my salary. On the plus side, they will keep you hidden in exchange for the big price."

The hotel was apparently often used for entertainers to bring their partners along while keeping it a secret from the public, and for politicians and CEOs to come here with their mistresses.

"They have to pay their employees well to keep the secrets. In return, staying one night starts with 200,000 En."

"Hmm, I see."

Going by my values from my previous life, I'd never stay in such an expensive place. But, nowadays I'm Earl Baumeister. It was unthinkable for me to act surprised in front of Outen, and thus I pretended to be very calm about it.

* * *

"Welcome."

After getting out of the car and heading over to the hotel's reception, a middle-aged male demon, who appeared to be an employee, greeted us. There was no way he couldn't tell who Lisa and I were after seeing our short ears, but he continued to politely deal with us, not mentioning anything unnecessary.

It's proof of the excellent training level of the hotel's employees. They won't make a fuss, no matter what guests show up, and they won't announce anything about you to anyone either. And that's likely the very reason why they're accepted as hotel catering towards VIPs.

"We have been contacted by the defense forces and Vice Minister Gateau-sama of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You are Earl Baumeister-sama and his wife, correct? We have booked the suite on the tenth floor for you. Someone will lead you there right away."

"(This asshole...)"

Apparently I was being tested by Vice-Minister Gateau and his bureaucrats. I wonder how they're going to entertain me after deliberately guiding me to an expensive suit. They probably consider it their win, if I run out of money and whine to the vice-minister about lending me some more.

"A suite, huh? How much per night?"

"It's three million En."

That's absurdly expensive, but the hotel's employee answered my question without the trace of a change on his face. He probably doesn't think anything about it because he's already used to it.

"Is it too expensive, Earl Baumeister-dono?"

Outen basically asked whether it should be changed to a slightly cheaper room. Since he's moving on Gateau's orders, he'll likely report it right away, if I lower the room's rank here. Not being able to fork out such a huge amount of money at times like this isn't anything unusual. Not only for VIPs, but also nobles.

If it was just me, I wouldn't care much to let them think whatever they want, but I'd be troubled if they looked down on the Baumeister House. I guess I have no choice but to accept it as a necessary expense and move on.

No one knows how things are going to develop between humans and demons from now on. So, it'd be stupid to allow myself to be underestimated.

"No, is that the most expensive room you have?"

"We do have a royal suite with two rooms on the highest floor. This one would cost you ten million En per night."

"Okay, then let's go with that one."

"Very well. Allow me to change your booking to the royal suite then."

The hotel readily accepted my re-booking. Still, this employee's education and experience is amazing. He's doing the necessary procedures calmly without showing any agitation at all.

"The royal suite comes with a room for guards and attendants to stay."

"That's great to hear, right Outen-dono?"

"Indeed..."

Since he should be tasked with monitoring me anyway, we might as well enjoy the stay in this expensive hotel together. And he can report back that Earl Baumeister is squandering his money.

"Please, the royal suite is this way."

We were led to the room by a female bellhop and there she started to prepare tea and sweets for us right away. As we could freely choose our beverage, I picked coffee since it's been a long time, and Lisa went with black tea. They served stuff like elaborately decorated mini-cakes, made by the hotel's own patissier. In addition, you could also request sweets to be made for you, if you had specific wishes.

"(Wendelin-sama, is it necessary to tip the employees in such cases?)"

"(Now that you mention it, such a system might exist)"

"(It's not a system, but a custom...)"

The female bellhop was apparently in charge of this room. Bells were installed at several places in the room, and if you rang one of those, she'd come running from the waiting room outside the suite and take care of your requests.

Given that I never experienced staying in a hotel for ultra-VIPs, I didn't know how much you'd usually tip her.

"You're in charge of this room, aren't you?"

"Yes. I am pleased to look after your needs for the coming two days."

"The pleasure is on my side."

Which reminds me, I don't have much of this country's money on hand, so I must ask Outen to exchange some for me. Accordingly, I passed a suitably big chunk of gold to her.

"Sorry that it's no En. You can exchange it, so it also includes the fees for that."

"Thank you kindly."

The voice of the woman sounded somewhat shrill.

"That said, Outen-dono, I don't have any En, so would you be so kind as to exchange this?"

I passed a bag full of jewels, which I had stored in my magic bag, to Outen who was drinking black tea.

"This many? That will result in an incredible amount of money..."

"I think I will need around this much? I mean, we're staying here for two days after all."

"...I understand... I shall go and exchange it right away."

Outen quickly drained down the remaining black tea and left the room with the bag in his hand. His expression was the incarnation of desperation. He's probably worried that it might be regarded as his mistake, if the rate for the jewels ends up being bad.

Bureaucrats hate mistakes.

If Vice-Minister Gateau should ever reach the conclusion that he's no good, it'll spell the end of Outen's career. He cannot afford to fail on his job as our mediator.

"These mini-cakes are great."

"Indeed. The black tea tastes nice as well."

"The coffee has a nice aroma, too."

"The coffee beans and tea leaves are grown and processed on plantations that have exclusive contracts with our hotel," the bellhop woman explained.

"That's amazing."

"So that's the reason why it tastes so good."

I'm not sure you can say this in all cases, but expensive stuff tastes good after all. There's no official price attached to the mini-cakes Lisa and I are eating, but you cannot order these if you don't stay in a suite. It's included in the room's cost, but that also makes them very expensive sweets.

"Dear, you're unusually generous this time, aren't you?"

"It cannot be helped since I'm Earl Baumeister-sama over here."

If I spent my time here in some cheap hotel, I'd be treated with contempt by the bureaucrats of Zontark. The politicians of the CRP and the media might praise me for being close to the common people, and the normal citizens would likely take it well, too.

But, realistically speaking, no special foreign envoy would be taken seriously if they stayed in a cheap hotel. And it'd also become a problem if the Kingdom found out.

Well, being unexpectedly frugal under normal circumstances applies to the other higher-ranking nobles as well. But, it was necessary to splurge on this occasion, even if it was a secret stay.

After I explained this to Lisa, she answered, "I see. Now I understand."

Lisa has spent a long time as an adventurer and knows many nobles thanks to that. I've been thinking so for a while now, but excellent magicians always have requests to work on.

Either way, because of her past, she can understand my current situation.

"I'm lucky that I've been able to come with you. Luise-san and the others would surely be jealous if they knew about this."

It sounds like she's telling me to bring them here next time. And sure, I can do that, if opportunity presents itself.

"It seems like this hotel has everything we could wish for, so let's have lots of fun until the preparations for the Lingaia's departure have finished."

"Okay."

At the same time as Lisa and I finished eating our mini-cakes, Outen came back after having liquidated the jewels. Since he brought a big amount of En with him, we started our exploration of the hotel's facilities.

"Sir, we recommend you to get a massage and, madam, how about a beauty treatment to make your skin even prettier than it already is?"

The hotel fee seems to only cover the stay for the night. Everything you want to do in addition costs extra money.

At first, we were invited to a beauty treatment that uses expensive aroma oils, mud, and medical baths. It sounds like they also have a course for men, but I held back on it and instead went with a massage.

I might be outdated in my way of thinking, but I don't feel like beauty treatment is supposed to be for men.

"Lisa, how about you take that treatment?"

"The Royal Course costs 150,000 En."

"Okay, then I will go with that."

150,000 for a beauty treatment...no wonder they're a super-high-class hotel for celebs. If you can't pay around this much without batting an eye, you don't even need to come here.

"Lisa, make sure to not forget the tipping."

"It is not a rule, but almost everyone appears to pay for it. The amount is pretty much set, too."

Outen had investigated the inner workings of this hotel for us. The people permanently performing various services here seemed to have a far lower base pay than I expected, despite their outstanding skill. They earn a pay appropriate to their skill by getting tips from their customers for carrying out their services.

People with good reputations are able to earn quite a bit through tips while the bad apples get weeded out rather quickly.

"It's around 20,000 Yen on average. But, there are no limits set if you like a service. One guest even tipped a million En just like that."

"Wow. What kind of work is that person doing?"

"They own a lot of real estate in the best districts."

So an incredibly upgraded version of Rinnenheim, huh?

"So, it'll be 500,000 for a normal service, a million for a good service, and two million if it's a truly good service."

There's no way I'm going to lose to that real estate tycoon. I suppose I'll conduct myself as a rich tourist to the limit.

"Outen-dono, won't you get a massage too?"

"It is an issue of expenses. The Vice-Minister would reluctantly approve of any expenses other than the hotel fee. If we waste money during our public duty, we would get harshly criticized by the media and politicians."

Somehow he really reminds me of a bureaucrat I've seen before.

"Having said that, I will be broke, if I pay out of my own pocket here. I have been told by my university friends that they envy me as a winner for having landed regular employment, but I think those who got hired by big, private enterprises, are the real winners. Bureaucrats don't get a salary as high as society usually thinks they do."

Because Erich-nii-san previously told me that his salary as a low-ranking government official is startlingly low, that part seems to be the same between our countries. Even though their income is reasonably high due to their annuity, nobles have many expenses. Erich-nii-san also mentioned that it's not as easy as society makes it out to be.

"My older brother is a bureaucrat as well, and he suffers the same hardships."

"Earl Baumeister-dono, your elder brother is a bureaucrat? It sounds like he must be quite excellent."

"That he is."

Erich-nii-san became the head of a noble family on his intelligence alone, without being able to use magic. He's far more superior than I am.

"I have other work to do, so I have no problem killing some time by myself."

Outen went back to our room, saying that he'd sort documents while we enjoyed our beauty treatment/massage.

* * *

"Dear customer, you have been moving your body a lot, haven't you?"

"My body is my work's capital, after all."

I've been training my magic every day. I also go on campaigns. I'm an adventurer. And I'm moving all over the place when developing the territory, too. I consider myself a guy who puts his body to use.

"You are stiff for someone so young. I will use a bit more strength."

The middle-aged demon masseur in charge of me released the stiffness all over my body while using the perfect pressure.

As expected of a masseur who's working in this hotel permanently. He's got good skills.

Since it was way too comfortable, I became somewhat sleepy. Even so, for me to feel so great from getting a massage at this age must mean that I'm exhausted in various ways.

"I am done."

"My body feels much lighter now. Okay, this is your tip."

"Thank you... Eh!? This much!?"

"Take it without worrying about it. Anyway, see you."

Because I liked his massage, I gave him a tip of two million En. The masseur was surprised when I pushed a bundle of banknotes into his hand.

"How was it on your side?"

"Very effective, I'd say..."

Lisa, who had received all sorts of beauty treatments unknown to men, experienced a beautification of her skin so obvious that you could tell at a glance, and her face became small too. I also feel like her body became slightly slimmer.

"Magic potions have been used during the beauty treatment. They seemed to be fairly high quality."

I see. I guess the effect has been a lot more remarkable than the beauty treatments in Japan because they use magic potions over here.

"If Katharina hears of this, she might request coming here as well..."

"She's an incarnation of diets, yep."

"Okay then. Where are we going next?"

Outen, who had been sorting his documents to kill some time, showed up as well and we moved to the next entertainment location.

It was a theater. All sorts of singers and actors were putting up a show and received tips from the audience.

"Wendelin-sama, they have a genuine magic trickster."

"Oh, you're right."

Confirming that they used cards to do a magic trick without relying on magic astonished Lisa and I.

"Amazing. The level of performance is much higher here than in the Kingdom."

Because of the existence of half-baked magic, the level of magical tricks was low on the Lingaia Continent. Magic tricks based on the magic of elementary magicians was the main thing over there.

When I commented on that, an employee, who was standing near us, explained, "The demons did the same in the past as well, but over time, people have started to argue that it wouldn't be a magic trick if you used magic."

Because the demons would make full use of the techniques that were like the magic tricks on Earth, Lisa and I enjoyed the show very much. In addition, they also hosted singers singing dreamy songs and skits of actors, allowing us to burst into laughter.

All of them were people with top-notch abilities and skills.

"Everyone is quite popular. Over here, people often pay tips as a fee to the performing artists, so they earn their income by coming here regularly."

The demon population amounts to approx. one million. Since the market is small, singers and actors rely on the rich to pay them tips, securing their income in that way. I also found their performance interesting, so I splurged a bit.

"Wendelin-sama, it was fun, wasn't it?"

"The magic tricks in the Kingdom are magic spells most of the time."

As we enjoyed the show, it became night outside, spelling the time for dinner to have arrived Apparently the hotel also had the option of bringing your meals to your room, but tonight we headed to the hotel's restaurant after dressing up.

It was a fancy restaurant that offered a fixed menu like the French cuisine did. The menu cost 200,000 En per person.

"I think this is the first and last time in my life."

Outen enjoyed the two-million-En wine I treated him to, and the food.

"This wine is great."

"Because it's expensive..."

I don't know much about wine, but I think it's tastier and easier to drink than the high-class wine produced in the Kingdom and Empire. Ultimately that's just my impression though.

"Our country's research on wine has advanced quite a bit."

Going by my past life's experience, it's definitely not said that all high-class wines are delicious and easy to palate, but the wine of the demon country seemed to be quite tasty.

"I guess I'll get some for Doushi and Burkhart-san as well when we're about to leave."

"I think they will be overjoyed."

Both of them love wine.

Afterwards I splurged with the tips for the waiter, sommelier, and chef. When it came to the cooks, the head chef, who was in charge of cooking, would distribute the tip to all the cooks under him, whenever he got some.

Once dinner was over, it was time for a bath. Today we would be using the bath provided with the room.

The bathroom was spacious and flowers and magic potions were added to the bath as extra. Their effects seemed mostly focused on relieving people from their exhaustion and relaxation.

"If you experience such a luxury once, it becomes hard to return to normal, quickly leading to bankruptcy."

"Usually you'll sleep outdoors as a normal adventurer."

"True, and you take baths while faking that you'd be doing the laundry."

Lisa and I talked about adventurer life while bathing together. Given her bountiful experience as an adventurer, it was very interesting to listen to her stories.

"It's certainly nice to spend time together like this as a married couple."

"You're right."

It's been only recently that Lisa became able to talk normally with a guy while not wearing her flashy make-up.

I think tonight is a wonderful opportunity to get closer to her. The number of my wives had slowly grown over time, but given that I married them all, it was crucial to keep the communication with each of them going well.

"I think it'll be fun if we occasionally come to a place like this."

"I'm just not used to being taken care of by others because of my commoner descent."

"I also hailed from a family that was completely disconnected from normal nobility..."

After deepening our bond, we peacefully slept together in the same bed on that night.

* * *

"Good morning, Earl Baumeister-dono, Lady Baumeister-dono."

On the next day we also worked hard at wasting time as a married couple under the watchful eyes of Outen. I had a huge amount of En bills, but as I wouldn't be able to use them in the Kingdom, I planned to use them all up over here.

After breakfast, I gave a tip to the cook and we headed to the pool. Over there we enjoyed a relaxed period of time while drinking tropical juice, swimming, and sleeping. I didn't forget to tip the caretaker boys either.

"A tipping culture, huh...?"

"It only happens for services and in facilities catering towards rich people like this place here. By the way, this place had been abandoned right after the establishment of the Zontark Republic, but it got revived around a hundred years ago. In a sense, it's an exclusive place for politicians and the rich."

While sitting in a chair next to us, Outen told us various things about the demon country, thinking that now was a good time.

"That's the same for the Kingdom, too."

No strict tipping systems existed in the Kingdom, but a certain number of nobles would give tips if they liked a service. The funny part was how merchants would hardly ever fork over any such money because they were basically too stingy.

Of course, you couldn't necessarily say this when it came to big merchants.

"Rich and poor people exist among humans and demons alike, huh?"

From Outen's point of view as a smart bureaucrat, there wasn't much difference between a monarchy and a democracy in this regard.

"The preparations for the departure of the Lingaia might be finished soon."

"Okay, before that..."

Since it was probably a mentally-taxing period of time for the Lingaia's sailors, I think I'll hand them some souvenirs to improve their feelings.

Thinking so, I stopped my pool visit and headed to the gift shop inside the hotel. This place was selling all sorts of high-quality items, but I should be able to buy it for everyone, if I stuck to chocolate.

"That's a huge amount!!"

Having said that, I bought a huge bunch of sweets as a present. At that point, I got a message, so we checked out of the hotel and headed to the port.

* * *

"Long time no see, Earl Baumeister-sama."

"You took very good care of us back then. Thank you kindly."

Once we arrived at the port with the Lingaia being about to depart, I was greeted by Captain Komuz Full and the vice-captain, Leopold Begim. It was my first meeting with both ever since the meeting in the beginning.

"I'm sure you have various sorts of feelings on this, but it was decided that you would be allowed to depart and return to the capital."

"That is no problem. However, we are missing two crew members..."

"One of them simply accomplished his responsibility as noble. The other one... is in our care."

"I understand."

Komuz-san didn't probe any further. He probably understood that I had traded off the release of the Lingaia in exchange for Earl Platte's idiot son.

Since that guy is the main offender in this case either way, the public in Zontark wouldn't accept it if he isn't held accountable. From their point of view as people who believe in democracy, it's probably more convincing to have the noble idiot imprisoned for his crime. The perpetrator Anakin has already been judged in a summary trial. The fine has been paid and the judge's verdict was to exile him from the country.

Because it seems like Earl Platte and those around him might try to pull something after he comes back to the capital in the Lingaia, we'll take Anakin straight to the Baumeister Earldom. Over there he'll work for our house until he has paid off his debt. And as long as he stays on our land, I doubt he'll need to worry about Earl Platte doing anything to him.

"Umm..."

"It's a fact that the stupid son was at fault here. He has chosen the path of being imprisoned for the sake of his crewmates and the Lingaia, which is a precious asset of the Kingdom, as a noble."

Earl Platte will likely get all teary over his cherished heir getting imprisoned over here, but even if he tries to complain about it, he won't be able to say anything officially since the public opinion about this whole case is already set. Though I cannot deny the possibility of him scheming something nasty behind the scenes.

"Captain, let us hurry and depart?"

Leopold guessed the circumstances and suggested the captain to leave port as soon as possible. He likely understood that it was smarter in this situation to accept things as they are and just head back.

"You're right... let's."

"It seems like you had to go through hardships for a long period of time. It's nothing big or like that, I brought you some souvenirs. Please share it with everyone else."

"Thank you kindly."

"All of them will be happy about it, I'm sure."

The two adults made the Lingaia depart swiftly. After resuming its flight again, the Lingaia would arrive in the Helmut Kingdom safely in around the same time it needed to reach the demon country, but that was a story of the future.

Despite my inexperience, I somehow managed to get my diplomatic mission done without a hitch.

Chapter 5: Order to Explore the South

"Because of the aforementioned circumstances, your honorable son chose to be imprisoned for the sake of the Lingaia, a precious asset of the Helmut Kingdom, and its many crewmen. Earl Platte, your son is a true role model for all nobles!"

"I see..."

"I must admit I have been deeply moved by your son's determination from the bottom of my heart. People like your son are called genuine nobles. As his father, you are just as much a role model for all nobles, Earl Platte!"

"My son will certainly rejoice once he hears that he has been evaluated so highly by you, Earl Baumeister-dono."

"(Pfft, he's pissed. Totally pissed)."

When I reported all the events that pertained in Zontark to Earl Platte after meeting him inside the royal palace, he listened to my words with his face twitching. Of course, all of that report was one big lie, but it was impossible for Earl Platte to deny any of it and thus he had no choice but to force himself into unwillingly expressing his thanks to me who was praising his son.

Since the Lingaia safely departed after being released, I went ahead with Teleport and briefed His Majesty on the situation.

No matter how we spun it, we wouldn't be able to overturn the fact that Earl Platte's stupid son was the one to attack first. If we opposed Zontark's claim while talking about a nation's pride and so on, the Lingaia and its crew might have remained stuck in Zontark for a long period of time, especially given that the new government of Zontark hadn't yet gotten itself sorted either.

Accordingly, Anakin, the perpetrator, was fined and received a suspended service in a summary trial. I shouldered the fine and it was decided that he'd work for the Baumeister House in order to repay the debt to me. Only the main offender, Earl Platte's dumb son, was thrown into jail in the demon country. He was told that the Lingaia and the other crew members had already departed the country.

"This is my limit."

"The Lingaia and its precious crew members came back. I won't say it's the best outcome, but you can definitely call it one of the better outcomes."

Some nobles were making demands that the demon country should apologize for arbitrarily restraining the Lingaia and its crew, release all of them at once, and even pay reparations...mostly it was Earl Platte who was making those claims though...but there was no way the demons would listen to something like that.

Moreover, because they were only running their mouths behind the scenes without being willing to man up in any way, Minister Überschaar, whose negotiations were basically stuck, got pissed off and told them to negotiate themselves.

I also knew that the demons would never agree to those conditions, so I opted for the easiest solution and pushed all of the blame on Earl Platte's idiot son.

Just like in novels, it's difficult to leverage the smaller and greater things equally during negotiations between nations. And it's not like I'm especially skilled at negotiating either.

『That guy isn't even worth being considered.』

『He's a very poor excuse for a noble.』

『Even if thou save such a guy, he wouldn't be grateful anyway. Rather, he's the sort of idiot who would whine about the rescue being late. Just leave him there to rot』

I think it's only natural, but Wilma, Katharina, and Therese had a very bad opinion of Earl Platte's idiot son. Needless to say, but the same also applied to Elise and the others.

『He's a person who gives you a really bad impression.』

『Amalie, that's a very simple but accurate evaluation of him』

And as they say, he's a genuine idiot who cannot be fixed. If he possesses at least some brain, he should keep in mind to try improving his impression a bit after entering prison. But, seeing how he's the heir of a high-ranking noble, he's probably bad at disciplining himself in patience.

Either way, he's the main criminal here. I would feel pity for him, if those were false charges, but since he's simply paying for his own mistakes, I don't feel an ounce of desire to try to save him.

Yet, because it'd be a problem to merely offer him to the demon country as a sacrifice, I took the liberty to use the fact of him being a noble, claiming that he chose imprisonment himself in order to free the Lingaia and the rest of its crew.

Of course, that idiot doesn't possess such an admirable character, but at the very least he'd keep his face as a noble in this way. Earl Platte was likely bursting with the urge of wanting to shout out his anger at me, but there was no way he could afford to do that.

When I earlier told him the future schedule of his son, he thanked me while exclaiming that his son was an honorable noble. If he didn't make such a claim towards society, his son would be treated as a plain, old, selfish criminal.

"Occasionally you do some crafty things as well, Earl Baumeister."

"I protected his name and honor."

Earl Platte's son would have been severely punished if he immediately ran away by himself, but if he returns to the Kingdom after serving his sentence, even the royal air force won't have any choice but to acknowledge him. Despite his name and wealth, they should put him on a post with little to no responsibility.

Since he issued an unwarranted order to attack, you cannot trust him with any important position, but it should be okay to let him relax in a nice position until he becomes an old man. Leaving aside what he himself thinks about it, I think this would be a very nice solution.

"By the way, how long is he going to stay imprisoned with those charges?"

"Approximately 25 to 30 years."

He had ordered the attack on a ship of the defense force. I'd say he's lucky that he won't receive life imprisonment or a death penalty. Causing harm to the government was a serious crime for Japanese people living in the Heisei era. If he had committed a similar crime in the Kingdom, he'd have been executed in the worst case.

Eh? Anakin, you ask?

He ultimately followed orders. He's an exception since the plea bargaining has ended.

"There was no real harm. Now it only depends on how he's behaving during his prison sentence. If he behaves well, it's apparently possible for him to shorten the sentence to around 20 years."

"I see. That's no problem as long as the Lingaia and its crew come back. Once that ship returns, I will send it out to explore the eastern direction next."

His Majesty is probably quite angry at Earl Platte's son as well. He kept the talk about him extremely short.

Rather than that, it sounds like he wishes to continue using the Lingaia for explorations. Since the collapse of the Ancient Magic Civilization which used to prosper on this continent, almost no exploration of the areas around the Lingaia continent have been carried out.

Even the Kingdom desires land capable of taking in immigrants once the population on the continent becomes too big. Right now, the growth of the nations on the continent is anything but over, but as ruler over a whole nation, one must also keep the long-term perspective in view.

Which reminds me, I must also explore the southern archipelago and beyond in the Earl Baumeister at some point.

"Having said that, right now I have my hands full with handling the demons."

The majority of them are rational folks. It's a salvation that the demons aren't a race adamant on invading human land and slaughtering all humans, but their latent power is too big.

Naturally, the Kingdom couldn't help but tread carefully with the negotiations.

"As a matter of fact, the Empire has sent in a diplomatic corps as well."

"Peter... err, His Majesty the Emperor was late in sending a diplomatic envoy."

"He was probably waiting to see how things pan out. That might prove to be unexpectedly advantageous for the Empire."

The demons, the Kingdom, and the Empire all have their own calculations and intentions. When it comes to starting from balancing the interests, you don't know when the negotiations will be over.

"The demon country seems to have no department handling foreign affairs. I heard they set it up in a hurry or some such?"

"They didn't interact with foreign countries for more than 10,000 years."

"It appears they are also negotiating with the diplomatic corps said to have been sent by the Empire, but everyone on the demons' side seems to be unaccustomed to diplomacy and their talks aren't getting anywhere either."

The demon country just went through a change of government. They probably haven't been able to send in folks with the necessary skills in the field. And the Kingdom apparently had already grasped that piece of information, too.

The bureaucrats I used had worked at the negotiations for the liberation of the Lingaia, but they'd get criticized by the politicians, if it was found out that they meddled in diplomatic negotiations.

Because they were only expected to devote their effort into assisting the politicians, it was very probable that the negotiations would stall for a good while longer.

"There exist other problems, too. Even if we conclude a trade agreement, things like the exchange rate for our currencies must be set."

"If the exchange rate is too disadvantageous for us, it will just result in us one-sidedly losing our riches."

Just like Japan during the closing days of the Tokugawa shogunate, the Kingdom's power would dwindle rapidly, if gold and silver were to leave the country because of a difference between the domestic and foreign exchange rates for those metals. It'd also be the same if the Empire panicked and made that mistake. After all, the Kingdom and Empire are using currencies that are basically identical.

"The demon country apparently wants to export its outstanding magic tools."

"Your Majesty, it sure seems so..."

"It seems the magic tool guild has already gotten wind of this. They have been making quite a racket."

No matter how favorable you look at it, it's virtually impossible for the Empire and Kingdom to best the demon king when it comes to magic tools. Going by my estimations, the demons are easily several hundred years ahead in development.

The demon country's magic tools possess outstanding technology for mass-produced items and they naturally don't cost much either. If a big amount of those tools floods the market over here, the magic tool guild will be basically out of business.

"It's the same in the Empire as well. And also in the Mizuho Dukedom. The magic tool guilds all over the place are stirring."

The magic tools of the Mizuho Dukedom are superior to those in the Kingdom and Empire. It's only natural for them to kick up a fuss since they would lose that advantage.

"I guess you either have to place a big import tax on them or limit the amount of imports."

"Those are the options, yes."

However, regardless of whether it's a tariff or a limit on the amount of imported goods, one must set precise numbers in either case. And in the first place, it's also possible that the other side won't accept the request for free trade.

"I hear the emperor of Urquhart is just as troubled."

"Figures."

Using the civil war as a chance, the Kingdom and Empire set up MHCDs allowing for direct communications. Basically, the same hotline as it exists between the US and Russia since the Cold War.

Both governments are likely worrying about how to deal with the demon country. It's easy to describe it as communication with a foreign culture, but if it was possible to get on good terms so easily, wars would never occur. An absurd amount of time and effort will be necessary before both sides begin to negotiate on conditions which both sides can accept to some extent.

"I will leave things in Minister Überschaar's hands for the time being."

"I see."

The recent negotiation I carried was ultimately just a temporary job. It'd be bad for me to keep interfering with Minister Überschaar's duty.

I don't want to be sent over since it's troublesome anyway. But even though I say that, I've worked as a special envoy twice in a short span of time, haven't I?

"Okay, I shall be going back to my territory then."

"Good work, Earl Baumeister. Take your reward and reimbursements, and be on your way back home."

* * *

After excusing myself from His Majesty, I teleported to the Baumeister Earldom. As soon as I entered my mansion, Roderich immediately came over to greet me.

"Milord, it must have been quite a chore."

"Oh well, it couldn't be helped. Rather than that, I turned Earl Platte into an enemy for sure."

Earl Platte might not be able to directly insult me over this, but he's likely overflowing with hatred towards me who sold his son in a diplomatic deal.

"That was inevitable. We will be careful of Earl Platte and the people close to him."

"To be honest, I'd expected to get scolded by you to some extent. I mean, it's not like I don't feel like it'd have been better to have gotten along with him, even if it would have been nothing more than lip service, no matter how clear it was that we're basically enemies."

"Some nobles choose that sort of flunky approach in social relationships, but once you become a high-ranking noble, you will always have some nobles who are on bad terms with you. Knowing that they are your enemy makes it easier to deal with them."

If you know your enemy, they won't be able to deceive you with false goodwill. And you'll also be able to turn your attention to nobles who are close to your enemy.

"Just when you think they shake your hand with their dominant arm while smiling broadly at you, they're actually clasping a knife in their real, dominant hand. It's a figurative expression, but it applies perfectly to nobles."

"I see."

That's a nice allegory. Nobles know fully well that they cannot show any openings.

"Still this time's commotion incurred a heavy loss to Margrave Holmia."

The negotiations are still continuing, but the Terra Harrez Archipelago remains occupied by the demons. The construction of their military base over there is slowly taking shape, too. With the Empire having joined the negotiations, the location for the negotiations was shifted to a part of that military base, but the negotiations themselves are still as stuck as ever.

It's only natural that negotiations, which weren't going anywhere with two countries at the table, become even more complicated and stuck with a third country joining the fray. Moreover, the current Empire has to pay quite a bit of consideration to Duke Mizuho's wishes.

"I suppose it's difficult to call off the mobilization of the feudal army."

"At least it's impossible to call it off completely."

As far as Margrave Holmia is concerned, he cannot afford to send all the feudal armies back home at this stage. The number of soldiers has decreased significantly, but having them on standby all the time is still quite a burden. An army costs loads of money, even while doing nothing.

"Oh well, we can focus on our territory's development, now that you and your family have come back safely, Milord."

It looked like the matters surrounding the demons wouldn't get resolved any time soon, but I'm not the king nor the minister of foreign affairs. It's fine for me to only care about my own territory.

And with that said, it was decided that I'd return to my previous, normal life.

* * *

"Would it be better to level this hill?"

"Hmm, I think so. If this place becomes a plain ground, it will be easier to create a residential area on it."

There's a lot of undeveloped land in the Baumeister Earldom. Or rather, most of it is undeveloped, so we'll be in trouble once the population grows, if we don't proceed with building the necessary infrastructure.

Because of the good immigration conditions in the Baumeister Earldom, the sons of farmers who cannot inherit their family's land, merchant who were troubled over not finding any customers although they went independent after finishing their apprenticeship, nobles with no place to call home, and the children of retainers gathered here from all over the Kingdom, so we had to urgently create farmland and residential areas to accommodate all of them.

Katharina, who was currently preparing the ground together with me, was used to this work by now.

"Sensei, aren't you going to negotiate with the demon country anymore?"

Agnes's group, who were helping us with the construction work while learning magic from me, didn't accompany us to the Kingdom's western region.

Because it took quite a while for the details of an incident to propagate among the people, unlike in Japan, they had come to ask me about the demon country as they apparently were curious about it.

"Who knows whether they'll ever settle it?"

"Eeehh!? Is it alright for things to stay so undecided?"

"Does it matter whether it's okay or not?"

"I get that you have a point, but still..."

Even if countries keep negotiation on the diplomatic stage, there's no guarantee that they'll definitely conclude an agreement.

"Most of the demons don't want to invade the continent."

They abandoned many places even on their own island because of their decreasing population, so it'd be hard for them to occupy the continent and keep it under control. However, big companies were fully intent on entering a market that was more than fifty times as big as their current one.

However, if their mass-produced magic tools were to flood our continent, our magic tool guilds would definitely go under.

What about their food production? The amount of food produced by the demon country and the technology behind it is amazing, but only a part of the rich people could afford to buy their food since the price would likely be too high. Rather, it's quite likely that the Kingdom would export heaps of cheap food to Zontark.

The Kingdom tends to lack food, but merchants naturally sell their wares where they hope to make the biggest profit. Because Zontark would likely try to ban the import of food or raise an import tariff to protect their own agricultural industry, or rather food self-sufficiency rate, it's very likely that the Kingdom would also ban the import of magic tools or levy high import taxes.

When I explained this to Agnes and the other girls, Cindy, the youngest among them, said with sweat forming on her forehead, "Sensei, this sounds like a fairly complicated matter."

"It is. As the one giving the explanation, I don't quite understand the meaning either."

"It basically means, both sides have their own circumstances even if they start to officially interact with each other."

"So that's how it is."

Betty said softly, but in short, the opposition will be the strongest among those who will have their vested interests hurt the most. On the Kingdom's side, the backlash by the magic tool guild is quite ferocious. They seem to demand an import ban under the fake pretext that it's 『dangerous to allow a potential enemy to monopolize the latest technology』.

The magic tool guild is rich and many noble children are working in the guild's administration. If the guild's income plummets, they'll be fired, and because of that, many nobles are applying pressure on Minister Überschaar.

On the other hand, it's unthinkable that Zontark's government isn't being pressured by the companies related to farming, livestock farming, and fishing, and their affiliated organizations.

There's no way that the negotiations will proceed smoothly under such circumstances.

"The problem lies with the demons still occupying the Terra Harrez Archipelago."

Many nobles claim that you cannot trust the demons after they selfishly occupied a part of the Kingdom's domain, and it was a problem that they received significant support once they clamored about possibly not adhering to any conclusions reached during the negotiations.

In the eyes of some demons, the archipelago was the compensation they had received from the Helmut Kingdom for having been attacked for no reason, which made this even more of a problem. That archipelago belonged to the Holmia Margraviate, so the Kingdom couldn't afford to arbitrarily hand it over to the demons through diplomatic negotiations.

The Kingdom had apologized for the incident and the perpetrators were judged. And even though things should be over with this, the demons had stolen land. This was unacceptable for many nobles.

It was an archipelago that wasn't used by anyone, but because of noble and national pride, it was impossible to hand the islands over to another country without a care.

"In other words..."

"Since the negotiations will take a very long time, Vel can concentrate his efforts on his own territory."

"This sort of work is totally out of my reach..."

Erich-nii-san was accompanying us today. He had been personally appointed by His Majesty as contact person and assistance to make sure that the development in the Baumeister Earldom was proceeding at a good pace. Today he came here to do an inspection on-site.

"Vel, you went to the demon country as a special envoy and even produced some results. There's no need for you to do any more on that front. Rather than that, the development of your territory has a much higher priority."

The Kingdom couldn't afford to stop its rule and domestic administration during diplomatic negotiations. Rather, the Kingdom had to show off to the demons that our country was constantly growing.

"Vel handed in a report about the Zontark Republic which also included Arnest-dono's information, right? Their society seems to be one that keeps dwindling, so we are able to pressure them by touting how we're continuously developing our land."

We are no challenge for the demons when it comes to technological level and number of magicians, but we can still pressure the demons with something where we can best them. This is also a sort of war, I suppose.

"The Empire is around as well. That country suffered heavy damage from its civil war, but the central government's power has grown thanks to it. You can easily predict that they'll grow dramatically in the long term."

Many of the prince-elector houses, who played a major role in politics thus far, had vanished and Peter, the new emperor, was young and capable. The Empire was advancing large-scale developments under the pretext of restoring the ravaged lands, and the Kingdom was in actual danger of being surpassed by the Empire in national power, if it let its guard down.

"I think our relation with the Empire will be stable for a while, so the Kingdom must accumulate strength during that time. The negotiations with the demon country have become extremely complicated with the Empire joining. It will probably buy us some time."

The stagnating negotiations taking time is actually beneficial for the Kingdom, I suppose.

"The Empire's diplomatic corps seems to be just as puzzled by the demons' demands as us, though."

I think it's only natural for the Empire to be confused if they're suddenly told to stop hunting because of the poor animals.

"Such being the case, I've reached the conclusion to care about my own matters and let the outside deal with the outside. I'm an appointed noble of the financial affairs faction and I'll be evaluated by your territory prospering and thus indirectly raising the Kingdom's tax revenue. And I'll be even higher evaluated if I can forge a good relationship between the Kingdom's government and House Baumeister."

Erich-nii-san's priority lies with the money. Having no money is like having no head is the same in any world. We've been both experiencing our fair share of hardships in a poor family.

"And because of that you're going to accelerate the development?"

"There's that as well, but as a matter of fact, you have received a request from the Kingdom."

"A request?"

"Yep. The Earl Baumeister House possesses an archipelago in the south, doesn't it?"

"Yes..."

It's not that far away from the southern coast and since it's an archipelago I discovered, the Kingdom acknowledged it as part of the Baumeister Earldom.

Many of the islands have wild sugarcane growing there and currently several hundred people are cultivating those sugarcanes to run a sugar business. Fishing is popular over there and proper harbors have been provided to them as well, so the population is gradually growing on the islands.

"It's a talk about what may lay even further south from there."

"But, a big ship would be necessary for an exploration, no?"

They sent out the Lingaia to explore the western edge. Our magic airships can't explore areas that far away.

"If it's such a big expedition, the Kingdom will provide a large airship. This exploration is going to extend over several hundred kilometers at the most. That's within the range of the magic airships owned by the Baumeister House. It's also necessary to get a grasp on the whole extent of the Baumeister Earldom."

The Kingdom would provide the necessary ships when it comes to new territories, which require a search with large airships. But, the territorial right would also lie with the Kingdom in such a case.

"An exploration of new territories, huh...?"

"We ended up finding the demons during the western expedition. I hear the Empire plans to send out an exploration party towards the north. And it's the same for the east, too. The Kingdom is making plans in that regard."

Given that the Kingdom can't claim land if it's discovered by the Empire first, the Kingdom wants to send out an exploration party as soon as possible. The southern part is clearly set as duty of the Baumeister Earldom.

"I understand. Let's inform Roderich and have him prepare a ship."

"I will come with you as well."

The negotiations with the demons weren't going anywhere, but the development of the Baumeister Earldom had to proceed. For the sake of clearly defining our territory, I ordered Roderich to form a southern exploration party.

Chapter 6: Girl of the Southern Lands and the Hikaru Genji Project?

"Earl-sama, it's very stuff with just men, you know?"

"Can't be helped. We're working right now."

"You just need to take it as being able to take things open-mindedly and easygoing!"

Leaving the negotiations with the demons, which have been more or less stuck, to the bigshots, I had returned to my own earldom. But I was soon dispatched on a southern expedition, using an old, medium-sized magic airship.

If we were to discover an island or something within the range this ship could travel, I'd be allowed to add it to my earldom. The ship has been run by the Baumeister House and since many of its sailors are former royal air-force members, their skill and morale is high.

In addition, civil officials who would be drawing maps, Erich-nii-san who would observe this whole endeavor for the Kingdom, Burkhart-san who would act as Margrave Breithilde's representative, Eru, and Doushi were accompanying me as well.

Doushi, however, arbitrarily joined the trip for the reason that it looked like it'd be fun. It's not like he has some sort of task or work to accomplish here.

I worried that he might have more important work back in the capital, but... we're talking about Doushi here, so... unless it's something dramatic, he'll usually push everything on his subordinates. Because of this, he's also able to frequently visit the Baumeister Earldom.

"Doushi, is it fine for you to not be at the royal palace?"

"Seeing how the worry that the demons might suddenly start a war is gone now, it is meaningless for me to be there! Given that folks will send documents my way if I am in the palace, it is better for me to not be there!"

"That's way too blunt..."

"It is all the same, whoever signs those things anyway!"

"No, you should check the contents first. That's how responsible adults handle things..."

Eru was appalled by Doushi boldly declaring that he hated paperwork. Burkhart-san also warned Doushi that he should read a document before signing it, but I mean, there's no way that Doushi would sign stuff without reading it first...right?

"The sky and sea sure are blue."

After departing from the port at the southern tip, our magic airship was advancing southward while we were currently looking down at the southern archipelago where the development of the fishing and sugar industries was proceeding.

Whenever we discovered an island on the way, the civil officials would land and note it down on their maps while measuring. They were dispatched by the Kingdom and tasked with drawing maps which would prove that islands within this ship's range belong to the Baumeister Earldom. They devotedly immersed themselves in drawing up the maps so that there wouldn't be any disputes over ownerships later on.

"It'd be great if Doushi was a tenth as diligent as them."

"Ahahaha..."

Without spelling out that he was completely right on this, we let Burkhart-san's murmur uncommented.

"Up until now we didn't find any big islands."

We've found several smaller islands, but all of them were too small for people to live on. They were noted down on the maps, but whether we'd colonize them later...depended on Roderich, I guess.

"So far no one has checked what is to be found in the south! Our exploration has only started!"

This time we were performing the exploration with men alone, including the sailors. It'd be finished in at most half a month anyway, so I wanted to relax for a change by doing a guys-only trip. I took my wives and babies to the West before because I judged it as not that dangerous――the area of strife back then was the Terra Harrez Archipelago――and because Elise and my other wives wanted to take care of their babies by themselves.

This time's exploration is going to be short and as it's uncharted territory, Elise and my other women stayed back home.

As a result of that, it's turned into an expedition with just men.

"Hey, Vel."

"What's up, Eru?"

"Uninhabited islands are fine and all, but what are you going to do, if we find an inhabited island?"

"We will report it to His Majesty and have him decide."

Just as I've learned from the matter with the demons, it was best to outsource all the work... err, entrust things to the Kingdom's government if we find an island with aborigines.

Even looking at it from the Baumeister House's perspective, it was very unlikely that it'd profit us to rule over some unknown group of people, and if things went wrong, it was quite possible that we'd incur heavy losses while wasting time and effort.

"So they'll be treated like Mizuho, or the Kingdom will have their leader become a noble. Once that happens, it'll be fine if we limit interaction to trade."

Not interfering with each other will make both sides happier. Foreign races have different cultures and customs, so if you try to forcibly integrate them, it only becomes a trigger for conflict.

"I suppose leaving it to the Kingdom is the safest approach."

"His Majesty is busy with the demon negotiation, so it is also possible that he will let us handle all of it!"

"That's quite possible too."

"Earl Baumeister, you should resolve yourself!"

In case a small number of people live on the island, something like that could happen as well. Even if I ask Minister Überschaar to negotiate on our behalf, he's busy with the demons right now, so I might not be able to get any help from him.

Once Doushi and Erich-nii-san both warned me of that possibility, I got scared as it sounded like it could become reality soon.

"It'll all be fine if we don't find an inhabited island."

"Burkhart-san, I feel the possibility for that being low."

When the Ancient Magic Civilization perished 10,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Mizuho people wandered from the savage lands into the Lingaia Continent and built their new homeland in the Great Akitsu Basin. According to Duke Mizuho, his ancestors didn't seem to have taken all the Mizuho people along, so it's possible that Mizuho people are living in other places as well.

And it's not limited to just Mizuho people either. It wouldn't be strange for other people to have escaped south and east, which hadn't been really explored back then, to escape the chaos after the Ancient Magic Civilization's collapse.

"Hahaha! The lord over there will have a daughter and Vel will get stuck marrying her, or something like that."

"Eru..."

Don't say such ominous things. What do you plan to do if it turns into reality?

"Milord! A big island has come into sight!"

"See what you've done, Eru!?"

Because you ran your mouth, we now found a big island, didn't we!?"

"It's not said it's inhabited, right? First comes the exploration, I'd say."

"Captain, prepare to land."

"As you command, Milord."

First we have to gather information about that island.

The whole island gradually came into view. It was quite big and except for the part of the land adjoining to the ocean, it was covered by a dense jungle. Moreover, a tall mountain was visible in the center of the island.

The mountain resembled Mt. Fuji in its shape and you could even see snow at its tip, creating a unique scenery for a southern ocean.

"Is there snow at the summit because of its high elevation?"

Even though its shape resembled Mt. Fuji, this mountain wasn't as high. This is a tropic area, so would snow really remain on a mountain with such a height?

It might have some other reason, but we won't know unless we investigate it.

"Vel, I can see a village."

"Eeeruu!!"

Now we've found inhabitants because you ran your mouth unnecessarily!

"That's quite the wrong accusation, man! It's not my fault, I tell you! The population appears to be low, so we'll be able to easily turn them into our residents."

"Eru-lad, is that not asking too much?" Burkhart-san objected to Eru's overly optimistic view.

They've lived here by themselves without any exchange with other people for 10,000 years. If we tell them to become residents of the Baumeister Earldom all of a sudden, it might trigger a backlash.

"Before any of that, will they actually understand us?" Eru asked.

"No idea." answered Burkhart-san.

As the airship approached the island, several hundred people gathered at the village and pointed at us while being surprised. It looks like they don't know what a magic airship is. They must be curious and worried after seeing such an airship for the first time.

"Now then, time to go down there."

"Already?"

"Time's precious..."

The result of 『Detection』 indicated that only one magician was among them. Moreover, that magician seemed to be inside the big house deep inside the settlement.

That magician might be the leader of this settlement. Possibly they're currently examining us.

Either way, none of the other humans should pose a danger for us.

"We want to find out about the other side, right? Besides, even if they take hostile actions against us, we'll be alright."

Doushi, Burkhart-san, and I are here, so I doubt the magician, who's hiding inside, will be able to do anything against us. Going by their amount of mana, this person seems to be an intermediate magician at most.

"Having said that, captain, make sure to stay on alert."

"As you command, Milord. Please be careful out there."

I had the airship stay on standby up in the sky while we flew down to the island with Flight. Eru came with us while being carried on Doushi's back.

"Is the representative of this settlement present?"

"The village chief is in the mansion, but I will listen to what you have to say."

It's great that they understand our language. One elder stepped forward from among the hundreds of inhabitants and answered my question.

"What about your village chief?"

"Umm... I think this would be a slightly too difficult talk for our village chief... My name is Ney and I serve as vice-village chief. I will gladly clear all official matters with you..."

Maybe the village chief is sick or something? Or maybe they deliberately don't show their face as part of the negotiation?

"Oh well, whatever. As a matter of fact..."

Eru explained in my stead. He told them how the Earl Baumeister House had turned the southern lands of Lingaia into its new territory, how we've gone south to confirm the extent of the territory and found this island while doing that, and how we would like them to become residents of the Baumeister Earldom, if possible. He also explained that we would consult with the Helmut Kingdom to have their leader become a noble, if they hated the idea of joining the Baumeister Earldom.

"There's also the option of treating the village chief as the lord of this place and turning them into a noble of the Helmut Kingdom. Though I think they would still become our vassal."

Now then, the question is whether they'll accept those terms. They probably have a strong inclination towards self-reliance if they've been independent for 10,000 years, so they might hate the idea of belonging to some other place."

"We don't mind. Rather, we welcome this."

"Eh!? You sure!?"

Because they accepted our demand so readily, I felt suspicious instead. During my life up until now, including my previous life, stories that sounded way too good to be true often led to betrayal...

"I believe you might feel uncertain since we have accepted your offer so quickly, but there is a proper reason for that," Ney started his explanation why they wanted to become residents of my earldom. "It stems from the reason why this settlement was built. 10,000 years ago our ancestors also lived on the continent. But, because of the huge breakdown, they fled the dangerous Lingaia continent to the south. But, the sea in the south wasn't safe either. They were attacked by flocks of serpents and suffered many casualties."

"Huh? Weren't the monsters born after the collapse of the Ancient Magic Civilization?"

"Earl-sama, serpents are animals. They probably gathered because a big number of people suddenly appeared on boats in the ocean. It was a banquet of prey for them."

"It is as you say. Most of our ancestors were eaten by the serpents and only a few survivors managed to escape onto this island. Or to be precise, less than 30 people made it out alive. Their ships were broken and they had lost most of their provisions and tools. As such they had to start building a civilization on this island from scratch.

Because of that, we will gladly relocate, if you provide us with a good place for immigration."

"You don't want to live in this village any longer?"

"At the very least, we're not adamant about staying here. 90% of this island is inhabited by monsters."

"Huh? Didn't the monster domains come to be after the collapse of the Ancient Magic Civilization?"

Huge amounts of mana exploded and were scattered in all directions. The powerful chunks of mana gave birth to monsters and monster domains. Isn't it weird for this island to have become a monster domain after the people landed here?

"Apparently it used to be a normal forest in the past. But, the monster domain gradually started to spread with the southern mountain in its center."

Ney pointed at the mountain with the snow line.

The land was being completely swallowed by the monster domain, and according to him, only few patches along the coast were left for them to live.

"We cannot even count the number of people who got killed by monsters, and the number of people, who can be supported by the bit of land remaining, is limited. It's also difficult to get the necessary materials, and above all, it's easy for us to run out of food..."

Given that the land usable by people is small, farming has its limits. Hunting isn't overly reliable as an option either. And even if you could tell them to hunt monsters, that's quite difficult for normal humans. With their current population, magicians will be quite rare too.

As a result of all that, their population didn't really grow all that much in the last 10,000 years either.

"Didn't you consider fleeing this place?" Eru asked.

"As a matter of fact, this island is surrounded by hunting grounds and dwellings of serpents..."

So they'd immediately get eaten by the serpents, if they set out in small ships, huh?

"For this reason, we will gladly obey, if you can provide us with a nice place to immigrate."

"It's not that we can't, but..."

The southern archipelago possesses several uninhabited islands, so it shouldn't be that hard for them to make a living there as long as they fish and grow sugar canes. Currently, even the Empire is lacking sugar due to the increase in consumption and I was asked by Peter to increase the production output. I hear he has been pestering Alfons, the new Duke Philip, to increase the sale of beets as well, but since this world's beet hasn't gone through several generations of selective breeding, the amount of sugar it yields is low.

Because they must grow a huge number of them to get any reasonable sugar output, they cannot quite catch up with the demand.

When I told Ney about it, he answered, "We're already cultivating sugar canes, so that won't pose a problem."

Certainly, I can see small sugar cane fields being planted in the vicinity of the village. In exchange, they're only cultivating small amounts of other produce like tubers and veggies. They obviously struggle with the management of the land because they have so little of it.

"If it's a flying ship, we can leave here right away."

"That's great news."

"We'll finally be able to ditch this place."

This island was oddly unpopular with its residents. They didn't seem to harbor any love for their birthplace. Rather, they were all delighted about the prospect of leaving this island.

"Won't you miss your birthplace even a bit?"

"Nostalgia, you mean...? I won't say that we won't miss it at all, but the situation over here has become dire..." Ney answered Eru's question with an impatient attitude and tone.

Apparently he wanted to leave this island as soon as possible.

"Why are you hurrying so much?"

"Young Sir Knight, just as I told you before, this island is surrounded by serpent dwellings. Serpents usually don't get close to the land, but this island is an exception. This year three of our fishers were eaten by them, and since we now lack fishers, we're short on food. We've requested our village chief to repel the serpents, but recently the attacks by the serpents has become more frequent. It seems like they took a liking to the taste of humans."

Humans have little fur, so monsters and carnivores prefer to eat them, I heard. And once they get a taste of human flesh once, they'll repeatedly come back for more.

Ah, that's a bear, huh?

"For this reason..."

"─Vice-village chief, they've appeared!!"

"Again!?"

Suddenly we could hear the shouting of a male villager, and once we looked out towards the sea, we saw several serpents. Once the serpents spotted us, they raised their long heads and headed for the shore.

"Women, children, get away─!"

"Don't enter the monster domain!"

The villagers quickly started to escape inlands because of the sudden serpent attack. Given that they'd be attacked by monsters if they were too far into the forest, they only ran away as far as they could.

"(Being attacked like these monsters on a daily basis, eh...?) No wonder they wish to move away from here."

Even if they tried to escape on boats, the serpents would spot and catch them. And because of the low number of magicians, they could only live a life in constant fear.

"We've got no choice but to have the village chief repel them."

"But, isn't the village chief exhausted?"

"Still!"

Now I understand why their village chief hasn't shown up even after we showed up here. Still, I wonder what kind of person the village chief is.

"I'll go and call the village chief."

"The last attack happened just half a day ago, so she's gotta be out of mana t'repel the serpents! We got no choice but t'flee inside the forest with everyone!"

"That's fine n' all, but what about the village? If we don't get the village chief to drive the serpents away, our fields and houses will be ravaged!"

Serpents are water creatures, but it's not like they can't act on land. If it's around 100 meters from the ocean, they can land and do whatever they want. They can at least destroy the village's houses to grab their prey, the humans.

If the houses and fields get wrecked, the villagers won't have a place to live anymore, even if they managed to escape the serpents, and since their produce will be destroyed as well, they'll quickly end up running out of food, too. The village chief has apparently been forced into overwork to prevent that from happening.

"Making the village chief push herself any further..."

"I know that, damn it! But, do we have any other methods!?"

"It's okay. I will drive away the serpents!"

As the villagers argued around, the rumored village chief finally made her appearance.

"Eeeiii! Get ready, you serpents! I will shoo you away!"

"""""......"""""

Her mana consumption seems to be harsh due to the repeated attacks by the serpents, but she's sure motivated to get it done. Even so, we were lost for words when we saw their village chief.

"Umm... little lady?"

"Ah, it's a very cool-looking onii-san. Onii-san, you have to take refuge with the others."

"That's my intention, but little lady, are you the village chief here?"

"Yep, that's me."

The village chief was a woman, and a child... she was so young that you could easily describe her as a little girl. Just like the main character of an anime I saw in my previous life. The one with the girl who had a short, orange bob-cut and lived on a southern island.

Once addressed by a handsome guy like Erich-nii-san, she happily answered him. It's clear proof that handsome guys have an advantage at any time.

And the problem here isn't about her being female, but her age.

"I'm the chief of this village, Lulu. Nice to meet'cha."

"Nice to meet you, too. My name is Erich."

"Erich-sama, huh?"

No matter how you look at her, Lulu doesn't look older than five years. She seems pretty level-headed for her age and she looks happy while talking with Erich-nii-san, but for them to not only make such a child act as village chief, but also repel serpent attacks...

"Oi, geezer."

"We had no choice─! Our village chief is the only person in our community who can use magic! Even for us it was a very painful decision to make!"

Eru glared at Ney, causing him to explain with all his heart that he'd done all of this himself, if only he could.

"Just form a guard unit out of adult men!"

"They have their hands full with the evacuation! Besides, if they got injured or killed by the serpents, who would till the fields in their place? We are already doing our very best and our village chief understands this as well..."

It appears this village is a lot more cornered than we thought. Even Eru couldn't refute this anymore.

"It's alright. I will repel them."

"Now listen, that's a great thing to say, but what about your wand, little lady?"

"Wand? What would I use a wand for?"

"""""......"""""

We ended up speechless once more. Unbelievably, this girl doesn't even possess a wand.

I think she's a prodigy as a magician, seeing how she possesses the mana of an intermediate magician at this age, but since it's still only intermediate, her spell power drops significantly without a wand.

The little girl faced the serpents by herself and without a wand. It's not that she can't actually defeat the serpents as an intermediate magician, but now I've finally understood why she could only drive them away.

"Vice-village chief."

"We don't know how to make something like a wand. There weren't any wands in the luggage we managed to bring with us in the past either!"

Following Eru, Burkhart-san was the next to give Ney his straight opinion, but Ney firmly objected. But, even if they brought wands with them, there wouldn't be any guarantee for them to last across 10,000 years anyway, I suppose.

"It's alright! I will repel the serpents!"

Her sense of duty seems to be on fire despite her being so young. However, there's no way we're going to leave the serpents to her now that we're here.

I stepped in front of the serpents in her stead.

"Ah, I'll take care of them."

"You will, Mister? Will you be alright?"

It appears she's using her magic mostly on instinct rather than having taught herself how to do it. She didn't even realize that Doushi, Burkhart-san, and I are magicians. I guess she doesn't grasp the concept of gauging the strength of other magicians.

"It's fine. These old guys and I are magicians."

"Really?"

Lulu looked at us full of curiosity.

Maybe she's seeing magicians other than her for the first time.

"Well, it seems like we'll have to teach her the basics from scratch. But, that can wait for later."

Burkhart-san hid Lulu behind his back while Doushi and I took the frontline.

"Erich-sama?"

"He's my little brother, but he's an excellent magician, so it will be fine."

"If you say so, Erich-sama."

Lulu came to terms with it upon Erich-nii-san intervening in our favor. As I've always thought, the persuasive force of a handsome guy is tremendous.

"It looks like there's many of them, but in the end it's just measly serpents."

Serpents only look like dragons. But, it's not that much of a challenge to defeat them. I mean even Wilma calls them efficient prey as they got delicious meat.

"Earl Baumeister, I shall assist you as well!"

"Doushi, it'll be troublesome to collect the corpses, so please pull them towards yourself."

"We're going to have a serpent barbecue today!"

Doushi and I drew the serpents to us as close as possible. Burkhart-san readied his magic in preparation for something going wrong. Eru also took his combat stance just in case.

"Vel, that's actually quite a few of them..."

"Serpents are weak, so please don't worry. Their huge numbers won't help them."

"As expected, magicians are incredible. I hear the fishermen are scared of these beasts."

For Erich-nii-san, a normal, civil official, it's only natural to be scared if several serpents with an overall length of more than twenty meters approach him.

We're just used to this because we've already faced so many of them in the past.

"Doushi, haven't their numbers grown?"

Compared to the beginning, I feel like the number of serpents rushing our way has grown...ah, maybe they think the prey has increased with us being here now as well. Moreover, they landed on the sandy beach boldly without even trying to run away.

"There are ten of them right now, so we can each defeat five!"

"Got it."

I froze ocean water into a huge lance, and threw it into the mouth of a serpent. The lance completely penetrated the serpent's head in one blow, causing it to die instantly and collapse on the spot. If you strike their afterbrain, they'll naturally die right away, no matter what sort of creature they might be.

"My turn is next!"

Doushi clad his body with a Magic Barrier, approached a serpent with Flight, and punched its head with his mana-laden fist. That alone was enough for the serpent's head to cave in, resulting in the beast crumbling on the spot.

Next, he delivered a kick in passing against the neck of a serpent with his foot clad in mana. The neck shattered easily, and the serpent died on the spot.

Because we attacked after pulling them in, the shore in front of Doushi and I was dyed crimson with serpent blood. Moreover, most of it was Doushi's work.

"A─aah."

"Eh? Is there some problem?"

Seeing the terrible tragedy on the shore, Burkhart-san sighed.

"Their heads were torn off because serpents are so brittle!" Doushi made excuses.

"It would be fine if this was a group of strays, but their nest is close-by, so the blood will draw over more of them."

"Now that we have already started, we might as well annihilate all of them!"

"Doushi, is this the proper way to say it?"

"Serpents come in big groups anyway! I will welcome them to the best of my ability!"

For the next hour, Doushi and I fought hard to subjugate the huge number of serpents attacking us.

* * *

"There's way too many of them for dinner."

"They sure came at us in big numbers. It'll be best to not send out ships in the south for a while..."

In the end, Doushi and I defeated 28 serpents. At present, the cooks, who we took with us, were cutting up the meat for dinner, but going by the fact of no further attacks coming our way, I guess we have annihilated all the serpents in this region.

"I don't know how serpents live, but they might simply remain hidden because you two are too strong for them. There's no guarantee that there exist no other nests," Erich-nii-san pointed out calmly.

"We'll only run magic airships for a while."

I wouldn't be able to bear watching ships getting attacked by swarms of serpents. For a while, people shouldn't be able to move between the islands of the southern archipelago, if they don't use magic airships.

"We should explain the circumstances to His Majesty. The Kingdom doesn't have any free large airships, but we'll get him to send more medium and small airships our way. Fortunately, the number of airships in active duty has increased."

This time Arnest had gone out to excavate an underground ruin in the Baumeister Earldom, claiming 『I will join the survey if you find something』, but it's a fact that we've found more airships thanks to all his excavations.

At first it was a huge problem to get enough personnel to move the airships, but the royal air force took over their training. The employment of air force members also went up, causing the children of nobles to rejoice over the increased number of possible jobs.

Some high-ranking nobles started to run their own magic airships while others increased the number of airships they were already operating. They hired veterans and got them to train the young folks and the children of their retainers.

"A huge number of small airships operate inside the Kingdom. It looks like the government wants to use the bigger airships as means to stay in touch with the south and east. New continents and the development of uninhabited islands has also become a possible goal."

Proceeding with the development in the south increases the national power of the whole Kingdom. Given that the Kingdom has encountered a new potential enemy in the demons, they've become frantic about accelerating the development.

The Empire might move on its own as well. Peter and I are friends, but our personal friendship has nothing to do with the relationship between our nations. Since the Empire might employ plans to outwit the Kingdom, we must do what we can while we still have time right now.

"We will hunt in the monster domain of this island as a test while also using it as an opportunity to explore the area."

If it contains precious monsters and produce like the Demon Forest, there won't be any need to liberate it. We could simply build an adventurer town over here and set this as an island for adventurers.

"There's also a limit to how much you can reclaim after liberating it. Especially considering the big mountain on the island."

"Before that, the escape of the residents comes first."

No further serpents should show up today anymore, so we must migrate the people off the island. The southern archipelago has some places which are currently under development, so it should be okay to make them settle there and support their lives for a while.

Given their experience in sugar cane cultivation, they'll be immediately usable as a work force.

"For the meat of serpents, who used to be such a threat, to be so delicious..."

Because we caught a huge amount of serpents, we also offered some of it to the sailors and villagers. The inhabitants of this village were extremely happy that they could fill their stomachs for the first time in a long time.

Since it was possible for serpents to show up at any moment, we would temporarily suspend our exploration and transport them off their island. Being happy over the prospect of leaving this place, the villagers ate the grilled serpent meat while chatting happily.

"I think we will have them move to some place on the southern archipelago."

"That should be fine."

They should be able to quickly grow accustomed to their new environment since it'd be similar to this.

I ate my dinner while consulting about this with Erich-nii-san, but there was one thing which bothered me.

"Wendelin-sama, please have another serving of meat."

"Sure, thanks."

"Wendelin-sama, you are a great magician, aren't you?"

"You think so?"

"Lulu does. Lulu couldn't even defeat a single serpent by herself."

Probably because I defeated the serpents in her stead, Lulu got oddly attached to me. Doushi also defeated serpents, but he isn't overly popular among children to begin with. Burkhart-san prepared his magic just in case, but in the end he didn't shoot a single spell.

As a result, I got myself a five-years-old stalker.

"Hahaha, popular, aren't we Vel?"

"Even though Lulu has the makings of a magician, she's still an intermediate level and doesn't possess a wand. Her mana couldn't keep up with the increased attack frequency of the sea serpents, so she might have lost, if she had tried to take on the serpents back then."

"And that's when you appeared as her savior, eh? The power of your magic is on a different level, so it's only natural that you were able to save her and her people," Erich-nii-san remarked.

Also, he casually disregarded Doushi's participation in this. Then again, it's not like it's necessary to deliberately point out that Doushi isn't popular with children just to earn myself a glare from him.

"Vel, you're popular with all sorts of women, aren't you?"

That blasted Eru... just because it's not about him... I'm gonna remember this, dude.

"Wendelin-sama is married?"

"Yeah, several times at that." Eru light answered Lulu, saying whatever he wanted about other people's affairs.

"It's only natural for a great magician of Wendelin-sama's caliber. I will also become a magnificent magician and be a good wife for Wendelin-sama." Lulu declared with a broad smile.

"......"

At present, she's a cute little girl, but once she grows up, she'll probably turn into a beauty. However, right now she's no more than a girl that ought to be protected rather than one that I could love.

"I hear this girl has no family."

Earlier Burkhart-san apparently questioned the vice-village chief about the details. Originally Lulu used to be the only daughter of a fisherman. But, her father was soon eaten by a serpent after she was born, and immediately afterwards, her mother passed away from sickness, too.

Lulu had thus lost her entire family, but because she possessed mana since birth, she was inaugurated as village chief according to the village rules. The position of village chief is assigned to magicians with combat abilities while the actual duty is carried out by the vice-village chief, so I guess the post of village chief is more of an honorary position.

"There's no need to turn a magician into your village chief at your new home."

If it's over there, they won't get attacked by serpents anymore, so it'll be better to leave the management of the village to the vice-village who's already experienced at the tasks of a village chief.

However, this created a problem. It became unclear who would bring Lulu up, now that she finished her duty as village chief.

『Earl Baumeister-sama, we cannot teach magic to Lulu. Please take care of her.』

Lulu has already lost both her parents. She doesn't have any relatives among the villagers and her duty to repel the serpents with her magic is over as well.

Accordingly, the vice-village chief asked me to take care of her so that she'd become a splendid magician.

"Umm..."

"Sure, we will gladly take care of this matter," Erich-nii-san agreed before I could even say anything.

"Erich-nii-san?"

"There's no reason to refuse, is there? Lulu-chan will become an outstanding magician, so it won't pose any problem to shelter her at the Earl Baumeister House, will it?"

Erich-nii-san is a gentle, handsome guy, but he's also excellent as a noble.

"If other nobles hear about the existence of a magician child without relatives, they'll fight over her, you know? Things might become quite terrible for Lulu-chan, if that happens."

It's certainly true that she could suffer her whole life if she's taken in by some weirdo noble. Much more so because Lulu is a woman.

"Fortunately, Lulu-chan is already respecting you, Vel."

And I also saved her. When she declared she'd become my wife, the villagers and sailors all looked happy. Rather, come on, I want at least one person to object to this...

But, I guess that's asking too much... They cannot say anything to me as Earl, I suppose.

"Wouldn't it be fine if you think of it as taking care of a daughter for a while?"

Erwin suggested it very easily, but even on the next day, she remained stuck to my side. Given that it couldn't be helped, I directed the villagers' relocation while having her train her magic.

The villagers loaded their luggage on the magic airship. Meanwhile I contacted Roderich through the MHCD, before transporting all of them to the designated pioneer village.

Because we needed several roundtrips, Doushi, Burkhart-san, Erich-nii-san, I and Eru remained on the island. For the sake of possible further serpent attacks and to start exploring the island once more.

"Lulu, lift the third by one level."

"Okay."

"Lift the fourth by a level as well."

"Okay."

"Lower the seventh by one level."

"Okay... aahh!"

I had Lulu do a training method I came up with, but since she's a child, she quickly failed. This training method is about lining up ten pebbles in front of you and making them all float up at eye height. Moving stuff with magic is the basics of the basics, and this training method utilizes that.

The pebbles have numbers assigned to them, and if I tell her to raise one by a level, the designated pebble is to be raised around 50 centimeters above the eye line. If I tell her to lower it, the designated pebbles is to be lowered around 50 centimeters.

It's a training method similar to a simple game, but it's unexpectedly difficult.

Because there are ten pebbles, it's difficult to maintain all of them at the same designated height. If you're unfamiliar with this like Lulu, you'll quickly neglect the control over all the pebbles the instant you try to move a single pebble according to instruction.

"It doesn't go all that well."

"Everyone has problems with this at the start."

"You too, Wendelin-sama?"

"This is something I invented, but even as the inventor, I was initially bad at it."

I taught this to Agnes and her friends as well, but as might be expected, the three were no good at this at the beginning either. If you can continue doing this exercise for an hour, you've reached a high level of skill. Burkhart-san surprised everyone by doing this for around three hours without any trouble at all. Doushi also surprised everyone, but in the opposite way, since he couldn't even keep this up for ten minutes.

"Now then, time for a break."

"Lulu is fine."

"Lulu, magic isn't anything you will master in a day. Training is important, but you must also take breaks properly."

"Okay, Lulu understands."

Once I got to know her a bit better, I quickly found out that Lulu is an honest and cute girl. As I talked to her and taught her magic, I felt like I was dealing with my own daughter.

Given that Friedrich and my other babies will grow up as well, allowing me to talk and play with them, this feels like a great rehearsal.

"Today's snack is a cake made out of fruits from the Demon Forest."

"Whoaaa, how amazing."

Lulu's eyes sparkled when she saw the cake with plenty of cream and fruits I took out from my magic bag. Sweet stuff existed on this island as well, but it was limited to the sugar that could be harvested from sugar canes. Moreover, sugar was counted as calories to ensure survival. As such the people in this village didn't have the leeway to eat sweets as snacks.

"Lulu is digging in."

Lulu happily ate her cake. The bit of cream stuck to the tip of her nose only increased her loveliness all the more.

"I see. The same happened in a book that Ina read the other day. A man took custody of a small girl and raised her into his ideal type of woman... oophm!"

"Wendelin-sama, why did Erwin-san fall down?"

"Maybe he tripped over a rock? Eru is a klutz."

"Is that so?"

"Lulu, I also have some cookies that I bought in a store in the capital."

"Yaaaay, thank you so much."

I pressed Eru, who ran his mouth about odd nonsense, to the ground with Airhammer so that Lulu wouldn't notice it. Currently he was stuck to the ground like a frog that got run over by a car.

But, that's what he gets for treating others like they're Hikari Genji. Or rather, a similar story might exist in this world as well, I guess. Though I have some doubts about why Ina would read such a story.

"After this, we will practice until evening and then I will teach you simple kanji after dinner."

"Thank you."

The inhabitants of this island can read and write hiragana and katakana. Lulu still is fice years old, but she's a smart girl, so she can handle most of them. Otherwise, she probably would understand the need to repel serpents and carry it out.

But, since none of the villagers could read kanji, I decided to teach her. Most of the books written by magicians use kanji. And since she won't be able to read those books, it's necessary for her to quickly memorize kanji.

"Lulu wants to hear stories about you, Wendelin-sama."

"Are you fine with stories from the past? I woke up to magic a bit later than you did, Lulu. For a while I trained my magic all by myself, but one day I accidentally met my Master..."

"Wow."

Lulu innocently listened to my tale with sparkling eyes.

Once we finished our dinner, I taught her simple kanji for some time. Because Lulu is still young, she's retiring to bed early.

Because I didn't have anything special to do, I told her a story to make it easier for her to quickly fall asleep after the kanji studying finished. I was doing something a father would do, so the vice-village chief was deeply moved when he saw it.

"This girl has never seen her father. I'm sure Lulu is currently thinking of you as a father, Earl Baumeister-sama."

No, Vice-Village Chief, I'm sorry to disturb your emotional moment here, but I think your perception of the situation is lacking by a step.

"Wendelin-sama, Lulu is going to grow up quickly and become a good wife."

"...I look forward to that."

I felt like she'd cry if he turned her down here... another good guy will show up once she grows up anyway...

Deciding to think of it like that, I continued with a story from my past instead of a good-night-story.

Chapter 7: Heaps of Problems, or How Trouble Keeps Haunting Me Alone

The people, who had taken refuge from the attacking serpents, had lived on this island for more than 10,000 years. After they were discovered by the exploration team, which I was spearheading as its commander, we were currently in the process of evacuating the island residents, who couldn't leave their island so far.

While I was staying on the island in preparation for potential serpent attacks during the evacuation, I've been taking care of Lulu, the southern girl who had been single-handedly charged with the defense of the island as a five-year old.

Moreover, probably because they've been living on this small island for a very long time, the design, color, and fabric for their clothes was simple, or rather, plain. Most likely, they haven't been able to get their hands on better materials.

Lulu is a girl, so I should consult with Elise or Amalie-san about proper clothes for her, I suppose. The big shell hair decoration is pretty as it totally yells "Southern Girl" at you, but it seems this is a memento from her mother.

For the time being, I must do something about a wand for her...

"Which reminds me, Lulu, you don't have a wand, do you?"

"Wand?"

"The magicians outside this island all possess wands.

Once you become a high-level magician, a wand mostly turns decorative, but right now Lulu needs one.

"I didn't know."

I heard that Lulu's ancestors weren't able to bring any wands to this island. And because they didn't have any magic tool crafters, it remained impossible for them to make a wand locally, so there's no way for Lulu to have one nowadays.

If she had possessed a high level of mana from the start, Lulu wouldn't need one, but at present, not having one becomes a drawback for her while using magic. Or rather, it's quite amazing that she continued to repel serpents by herself without a wand.

She could only chase them away, but even that is quite an achievement, I believe. Enough so that even someone like Doushi pays respect to Lulu who's still a little kid.

『Regardless of her being the only magician in the village, no average person would be able to face serpents for the sake of others at her age!』

However, she didn't like Doushi all that much because of his appearance. Children like Philine are rare and few between, so the affection unfortunately remains one-sided on Doushi's side.

At the same time, she has taken quite a liking to me, but considering her circumstances, I find it hard to reject her too strongly. Besides, it's been fun to take care of her over the last few days.

Because I have a calculating personality, I don't feel too bad about being adored by a cute little girl. The exploration team had no women who could substitute as mothers for her...and since all of them are dudes...I took care of her well-being.

"Lulu, I will give you this wand as a gift."

I retrieved a wand from my magic bag. It's one of the items I inherited from my Master. It uses the bone close to a flying dragon's magic stone as core and its surface is covered by the wood of an evergreen oak with an age of several thousand years. It's a somewhat simple wand, but it's still a fairly decent wand and it's pretty much perfect for practicing magic. Because the mana is passed on straight into the wand, it's ideal for a beginner. Master mentioned that he also used this wand to train in his younger days.

"You will practice with this and once you become an adult, I'll give you a new wand."

"Thank you. Receiving a wand is like getting an engagement ring from you."

"......"

However, probably because of her responsibility to keep the village safe from a very young age, this girl has some oddly adult aspects to her... She thinks that me giving her a wand is the same as me asking for her hand in marriage. This troubled me quite a bit, alongside the surprise about a village, which was isolated for 10,000 years, knowing the concept of engagement rings.

"Hahaha, you're really popular, aren't you Vel? Though I don't know how you're going to explain this to Elise and your other wives—Oghyaah!?"

Because Eru teased me in passing once again, I quickly created a pitfall on the beach with my magic along the way he was walking. As he didn't look ahead of him properly, he fell into the pit just like that.

"Is something wrong with Erwin-san?"

"Everyone is busily running around to prepare for the move, so maybe a hole has opened up on the beach? That guy often fails to look where he's walking."

"I see."

I tricked Lulu with a suitable lie.

"Damn you... How about you go back home for the time being? You memorized this island, haven't you?"

Eru told me while crawling out of the hole. He's telling me that it'd be smart to inform my wives about Lulu early on.

"She's a girl, so it'd be best for those of her gender to take care of her, right?"

"You do have a point there."

Following Eru's advice, I teleported to my mansion in Baulburg together with Eru and Lulu.

* * *

"Vel... dear..."

"Ina, I think you're completely misunderstanding something."

Once we got back home, Ina put on a grave expression after spotting Lulu. Her eyes clearly showed that she doubted my dignity as a human while embracing wrong suspicions.

"This girl is..."

"Did you bring her back because she's cute?"

"NO!"

Don't treat others like kidnappers!

"Wendelin-sama, is Lulu an unwanted child?"

"That's not it. Lulu, you're a good and cute girl."

Lulu became teary-eyed when she heard me yelling, so I ended up consoling her so that she wouldn't start crying.

"Eh? So it's like that after all?"

"We'd only go in circles, if I yelled NO! again, right...? As a matter of fact, this girl..."

We moved to the living room where I explained Lulu's story to everyone after they had gathered. Knowing the circumstances, my wives understood where I was coming from. Lulu was a precious magician without any relatives. The nobles would start an ugly contest over her, so I had no choice but to shelter her myself.

"Having said that, she's no kitten. Since thou plan to take care of her, go all the way."

"Therese, phrasing it like that makes it sound as if I've regarded Lulu as a puppy or kitten...

"What do you mean by all the way?"

"Usually, in situations like this, it's common sense to entrust her to an elderly woman of the family or a widow."

Once the girl grows into an adult after being raised by another woman, she will have several options. She can serve the noble house to repay the favor, and even if she doesn't marry the noble who took her in, she also has the option to marry his children or a retainer.

But, I have been taking care of her personally for several days. Many villagers and sailors witnessed this. So how will they look at the relationship between Lulu and me?

"As always, thou are very careless in matters unrelated to magic. Thou have to properly take care of her to the end."

"Lulu will become a good wife for Wendelin-sama."

"I see, devote yourself to that and work hard."

"Yes."

"That's a nice answer."

Hey, Therese... don't instigate a small girl like Lulu, okay?

"Even without asking, I can tell that she has quite a mana capacity, considering her age. She'll become a great magician once she grows up. It'd be one thing if she hated this place, but don't thou think it'd be silly to not take her in?"

Having this pointed out by Therese, a noble among nobles, I couldn't object at all.

"Lulu-chan adores you, so you must rise to the challenge of taking care of her as Earl Baumeister."

Given that Elise has been a priestess to begin with, she didn't feel any reluctance to take care of a child without relatives. She seems to assess Lulu's declaration to become my wife as the babbling of an innocent child.

...Right?

"But you know, before that..."

"Yep, that's right."

"Eh? What is it?"

Luise and Katharina looked at me with pitying expressions, but I couldn't understand why.

"Vel-sama, those three."

"Which three?"

Once I cocked my head as I didn't comprehend, Agnes, Betty and Cindy rushed into the room.

"Sensei! Is it true that you have taken a five-year-old girl as your wife?"

"Sensei, you turned the order around!"

"Was this the reason for you not having taken us along on the exploration? Sensei, you like small children and so you headed out to search for such girls while leaving us behind..."

I ended up overwhelmed when my three students attacked me like this.

"If five-year-old girls are okay, I'm already 15 years old! You don't mind this at all, do you!?"

"Agnes, what sort of misunderstanding is this?"

"Sensei, you gave up on me because you found a younger girl with more talent!"

"Why would I do that?"

Agnes, aren't you still in training? There's no way that I'd give up on you just like that.

"Sensei!"

"You too, Cindy?"

"I'm not as young as that girl, but I'm the youngest among us three!"

It's not like I like women more the younger they are. Please stop thinking of me as a lolicon.

"Sensei, sorry. Even if it might be unreasonable, it'd be better for us to accompany you. Your wives aren't with you and so your eyes immediately get drawn to some young girl... but, sensei, you're a guy after all."

Betty, please could you stop yelling out stuff that's completely based on your misunderstanding of the situation?

Elise and my other wives were laughing with their shoulders shaking...

"It's just as Betty says. We will also join the exploration team."

"If you continue the exploration with guys alone, you will pick up girls all over the place!"

Cindy, I don't have a hobby of picking up girls.

"Sensei, you're just too kind. Please don't worry! We will become a wall for you!"

"Isn't that great, Vel? Agnes and the others say they'll protect you."

"...(Ina... stop saying such things while holding back your laughter...)"

Elise and the other women laughed heartily at me thanks to the misunderstanding by those three.

"This has been a blast for the first time in a while! Vel, popular guys have it tough, don't they!?"

Eru was the one laughing the loudest at me, but currently we're inside my mansion, so I cannot punish him with magic. As such I had no option but to simply sigh at the absurdity of this world.

* * *

When I finished explaining the situation to my wives, it earned me roaring laughter, but in the end, they accepted Lulu, allowing me to continue my exploration. The residents of that island had all moved to the sugar cane plantations located on the southern archipelago under my House Baumeister's control.

As it was planned to construct sugar processing facilities over here, they would be working as sugar cane farmers or workers at the sugar plants. Sugar is quite expensive, so it allows us to pay them a reasonably high salary. They can also fish in the ocean and they're even allowed to cultivate small fields to feed them and their families.

Given that their lives would become a lot more prosperous compared to before, they were all overjoyed.

As for the island with 90% of its territory occupied by a monster domain, we plan to hire high-ranking adventurers and confirm the items that can be harvested and hunted there. If we run in some rare materials, we'll build an adventurer guild and a town around it on the site of the village, and just turn it into an island for adventurers.

If the number of adventurers going there increases, I plan to regularly send magic airships over.

But, all of this has to wait for now. Currently we're going to explore the uncharted terrain.

The magic airship had departed the island and was steadily heading southwards. And as a result of Agnes, Betty, and Cindy getting all fired up, or rather, running berserk due to a misunderstanding, I brought them with me, as they argued it's only lead to troubles if just guys were going on this exploration.

It'd have been best if my wives had forbidden them to go, but since they gave their permission while thinking that it'd be interesting, the three girls were currently standing at my side. As always, Lulu was glued to me.

Given that they didn't have anything to do during the flight, Agnes's group taught Lulu as many spells as they could. This is something my Master told me, but teaching magic to others isn't just for the students.

『Teaching others gives you the opportunity to logically organize your own magic and might give you hints you didn't notice thus far. As such, it's also for your own sake.』

Agnes and the other two should also be able to gain something out of teaching a person with a huge capacity like Lulu. Once I explained all this to them, they diligently started to teach magic to Lulu.

And because Lulu is still a little girl, I also brought Amalie-san with me to look after her. She experienced rearing two children already, so I can leave Lulu to her without a worry.

"Personally I've only brought up boys, though. I wonder how to handle a girl?"

"Even then, it's still much better than leaving all of it to me."

I mean, I have barely any experience in raising children to speak of. Moreover, the other party is a girl. As a matter of fact, I still don't understand how to handle her best.

"Nevertheless, she really dotes on you, doesn't she?"

Certainly, Lulu's idolization of my person has reached incredible levels. It's not like I'm being particularly loved by her, though.

"You don't understand?"

"No, I don't."

"Lulu-chan is quite level-headed for her age, but that's only because she had no other choice but to adopt such a stance."

As sole magician, she shouldered the lives of several hundred villagers, despite being merely five years old. She likely had no option but to become an adult.

"But, I think that has become a big burden for a five-year-old girl."

That sounds very reasonable. I don't even remember my time as five-year-old in my previous life because I was such an idiot.

Oh, right!

I boldly announced in my kindergarten that I want to become one of the transforming heroes from TV.

...Men sure are idiots, aren't they?

"Just when she thought that she wouldn't be able to defend against the incoming serpent attack anymore, you gallantly showed up in front of her, Vel-kun. Moreover, you easily defeated the serpents which she struggled to barely repel. I think it's only natural for her to idolize you."

"But, Doushi also participated in the serpent clean-up."

"Doushi-sama is kind to women and children, but since he's slightly unpopular among them...except for Philine-san, that is..."

Amalie-san explained why Lulu didn't like Doushi while remaining evasive with her words. In short, she's scared of him because he totally looks like a villain. And I guess that's why Lulu attached herself to me alone instead.

It might be similar to Stockholm syndrome, but she's still young and has no family. So I must take care of her until she grows into a proper adult.

"Lulu is a girl, so there's a lot of parts to her I don't understand as a man."

What I don't understand the most is her attire. Currently she kept the shell hair ornament because it's a memento from her mother, but the rest of her attire was the dress for small girls which Amalie-san had bought from Candy-san. It was a dress a girl from a slightly wealthy family in the capital would wear, so its colors were more vivid than the plain clothes they made on the island with the few available materials. It had lots of decorations such as frills added to it, earning her the envy of the village children.

* * *

『Lulu, that looks so niiice!』

『So many pretty colors.』

『I want a set as well.』

『Me too.』

『Lulu is going to become Earl Baumeister-sama's wife in the future and Lulu's child is going to become our village chief. For this reason, restrain yourself for now.』

The vice-village chief told the girls, who were jealous after seeing Lulu's new outfit, to give up since Lulu now had a different standing. It was a fairly pragmatic approach.

『Then I'm going to become Earl Baumeister-sama's wife as well!』

『Me too!』

『I will do it as well!』

『Hey...』

However, once only the little girls started to kick up a fuss about becoming my wife, I couldn't let this go on any longer and complained to the vice-village chief.

『Please forgive them. They went with the flow... but, we do need a village chief or town mayor.』

Even as he apologized, he didn't forget to object that they'd need a village chief to keep the people together.

『We'll be able to buy clothes, once the village settles down. Candy-san's clothes aren't that expensive.』

Something like that happened, but she, err, he had a top-notch ability as fashion coordinator, resulting in Lulu looking even cuter in his clothes. The village girls were probably jealous of that.

Even though it's his specialty to doll up women, Candy-san himself looks rather special...or, somewhat eccentric...

Almost as if he was a tender-hearted robot who didn't look like it at all.

『Well, this girl is lovely and she'll definitely become a beauty in the future. Isn't that great, Earl Baumeister-sama, you playboy?』

『Argh!』

Candy-san accurately chose everything else for Lulu, like her shoes, spare clothes, underwear, and so on, but when he hit my back with his ridiculous strength as usual, I thought I might stop breathing then and there.

His strength was on par with Doushi's.

* * *

"She's a girl, so I will assist you on the parts that are hard to handle for a guy like you, Vel-kun. I always wanted to have at least one girl myself as well."

While having such a conversation with Amalie-san, the magic airship flew across the southern sea. Other than the archipelago situated at the southern tip of the Baumeister Earldom, we didn't find any other big islands thus far.

The biggest island to date was the pleasure garden of monsters and serpents, where Lulu lived. Given that it'd be difficult for ordinary people to live there, we'll probably develop it into an adventurer island.

Other islands were mostly small and uninhabited. They didn't show any signs of previous colonization either. Because the surroundings of those smaller islands were infested with serpents, one wouldn't be able to live on them, unless they're quite confident in their own strength, so it's only natural for them to house no people.

"Earl Baumeister, it would be best to abort the exploration soon!" Doushi offered me his opinion.

This was an exploration to establish the sphere of influence and rule of the Baumeister Earldom. As such it'd bear no meaning to take control over islands which are too far away.

It'd increase the costs for governing those places and the Kingdom should be planning to launch a southern expedition with the Lingaia, too.

If I extend the Baumeister Earldom too much, the Kingdom might become wary of me, so it's better to stop and claim everything up to here as my territory.

Doushi gave me this opinion because he understands His Majesty's line of thinking.

"Around three days with a magic airship. I guess it's time to turn around."

"Indeed. I want to see my wife and daughter." Burkhart-san agreed as well.

But, just when we were about to do a U-Turn, a young lookout shouted, "I see a huge island in front!"

"Again!?"

No way! For us to find a big island in this place... would it have been better to have turned back a bit earlier?

"Anyway, we're going to investigate the island."

I also tried to observe the island which gradually grew bigger as we approached, and I must say, it's unexpectedly big. Moreover, it isn't uninhabited either.

The island has a port. It's small but several small wooden ships are moored there.

It looks like serpents don't appear that often around here. Most likely the residents of this island haven't made contact with House Baumeister yet because the area north of them was teeming with serpent nests and turfs.

"Are they living on this island alone or is there another country further south?"

We probably won't know the answer to that unless we ask the islanders. Either way, this place was going to be the last stop, so we started our reconnaissance and investigation.

"It is unknown whether they will actually listen to us!"

Just as Doushi says, they might be dangerous people who will immediately try to remove the outsiders. We should probably be very careful in our approach.

"Captain, we'll postpone the landing. Investigating the entire island from the sky is more important for now. Please be mindful of ranged attacks such as spells and arrows."

"As you command, Milord!"

"Earl-sama, it's a fairly odd island, I gotta say."

We checked the island with binoculars, but it was extremely different in nature compared to the islands thus far. The island was surrounded by precipitous cliffs for the most part. The places where you could build ports were few and far between.

"Is it just rocks? No, wait. I can see greenery on the island too."

As we gazed from high up, we found forests, huge fields, towns, and a luxurious mansion that seemed to be the dwelling of the ruling class.

"Earl-sama, isn't this whole place a volcano's crater?"

"Now that you mention it, it certainly looks like it."

"It seems to not have erupted for many years though. Well, if it had, people probably wouldn't be able to live here."

Rather than an island, the tip of a volcano was protruding out of the ocean here. Nature and people had taken residence inside its crater. Going by the island's state, the volcano should have erupted for several thousands of years, Burkhart-san speculated.

"Earl Baumeister, it is just like Mizuho!"

"True."

The mansion, houses and fields on the island; the longer you look at it, the more it seems like the Mizuho Dukedom. It doesn't appear as though they developed technologies as far as Mizuho did, but since the houses, which seemed to belong to farm families, used thatch roofs, I could only think of Mizuho when looking down on the island.

"Are those the people Duke Mizuho previously mentioned as companions, who were separated from them?"

"Maybe."

As a matter of fact, it's something I previously heard from Duke Mizuho. The Mizuho ancestors possessed a protectorate, or rather, something like an autonomous, self-governed country, in the Savage Lands. That place became uninhabitable as an after-effect of the Ancient Magic Civilization's collapse, and they moved to the current Mizuho Dukedom while searching for a place to move to.

It was a truly great migration, but several groups apparently broke away from the main group and chose different options.

『Now then, I wonder if those people managed to safely migrate to a new land. So far, we couldn't confirm the existence of our brethren inside the Lingaia Continent.』

In that case, they had to have left the continent. West doesn't work because of the demon country over there, but north, east, and south are possible options. And now we've found people who look like Mizuho in the south.

"Even if we only learn this much, it's already worth something, but what are we going to do, Earl-sama?"

Yep, it's great that we found another island, inhabited by people we deem to possibly be Mizuho people, but how should we proceed here?

"The island lies within the Baumeister Earldom!"

"No, let's have the Kingdom take care of this place."

If this place had been uninhabited, it'd have been fine to claim it as my territory, but this island is quite big. The population might be bigger than that of the Baumeister Earldom. If we take in the island and its people, it'll have a big impact on the rule of the Baumeister Earldom.

"How about the Kingdom goes with the Mizuho style of government?"

Just like the time when the Mizuho Dukedom used to be the Earl Mizuho Country, we would make them obey the Kingdom and only take the profits from trading with them. I think this is the method with the least effort for the highest yield.

"I think His Majesty would consider that option as well, but first we have to find out about this island's governmental system! It is not necessarily said that there must be one ruler!"

If the island is divided by several powerful lords, and in case these lords frequently fight each other, we won't know who we will need to win over to make the island yield to the Kingdom. Doushi suggested investigating that part first.

At times like these, Doushi is a very capable representative of His Majesty, I have to say. I'd like him to consider using at least 5% of his current capability under normal circumstances as well.

"Fortunately, many people have gathered!"

"People? Bah!"

What Doushi found were two armed groups of around 200 to 300 people who were glaring at each other. In short, they were about to start a battle with small military forces.

At that point, I guessed that this island wasn't peaceful.

"Doushi, that's obviously a battle..."

"It seems so, but it is the perfect time because there are two groups already gathered there! We will have two sources for information!"

"Wait, you think they will honestly tell us what we want to know?"

Burkhart-san was at his wit's end because of Doushi's extreme optimism. No matter how small their forces might be, he was talking about meddling with those groups which were about to fight any moment.

"There are no strong magicians among them! Either army only has one magician at intermediate level!"

I also tried to probe the battlefield and came to the same conclusion as Doushi. Both sides had one magician each. And Doushi probably plans to overpower them with brute force, if they're hostile towards us.

"It is no problem for us!"

"We can win, I think, but shouldn't we have a proper talk first? Things will become troublesome if we draw too many grudges on us."

I doubt that we need to worry about getting killed, but I thought we could ask for a talk in a more peaceful and suitable place than a battlefield.

But, Doushi was high-handed and was trying to get in-between both armies while dragging Burkhart-san and me along. It looks to me like he also aims at trying to stop the conflict, but we're talking about Doushi here, so I feel like he'll rout both armies.

"Sensei! I will go as well!"

""Me too!""

Next, Agnes, Betty, and Cindy declared that they'd come with us.

"It's dangerous, so you better stop."

Our adversaries are groups who cannot use magic, but I'll be in a bind, if we're taken by surprise and something happens to the girls. As such, I rejected their request.

"Sensei, we've been diligently training up until now."

"We also consider the possibility that we'll need to deal with such a situation someday."

"And that possibility is now."

Agnes and the other two aren't children anymore. They declared that they'd follow me because they'll become combat assets as magicians. As far as I'm concerned, I think it's still too early for them, but...

"Earl-sama, you seem to be very soft on your own pupils. If we're speaking about their abilities, the girls are already full-grown adults. You should take them along. I'll back them up as well."

"Got it."

Persuaded by Burkhart-san, I decided to bring the girls with me.

Am I making my cure pupils go on a trip...or into battle?

"Don't let your guard down."

"""Okay."""

"Okay, let's go then."

Because it'd be dangerous to land the airship, we tried to get in-between both armies with Flight.

"A flying ship!"

"The ship is floating in the sky!"

Spotting the airship in the sky, they were surprised while pointing fingers. It looks like they haven't even seen any magic airships thus far, despite possibly being Mizuho people. Maybe their technological level dropped during the last ten thousand years.

"You people! Stop your dispute right away and listen to me! I am Earl Baumeister."

Given that it'd be problematic if they ignored us and started to fight anyway, all of us landed between the two armies and I loudly introduced myself.

"Magicians?"

"They ain't from this island. That much is sure."

"A flying ship... that means they came from the outside?"

The soldiers continued to whisper amongst each other while looking back and forth between us and the airship. On a closer look, it became clear that they weren't regular soldiers. Their commander wore extravagant armor with a helmet like it was worn by generals during the Warring States period, but the rest mostly wore plain equipment. They were scattered all over the place, unable to keep proper ranks. Their commander has likely gathered the peasants and organized them into this riff-raff.

"Who are you people?"

""""""Eh?""""""

The commander and someone appearing to be their second in command appeared from one of the armies, but we got surprised.

"Women...?"

I don't know whether she's their lord or general, but one of them was a girl in a shrine maiden outfit whose long, black hair was pretty as it extended all the way down to her knees. Not only was she beautiful, but she had an aura about her that made clear her noble descent from just looking at her. She was holding a halberd in her hand.

The other woman, who appeared to be the girl's second in command, wore armor and helmet as a male military commander would.

"My name is Akitsushima​ Takaomi."

"She is the person who has been ruling Akitsushima​ Island!" The pretty warrior girl declared.

(Note: Akitsushima​ is an old name for Japan and also a province of Yamato, another old name of Japan. Nowadays you’d define its location as Honshu, Japan’s main island. In the past this place was seen as Japan because that’s where the first humans landed, and later it became a province when people started to find the other islands around Honshu.)

Ms. Second-in-Command looks a bit inflexible, but she's quite a beauty nonetheless. The short-cut fits her nicely, making her look energetic.

"She is the ruler of this island?"

"Indeed!"

"Why are you fighting against an army of similar strength then?"

I thought Doushi had butted in without thinking anything, but he immediately pointed out the contradiction in Ms. Second-in-Command's claim.

Still, the shrine maiden has a male name despite being a woman?

I got that this island is called Akitsushima​ Island, but what's the point in naming it while using island twice in its name?

(Note: Akitsushima​ contains 洲 (shima), which can mean island.)

"Akitsushima​-san, why do you have a male name?"

"Earl Baumeister-dono, do you know about our race despite coming from the outside?"

"I guess you could say I know people similar to you."

I gave Ms. Second-in-Command a simple explanation of the Mizuho Dukedom.

"Oh my god! For our old comrades to have developed to such an extent..."

Hearing about the details from me, she couldn't hide her surprise about her comrades having established a country in the north of Lingaia Continent.

In my eyes, the Mizuho Dukedom seemed to be overwhelmingly ahead in population, national power, and technological development. As a result of having lived for more than 10,000 years on this island alone, the islanders fell behind drastically.

Moreover, there existed another concern.

"You're making the ruler of this island laugh! You can't even muster more troops than I do!"

A young man in full armor showed up from the other army. He was almost as big and forged as Doushi. Anyone could see that he was a brave general. He appears to be the general of the other army.

"Sensei, isn't Akitsushima​-san's side at a disadvantage?"

It's probably just as Agnes says. If the army strength is more or less equal, the strength of the supreme commander becomes a key factor.

Moreover, the big guy was a magician. Akitsushima​-san was a magician as well, but no matter how you look at her, she doesn't give me the impression of being suited for battle. If they fight, Akitsushima​-san's side is very likely going to lose.

"Ugh, all of you guys are magicians, eh...? Moreover..."

Agnes, Cindy, and Betty had finally managed to join us in the advanced ranks. No one among us would get defeated by the young man. His mana capacity was that of an intermediate magician, so even if he did a handstand, he wouldn't be able to win.

Knowing that, he tried to not agitate us as much as possible.

Different from his appearance, he seems able to think things over calmly.

"You may name yourself!

"My name is Shichijo Kanenaka!"

As soon as I thought I heard that name somewhere, it seemed to belong to a Warring States commander...the same name despite a different world? Is this coincidence?

"By the way, why are you fighting?"

"It's because we don't have any water..."

According to Shichijo Kanenaka, it hasn't been raining on this island recently and since there's few rivers on top of that, they're troubled as their crops aren't growing.

"The Akitsushima​ Palace owns a spring with a lot of underground water. If we had this water, we wouldn't need to worry about our crops withering away either."

"Don't say such selfish things! We're also just barely managing with the water we have!"

I won't know unless I ask for the details, but Akitsushima​-san's ancestors must have had a status similar to that of Duke Mizuho. And now they're only ruling over this small patch of land. On top of that, Shichijo Kanenaka, who might be the descendant of a former retainer, is targeting their water source.

"Isn't it possible to peacefully split the water?"

"NO! We even went as far as praying for rain, but at this rate, the crops will wither away until the harvest! Once that happens, many residents might starve to death. Even if I must become a villain and steal the water source from the Akitsushima​ family, I need to secure the water!"

I suppose it's not like Shichijo Kanenaka started this war because he wanted to. On the other hand, everything can be resolved if they get their water.

"I understand your feelings, but if the residents of the Akitsushima​ family run out of water because of that, they will also die from starvation!"

"Even so! I told you, didn't I? I shall become the villain! With our current amount of water, only half of our people are going to survive!"

Shichijo Kanenaka took another step forward and glared at Doushi, his eyes clearly telling him that outsiders shouldn't run their mouths about things they don't understand.

"There might exist another means. If you go to war, it will be difficult to keep the casualties to zero! Think about it calmly while you still have time!"

"Outsider, stay out of this! Hand over the Akitsushima​ Palace!"

Shichijo Kanenaka tried to challenge Akitsushima​ while ignoring Doushi. But, with his strength he wouldn't be able to win against Doushi, no matter how much he struggles.

Because he understood this very well, he stressed the part about Doushi being an outsider and made sure that he wouldn't meddle in the battle.

He probably thinks that his chance of victory is high, if his opponent is Akitsushima​-san.

"Won't you have a duel against me? As fellow magicians!"

"You bastard! O-Ryou-sama is a healing magic practitioner! She isn't suited for fighting!"

O-Ryou-sama? Is this Akitsushima​-san's real name or something?

"Humph! What about it? It's different during times of peace, but being weak under the current circumstances is a sin! Hosokawa Fujitaka!"

The real name of the second-in-command girls seems to be Hosokawa Fujitaka. Another male name for a woman?

But, given that Shichijo Kanenaka is a guy, I suppose it's not like all named military commanders are women. Do they have a custom of naming their family heads like military commanders, regardless of gender?

"Doushi, it sounds like they have various complicated problems going on."

Or rather, must I really rule over such a troublesome island? When it comes to getting my hands on Japanese produce and interacting with a Japanese-styled culture, there's the Mizuho Dukedom, so it'd be best to yield this island to the Helmut Kingdom.

Yep, let's do that.

"Doushi, the Kingdom can manage this island."

"No!"

"Haaah?"

What does Doushi hate about this? Is he saying that it's better to entirely leave this island, which is quite far away from the capital, to me while considering the costs to rule it as representative of His Majesty?

"Just as previously promised, this island is set to become part of the Baumeister Earldom! One must always uphold one's loyalty when it comes to managing a state!"

"Doushi, only at such convenient times..."

Upholding loyalty? Isn't stuff like that just a front anyway?

It was pretty clear that he was trying to push this troublesome island on us.

"Earl Baumeister-dono, what are you people talking about?"

"Err, you see, Hosokawa-dono, as a matter of fact..."

While Doushi and I were pushing the rule of this island back and forth between us, Burkhart-san explained our situation to Hosokawa-san.

"What!? The Lingaia Continent has been ruled by two great nations over the last 10,000 years and the land, which used to be our homeland, became part of the Baumeister Earldom? Moreover, you say you're extending your hands for the rule of this island as well?"

Hosokawa-san seemed quite flustered. While they had only lived on this island for the last 10,000 years, a major power had approached them from the outside without them realizing.

"Having said that, it looks like the Kingdom would be bothered with this as well, so how about turning the ruler of this island into a noble of the Helmut Kingdom...? As long as you do trade with us afterwards..."

I still got enough land to develop myself, so I don't need to rule such a problematic island. We'll have them bow their head to the Kingdom, so wouldn't it be okay to give the local ruler the rank of Earl? As for the trade, we'll provide the necessary magic airships.

Because the seas around here are swarming with serpents, that's the best method. I'm definitely not thinking about monopolizing the trade network to make a huge profit. Definitely not.

"Hey! This island has no ruler."

At this point, Shichijo Kanenaka butted into our conversation.

"Really?"

"You think we'd quarrel over water to such an extent, if we had someone like that? Though you can see the family of the former ruler over there."

"You mean Akitsushima​-san?"

"Yep. In the distant past, the Akitsushima​ family was a distinguished family with a long history, succeeding the Mizuho family."

I see. 10,000 years ago, the Mizuho and Akitsushima​ families split up. The Mizuho family discovered its new home in the continent's north inside the Great Akitsu Basin. Influenced by the Empire, they changed their names to katakana, but they preserved a big part of their magic technology and expanded their influence.

The Akitsushima​ family, which fled to an isolated island in the distant south, probably collapsed since they were treated with contempt by people like Shichijo Kanenaka. I guess nowadays they have a small patch of land left.

"In the past the Akitsushima​ family ruled over this island. Nowadays, us lords have become independent and continue small skirmishes. There are a lot of conflicts with neighboring lords over territory, rights, and water sources."

No one is clearly ruling over this island. And thus I cannot make anyone bow their head to the Kingdom either in order to bring the whole island under royal rule either.

There's also the matter with the demons... so I don't need any more troubles.

"I see... Then we'll have them join the Kingdom once someone rules over this island. We'll endorse that person as well. Okay, bye then."

"That is impossible!"

While praying for the appearance of a hero who would unify the island, I decided to leave the island to its own devices for the moment, but Doushi rejected that idea with all his might.

"Since the Kingdom is going to start its southern exploration from this island, we cannot leave things unsettled like this!"

I guess the Kingdom wants to use this island as a base camp for its southern exploration. And sure, it'll affect the exploration, if this island remains in a state of constant battles.

"But, it seems quite a bother."

I don't know how many separate powers exist on this island, going by these people's names, I cannot shake off the bad feeling that they're in the midst of a turbulent war period. If I make a move here, I'll obviously get dragged into all these troublesome matters...

"That means we will have Akitsushima​-san unify this island and get her a peerage in the kingdom..."

It's great that I found an objective. All that's left is for her to do her best with her own power.

Me?

I'm going to pray for her success in unifying the whole island.

"Unfortunately the Akitsushima​ family is the weakest power on this island. They don't have more than 500 residents."

I don't know how many people live on this island, but it's not that different from my parent's family. Looking closely, there are children and old people in the military force of the Akitsushima​ family.

It seems like they gathered as many people as possible to stop Shichijo Kanenaka from stealing the water.

"Hahaha! The fallen Akitsushima​ family is going to unify this island!? There are dozens of big lords, who exceed us in power, on this island! Outsider, you use big words! Even the existence of that Kingdom of yours is shady at best! You guys are in the way!"

"Who's in the way, you muscle-headed idiot!?"

"Evil bastard who's stealing the water of others!"

"In the first place, you're way too stuffy!"

Agnes, Betty, and Cindy had stayed silent so far, but now they insulted Shichijo Kanenaka for stealing the water of others.

At times like these, women are much stronger than men, aren't they...?

"Shut your flaps, lasses!"

Shichijo Kanenaka couldn't win against my pupils, but losing his cool, he tried to grab the three."

"Hey, don't assault my pupils!"

"What!? You act all braggy despite not understanding our circumstances! Earl Baumeister, right? You're certainly an incredible magician, but if it's close combat...!"

Shichijo Kanenaka apparently judged that everything would be resolved if he could swiftly defeat and constraint me. Suddenly he switched his target to me.

"If I catch and use you as a hostage, I'll be able to demand whatever I like!"

"It'd be nice if it was that easy."

He's one of the few, valuable intermediate magicians. So I guess it's only natural for him to get carried away.

I think it's a good idea to restrain me, who's the leader of our party, but that only applies if he succeeds.

Doushi and Burkhart-san didn't move at all as they had apparently decided to leave everything to me.

"Good grief, just for the record: this is legitimate self-defense. You started this, so it's your own fault."

"Shut it! Being weak is a sin on this island!"

Shichijo Kanenaka charged his arms with mana and grabbed my shoulders, but he immediately let go of me after feeling a powerful electric shock. I had improved 『Area Stun』 and now it numbed the hands of anyone trying to touch me.

"Wh-!? My arms!"

"Your arms shouldn't be usable for a while. There's no way that an intermediate magician like you can win against an advanced magician like me with a simple move."

"We won't know unless I try!"

Next Shichijo Kanenaka charged his leg with mana and kicked at me.

"Ouchh─!"

However, because I deployed a strong Magic Barrier, Kanenaka's leg broke with a nasty cracking sound. Due to the overwhelming pain, Shichijo Kanenaka rolled around on the ground while screaming.

"Now then, a message for everyone following Shichijo Kanenaka!"

I created a huge Fireball and released it at a nearby rock. The fireball hit precisely, turning the rock into syrupy goo.

Witnessing that, Kanenaka's soldiers all became ghastly pale.

"I'd like to discuss matters peacefully. All of you, could you stop fighting?"

""""""""""......""""""""""

Seeing that their own lord was no match for me at all, they all threw their weapons away and surrendered. It's truly great that I got them to listen to my very sincere persuasion.

Because of this, the pointless dispute finally settled down.

* * *

"Are you going to heal him, Doushi?"

"Mmh, that is a good idea!"

"A─ah, it was nice to have you..."

"Eh? What do you mean, Burkhart-dono? Guuuoooaaa─!"

In the end, Shichijo Kanenaka surrendered after getting injured and thus the pointless battle over water came to a close. It's nice that there have been no casualties.

It was decided that Doushi would be healing his wound, resulting in Shichijo Kanenaka screaming while being hugged by Doushi, but everyone pretended to not hear it.

After all, it's nothing new for us at this point.

"Earl Baumeister-sama, thank you very much for sparing Kanenaka-sama."

The army of Kanenaka dispersed, but his retainers thanked me for not having killed their lord. Apparently this guy is more popular among his fief's population than I thought. He's someone who can make the decision to steal another fief's water source without minding being labeled as villain for the sake of not allowing his people to starve to death. Deciding to take the blame yourself isn't as simple as it may sound.

"Kanenaka-sama is a reckless idiot, but he is a good lord for us."

"Kanenaka-sama is somewhat like a wild boar, but he is a decent lord who doesn't ask for high taxes and doesn't indulge in luxury himself either."

"Kanenaka-sama isn't all that smart, but he goes out to hunt and shares his haul so that the residents of his fief won't run out of food."

It's certainly true that they like him, but it sounds like they consider him to have a slight problem with his brain. While getting treated by Doushi, Kanenaka became teary-eyed due to being treated like an idiot by his retainers, but everyone pretended to not see this.

Him not being betrayed despite that is a proof of him being a good lord.

"By the way, what are you going to do from now on?"

We stopped a battle between two powers from happening, but just as Hosokawa-san says, we haven't yet decided on a plan on how to proceed from here.

"As long as we can live on this island, we won't mind entering under the rule of the Helmut Kingdom."

"Are you sure? Akitsushima​-san, you have no problems with that?" I asked about the opinion of Akitsushima​-san who was standing next to Hosokawa-san.

"Originally I didn't even possess territory for my own. Fujitaka has been supporting me for the reason that her family has been serving our family for generations. It's true that the Akitsushima​ family ruled over this island in the past, but I don't harbor any such ambitions or even the ability to do so.I'll be fine as long as everyone can live happily."

Unfortunately, she lacked the ability as statesman, despite having enough charm to be idolized by her people. Hosokawa-san was in charge of politics, meaning she's like Roderich for our house.

"Akitsushima​-san, you're a magician, aren't you?"

"Yes, I can only use healing magic, however."

I don't think that this is the reason for her to wear a shrine maiden outfit, but I guess she's an expert at healing.

And Kanenaka, whose healing had finally finished, possessed talent as a brave general.

"I lost to Earl Baumeister and because of that, I'll obey you. But, we're truly troubled because we lack water. I wanted to avoid a war, but I'm the lord. I couldn't stand by and watch my people starve to death. Even if it meant that the residents of another fief would have to starve in exchange. I don't care about being treated as a villain. Not being able to make such a decision would disqualify me as lord."

It's not like Kanenaka wanted to attack the Akitsushima​ fief out of fun. He chose that option while thinking of his residents.

"But, in the end you're still an idiot."

"I can't deny that..."

Being insulted as an idiot by Agnes, Kanenaka became teary-eyed. He seems to be unexpectedly worried about his lacking smarts.

"Water, huh...? Does this island have a river or ponds?"

"Those exist in the center of the island, but they're naturally part of other lords' fiefs."

I guess arbitrarily drawing the water would be out of the question then. No matter the world and era, the conflict over water rights is always relentless. I hear that it often leads to huge numbers of victims.

"What have you done so far?"

"We store the rain water in a reservoir. Though it's empty because it hasn't been raining for a while..."

If they don't secure water somehow, the residents will very likely start stealing water from each other.

"Can't you dig wells?"

"That's impossible. The underground of this island is covered by a thick rock layer."

"And you can't break it with magic?"

"It was impossible for me. The rock didn't break as I lacked power."

"Wouldn't it work out if you chipped away at it bit-by-bit every day?"

"I'd do that if I could. Let me show you directly, rather than standing around here talking."

Kanenaka guided us to the huge reservoir in his territory. The whole thing was completely empty and the reservoir's bottom was covered by a mysterious, black rock.

"That's a weird color for a rock, isn't it?"

"If it was normal rock, I'd reach a water vein someday, if I kept breaking it slowly. But, this rock didn't budge, even when I used my whole force on it."

"This is 『Black Hard Rock』, isn't it? In that case, you won't be able to break it."

(Note: Black hard rock as in basalt, most likely.)

According to Hosokawa-san's explanation, most of the underground water veins on this island are covered by this 『Black Hard Rock』 and because of that, the entire island lacks water. Underground water exists, yet they don't have any means to get to it.

"Doushi, how about it?"

"I will give it a try!"

The black rock doesn't get chipped when struck by average power. This piqued Doushi's interest and he declared that he'd strike the rock with all his power.

"Will you be alright?"

"Do not worry, Burkhart-dono! Even nowadays, my mana is still rising! It will be fine if I use all my power!"

The 『Black Hard Rock』 is tough and on top of that, it's a layer of more than ten meters. Or rather, the majority of this island's surface consists of 『Black Hard Rock』. Soil has simply gathered atop of it over tens of thousand years.

"Does that mean this island is actually abundant with water?"

"Yes, it's a different matter whether you can actually use the water, though."

"You can't break the rock with magic?"

"Magicians of the distant past were able to do it, but..."

Probably as a side effect of having been secluded on this island, it's become rarer for magicians to appear among the humans living on this island for the last hundreds of years. Moreover, advanced magicians have stopped appearing altogether. In exchange, their abilities as magicians have apparently become easier to be inherited within families for some reason.

Although it's just intermediate level, Akitsushima​-san and Kanenaka come for families with generations of magicians.

After such an explanation, I asked, "So your abilities as magicians gradually deteriorated in return for them becoming hereditary?"

I guess it means something is different here, compared to the Lingaia Continent. However, some great scholars can later research what exactly is causing this difference. Right now, we don't have the time to bother with this.

"Well then, I will get to it right away!"

Doushi immediately took action. He flew up in the sky with Flight and after covering his body with a firm Magic Barrier, he dropped towards the ground at full speed like a cannonball.

"Man, doesn't he know any better ways to get it done...?"

Burkhart-san was appalled by Doushi's way too straightforward approach, but I think it's a good method. He's trying to smash the black hard rock by turning his huge frame into a projectile and even using the fall speed to his advantage.

Though, personally I wouldn't have chosen this way. I mean, it'd hurt a lot, if I failed with it.

"Is that gentleman going to be alright?"

Akitsushima​-san was worried about Doushi. She seems to be a very kind woman. But, I'd like her to not worry about Doushi. There's no way something would happen to Doushi from just this much alone.

As soon as he crashed on the ground, we could hear the sound of an explosion and something cracking while a large amount of fragments were scattered all over the place. Burkhart-san and I calmly deployed our Magic Barriers, protecting Akitsushima​-san and the others.

"Thank you kindly, Earl Baumeister-sama."

It doesn't feel bad to get thanked by a beauty in a shrine maiden outfit. As I thought, shrine priestess clothes are really awesome.

"So? How did it go?"

Once Burkhart-san looked at Doushi's impact site, he spotted a huge crater in the center of the reservoir's bottom. It's around three meters deep.

Still, the black hard rock is extremely tough, I gotta say. Doushi attacked it with all his power and yet he only managed to dig three meters deep.

"Doushi, are you able to do this one more time?"

"I would like you to wait for tomorrow!"

Unfortunately, this one blow used up most of Doushi's mana. If it's like this for him, I guess it's only natural for Kanenaka to not have been able to dig even a centimeter into this.

He was lost for words while staring at the crater produced by Doushi.

"I suppose you'll get through the bedrock in three or four days then?"

"Earl Baumeister, there is also Luise-jou!"

"I guess it'd speed up things, if Luise also joined in..."

Following Doushi's advice, I went back home with Teleport, picked up Luise, and came back to Akitsushima​ island.

"O-Ryou-sama, it's the legendary magic of movements."

"It's my first time to see it."

Like the demons, the magicians of this island can't use Teleport either. Akitsushima​-san and Hosokawa-san were staring at me with eyes full of respect.

"Whoa! You've really found an island! Also, they wear outfits like the people of Mizuho. I want to have such clothes as well. They seem to be good for seducing Vel."

"Umm... this is a sacred outfit worn by those serving the gods...."

Luise was surprised after seeing this island and Akitsushima​-san's group. She wanted a shrine maiden outfit for herself, but since he reason for it was impure, she got rebuked by Akitsushima​-san.

"We have a request for you, Luise. It's about this bedrock over here..."

"Doushi attacked it with his full strength and yet he achieved only this much? What sort of rock is this?"

Luise was surprised by the black hard rock's toughness.

"Please use your previous finishing move on it."

"Ehhh!? That's out of the question since I'll become unable to move for several days. I'll use my whole strength and dig around as deep as Doushi, so you do the rest, Vel."

"Hm─m, no choice, I suppose."

Luise refused to employ the 『Big Bang Attack』 which she used in the Herthania Valley, since it'd be too much of a burden on her body. Despite that, she went to the bottom of the crater, charged most of her mana into her fist, and punched the ground with all her might.

"This also has some amazing power."

Once again, a large amount of fragments flew all over the place, so Burkhart-san and I protected everyone with our Magic Barriers.

"Next is my turn, huh...?"

As should be expected of the Magic Combat Style, Luise dug a deeper hole than Doushi. The crater has become even deeper, now being around seven meters deep in total.

"Seeing how the bedrock has a thickness of more than ten meters, my attack or tomorrow's attack of someone else will reach the water vein."

"You people are incredible. I couldn't even crack it by hitting it with all my power, and yet..."

Kanenaka couldn't hide his surprise over us outsiders breaking the rock no one on this island could damage thus far. But, if you aren't an advanced magician at the very least, there's no way you'll be able to damage the black hard rock, I think.

Maybe this rock will be useful for something. Let's take a small sample of it.

"Vel, you must leave a bit of mana."

"Don't worry. I don't want to drown in the water that's going to gush out either."

If I completely break the bedrock while using all my mana, I'll drown at the bottom of the deep crater. Just as Luise cautions, I must keep some mana to escape with Flight.

"Okay, I'll get going then!"

I decided to charge my fist with mana and punch the bedrock like Luise did. The efficiency won't be as good as the Magic Combat Style, but I've got more mana than Luise. I should be able to dig as deep as her, and even if I don't break through the bedrock, water should come out of this place by tomorrow.

"A-Alright! This is the last blow!"

I unleashed a third attack at the bottom of the crater. Rock fragments scattered all over the place once again, blocking my sight.

"How did it go? Oh? I guess it'll have to wait until tomorrow after all."

We should have passed the ten-meter-line by now according to my estimation, but there was still bedrock left.

Just when I thought that we'd need to finish the job tomorrow, the bedrock gradually started to crack. Those cracks slowly widened and then water gushed out of there. The amount of water gradually increased and finally the cracked bedrock gave way, resulting in water spraying out like a fountain.

I fled the crater's bottom with Flight while I still had time.

"The water came out faster than planned."

"Wooo─ow! You're my Lord from now on─!"

Kanenaka seemed quite happy about the gushing water. He kowtowed in front of me while crying tears of happiness. His retainers followed his example, and even Akitsushima​-san's retainers lowered their heads at me.

"Everyone, today is an auspicious day. A gentleman has appeared who is going to unify this Akitsushima​ island which has been divided and chaotic for a while now. Earl Baumeister-sama is going to become our new lord."

"Eh? Me?"

Suddenly Akitsushima​-san started to talk about me becoming the new lord. Everyone except for us agreed with that and lowered their heads.

I just broke the bedrock and secured water to stop the dispute...

"With this the insufficiency of our harvest due to water shortage will become history. The Kanenaka and Akitsushima​ fiefs will be able to grow a lot of produce on new lands."

"I'll become Earl Baumeister-sama's retainer. All of you are fine with this, right?"

"""""""""""Yes! No objection!"""""""""""

"Earl Baumeister-sama, you're our savior."

Because Akitsushima​-san, the one with the best pedigree here, announced her vassalage, no one opposed it. Instead people started to joyfully declare that they'd become my retainers or residents while lowering their heads.

I might not be able to escape my fate with this.

"Luise, what should I do?"

"It's an island that would have been assigned to our fief by the Kingdom anyway. So you gotta subjugate it either way, right?"

"There's also the matter with the demons..."

"Aren't you in a hurry because of that?"

"Do you think I'll be able to unify an island embroiled in a vortex of wars so easily?"

"You won't know unless you try, will you? Everyone will help you."

"It is just as Luise-jou says! I will cooperate as well!"

"(Then please unify this island by beating up everyone yourself. Once you're done, you can become the residential lord since I'll gladly appoint you)"

As might be expected, I couldn't say this loudly in the current situation, but I had to unify this island as quickly as possible.

Extra: Maid, Making Sweets together with the Demon Queen

"Man... it was such a terrible time..."

"Milord, you were really adorable."

"Hmph!"

"Ouuuch... Dominique-nee-san..."

"Why would you call him cute when the master you're serving experienced something terrible!?"

"Isn't it fine? He managed to return to normal in a day, right?"

"Do you know how sad Elise-sama would have been if he didn't manage to return to normal...?"

"Yesterday she called him cute while hugging him tightly."

"...Hmph!"

"Ouuuch..."

"You two are really funny, you know?"

At first Amalie-sama was the only maid going to the demon's country, but because we gradually realized that it was a safe place, we also were allowed to come along with Milord's Teleport.

Having said that, we took care of the babies while staying indoors for the most part. Right now we've come to the countryside... a place with lots of nature on the Baumeister House's exclusive magic airship, so I'm pouring all my effort into making food and sweets.

Oh, right. At the moment, the queen of the demons and the Prime Minister are with us. They're especially invested in making snacks.

The demon queen is still a little girl, so delicious sweets are indispensable and Layla-sama, the prime minister, is a young woman. There's no way she'd hate sweet stuff.

As a matter of fact, both wolfed down the sweets I served them earlier without leaving anything behind.

During that time, our lord turned into a cute puppy for some reason, but because this sort of trouble was common at the Earl Baumeister House, we already got used to it as well. So it's highly troubling that Dominique-nee-san dropped her fist on my head once again.

"Putting that aside, Lea, did you finish the pudding a la mode we're going to serve today?"

"That part is covered. Anna-san is giving it the finishing touches right now."

"That's a relief."

"Although it's true... that remark can be somewhat interpreted as you lacking trust in me, can't it?"

"Absolutely not. It means Anna-san has become skillful at arranging and decorating food thanks to your teaching."

...Is that really the case here? Most recently Anna's evaluation has only been rising while I feel like my position has become questionable...

"This is a foreign country, so I was anxious about the quality of the obtainable ingredients, but it ended up being a needless worry. They were cheap, too."

"That's true, isn't it? I actually was surprised that they were actually making a profit with those prices."

I heard from Milord that you could obtain good ingredients cheaply at the demon country, but now I can confirm it myself. We were given some demon money which had been exchanged for gold, but if you calculate it backwards, all of the foodstuff over here is cheap.

From our point of view, it's very welcome, but can the people, who make and grow all this food, actually make a living from it?

"According to the story Erwin-sama heard from Milord, the demon country seems to lower the production costs by running agriculture and animal husbandry on a large scale."

"And that makes it so cheap...? I don't quite get it..."

"I didn't understand it well either."

It's something neither Dominique-nee-san nor Anna-san comprehend, so there's no reason for me to understand it, but basically it means they can provide cheap meals and desserts.

"Anna-san, is today's pudding a la mode fine?"

"Yes. Fruits were cheap as well, so I added many different, high-quality fruits."

"Certainly, it looks very nice."

Anna-san married Erwin-sama just recently, but she's striving hard at her training. Previously the number of sweets and desserts she could make was quite limited, but she's improved in no time...

"What about my position?"

"What are you talking about all of a sudden, Lea?"

I'm but a frail girl who also worries about what might happen if I get fired.

"Ahem, today's pudding is quite hard."

"That was Milord's request."

"Didn't he talk about making the pudding as soft as possible until a little while ago?"

Milord regularly makes puzzling requests, but the most confusing one as of late was about the hardness of pudding. Up until some time ago, he had been saying that pudding is tastier the softer it is.

As a matter of fact, the pudding, which had become so soft that it couldn't maintain its shape and get into the bowl because of its extreme softness, was highly popular among Doushi-sama. But, most recently Milord made a cryptic remark about the fad having passed, and started to make hard pudding.

"The fad has passed... Dominique-nee-san, was pudding ever a fad?"

"There are many things to be found in Milord's remark that us commoners cannot understand, but it's a fact that hard pudding fits a lot better when finishing it up as pudding a la mode."

"It's really nice that it doesn't fall apart, even if you remove it from the form. Whipped fresh cream is a great, cheap decoration, too."

"It's easy to add fruits to it, isn't it?

Pudding a la mode. You add plenty of whipped cream to the hard pudding specified by Milord, and decorate it with all sorts of fruit slices. Cakes are great, but pudding a la mode is truly delicious as well.

"Lea, Anna-san, today you finished it nicely as well."

"Alright, let us serve this to Milord and the others."

If it's like this, Milord should be completely satisfied with the pudding as well.

Afterwards, we served the pudding a la mode to everyone and received raving reviews for it. All of them ate up their share.

"Will Milord change his thinking to 『Soft pudding is better』 again sooner or later?"

"Maybe. But, no matter whether it might be hard or soft pudding, it is our most important duty to answer his wishes."

Oohh! Being able to go this far over something as insignificant as the hardness of pudding; Dominique-nee-san is so damn serious about everything...

"Hmph!"

"Ouuuch... why did you hear my inner voice..."

"I've known you for a long time, so I can somewhat tell what you think."

I don't appreciate this keen discernment of my thoughts at all, so it'd be great if it could disappear for good.

* * *

"Myuu myuu."

"Dominique-nee-san, this puppy is very adorable."

"Lea-san, did dogs cry myuu myuu?"

"Going by my memory, I haven't encountered any such dogs. It's my first time seeing a pink dog, too."

"Anna-san, Lea, this puppy has become Her Majesty's pet dog. No need to pry any further into this."

After the snacks, the demon queen showed us a puppy which was crying in an odd way... although it's very fluffy and cute. Unintentionally I felt a desire to cuddle it.

"What do you think? My servant Creampuff is adorable, isn't he?"

"Yes, he's very lovely."

At times like this I envy Anna-san for being able to call something lovely without thinking about anything. Sure, the puppy is lovely, but many of its features make me want to retort..."

"Your Majesty, is Creampuff the name of this puppy?"

"Yes. I love cream puffs and they're also very popular in society. Bearing such a name, this child will become a great servant who's loved by everyone, I'm sure."

Cream puffs are definitely popular, but I wonder what to think about it as a name for a dog... maybe because she's the demon queen, her naming sense is somewhat close to that of Milord?

But, since Dominique-nee-san would hit me again if I voiced this out, I'll just smile silently.

"Your Majesty, is it okay for me to hug him?"

"You were Anna, right? Sure."

Anna-san is a professional smooth operator at such occasions. She's unexpectedly sharp when it comes to her own benefit, or rather, she doesn't let go of chances... I guess you could also call it shrewd.

She was happily holding the puppy... Creampuff-chan after accepting him from the demon queen.

"...Your Majesty, doesn't this puppy smell a bit?"

"Hmm... maybe it's because he hatched just a little while ago? He had been wet when he was born. Moreover, since he had been grooming himself, he might stink a tiny bit."

""Hatched?""

Huh!? Do dogs hatch out of eggs in the demon country?

"It means he was born. That's right, isn't it Layla-san?"

"Yes, it is as you say, Dominique-san. He was born."

Layla-sama, who has been following Her Majesty around, and Dominique-nee-san were obviously hiding something... not probing too deep into this is the trait of a superb maid, so I won't say anything further.

"You're right. This puppy smells slightly. I think it'd be good to wash him."

I also got to hug Creampuff-chan, but he smelled a bit too much to enjoy the fluff. Once he becomes sparky clean after getting washed in a bath, I'll probably be able to enjoy the fluffy sensation to its fullest.

"I also think he stinks a bit. I guess Creampuff will become a servant who's loved even more by everyone, if he washes and doesn't smell anymore. What do you think, Layla?"

"I think it is just as you say, Your Majesty. Creampuff is your servant. If he smells, it will negatively impact your reputation as well."

"You're right. I'll try to wash him in the bath tonight."

"Your Majesty, I will take care of something like this, so please leave it to me."

After all is said and done, Her Majesty is still the demon queen. It'd be better for her to leave the job of washing a dog to us. We can wash him while taking our own bath.

"Dominique-nee-san, your family kept dogs and we occasionally washed them, didn't we? It will be okay to have them leave it to us."

Back then we washed the dogs with water during the hot season, but washing with water or washing in the bath makes no big difference.

"I'm used to it, and with Anna-san and Lea present, it will pose no problem."

It's unthinkable to let the demon queen wash a dog, so we'll quickly take care of it with us three.

"No, I will wash Creampuff myself."

"But..."

"Earl Baumeister approved of it as well. Staying at his side and taking care of him as much as possible will turn him into an incredible servant in the future."

"""......"""

Does that basically mean she's going to train him as a watchdog and outstanding guard by herself? But, I don't think that the demon queen possesses experience as an animal trainer.

"Right now Her Majesty is eagerly studying various things to become a wonderful ruler. It would be a big help if you could regard this to be connected to that."

"I see, so that's what it's about. Okay, we shall help out as well."

"Forgive me, Dominique."

"No, this is also part of a maid's duty."

She's going to learn how to wash a dog to become a good demon queen? Is it something along the lines of actually understanding the things the commoners do by doing them herself? I feel like this demon queen resembles Milord in her way of thinking.

What if the demon queen and Milord get along... and then the demon queen also marries Milord...?

"(...There's no way, right?)"

While trembling, I whispered.

"Is something the matter, Lea?"

"No."

"Then let us wash Creampuff-chan during the evening bath time."

""Understood.""

Just like this, it was decided that we would be washing the dog together with Her Majesty and Layla-sama, but still... to name him Creampuff... the demon queen's naming sense is just too unique.

* * *

"I've been thinking about this for a while now, but the bathroom inside this ship is quite big. Don't you think so as well, Creampuff?"

"Myuu myuu."

"It has been constructed like this upon Milord's personal order."

"Hoh, so Earl Baumeister likes bathing, huh?"

On the same day at night, Anna-san, Dominique-nee-san, the demon queen, Layla-sama, Creampuff-chan, and I went to take a bath together. Given the size of the bathroom over here, we could easily get in together.

Milord often enters the bath together with his wives after all.

This ship has been built for longer expeditions and thus quite a bit of money has been invested into the construction of the bath to make it spacious and luxurious. In short, it's a bath suited to receive the demon queen.

"I guess we'll wash Creampuff at once."

"Your Majesty, Milord said that it would be fine for us to use this shampoo. Because it's for dogs, the scent is apparently suppressed."

"Earl Baumeister created such a shampoo? Nothing less of that man."

"He is very attentive to detail when it comes to being considerate. Something you wouldn't expect of an Earl."

As a matter of fact, this shampoo was developed by Milord after he received requests by many male nobles, begging him, 『A strong aroma for soap and shampoo is a big problem when coming back from going out at night!』. Because it's just a simple shampoo without scent, it's no problem whatsoever to use it on dogs either.

But, explaining this to the demon queen would... be bad from an educational standpoint, so I won't do that.

"First you apply warm water to his whole body except for the head, wetting the fur."

"Like this, correct?"

Probably because the demon queen personally poured warm water on Creampuff-chan, he was quite docile and obedient. I'm sure he's a very smart doggie.

"He's a lot smarter than the dumb mutt Dominique-nee-san kept in the past."

"Hmph!"

"Ouuuch..."

"Whose dog was dumb!?"

I mean, that mutt... always barked at me! Even if Dominique-nee-san and I are distant relatives, our relationship goes beyond that of real sisters, and yet the dumb mutt never learned it.

"Pero's judgment might not have been wrong. He just thought your true nature back then was suspicious."

"I feel like you're being mean to me here!"

"Ultimately, it was limited to suspicion. Anyway, once you properly wet the fur, you can foam up the whole body with the shampoo."

Somehow I feel like I was being skillfully deceived...

The demon queen applied the shampoo to Creampuff-chan's fur, making his body all foamy, but this doggy is truly docile, isn't he?

"Once you've washed the body sufficiently, you wash off the foam with warm water. Make sure that nothing is left."

"Creampuff, please stay still."

Apparently comprehending what the demon queen was telling him, Creampuff-chan let himself get washed by her without acting up. Seeing how he seemed to enjoy it, it might be that Creampuff-chan likes baths.

"Is it alright to wash his head as well?"

"Creampuff, close your eyes."

"Myuu myuu."

Dogs and cats hate it when you splash water on their heads. Because of that, many owners don't wash their pet's head, but Creampuff-chan followed the demon queen's instructions, closing his eyes and letting her wash the head as well.

"It should be okay with this. All that's left is to dry the wet body well."

Probably because of Creampuff-chan's cleverness, the washing finished much faster than expected.

"He's become so clean. We will look after Creampuff, so please take a proper bath, Your Majesty," Ina-sama showed up at just the perfect timing, seeing how we just finished to wipe Creampuff-chan's body, to pick him up.

She was talking about taking care of him, but her own desires were clearly included in this as well. She probably wants to cuddle the fluffy fur of Creampuff-chan after completely drying him.

I want to do that as well!

"Hmm, it looks like this number of people wasn't necessary. Your Majesty's Creampuff-chan is very smart, so it did not take much time and effort."

"That's because he's my servant..."

"Your Majesty, is something the matter?"

Even though we finally washed Creampuff-chan, the demon queen seemed to be worried about something. She stared at Dominique-nee-san fixedly.

"Seeing Layla, Dominique, and Anna, I suddenly wondered: is my chest going to become as big as yours once I grow up...?"

I see. The demon queen will soon reach that age... it's the same with demons as well, right? It sounds like she worries quite a bit about her chest growing big... Huh?

"Your Majesty, you forgot my name! Ughuuaah!"

"Is something wrong, Lea?"

"No, it is nothing. Your Majesty, you will grow up like us in due time."

Dominique-nee-san. Isn't this weird? I mean, I'm going to become Erwin-sama's wife very soon... in short, I'm close to being an adult woman. So, why am I not included in that "as big as yours" mentioned by the demon queen? No matter how much of a difference in standing there might be between us, this involves my dignity as a maiden, so I must hear the reason for it at any cost!

"Your Majesty, your skin is so pretty, so I am sure you will become a beauty in the future."

"Being told something like that makes me feel happy, but I value refining my inner values, knowledge and abilities to guide everyone as ruler, and beauty of heart that loves its subjects over my visible beauty."

The demon queen didn't appear to be overly happy about Anna-san's praise. She's got fairly high morals for her age. I guess I should expect as much from a demon queen.

"I must train myself much, much more," she stood up in the bath, striking a daunting pose while making such a declaration.

In the future she should become a beauty, but right now she's as flat as a washboard. As of yet, she cannot win against me. After all, I do look incredible, if I get naked.

"Lea, you still haven't slimmed down properly."

"Dominique-nee-san, please don't pinch my tummy flesh!"

When going out to shop in the demon country, I ended up buying lots of sweets because they were so cheap! Because Katharina-sama looked like she wanted them really badly, I shared some of it with her in secret.

The next morning, Katharina-sama carefully checked her weight in front of a mirror, but at noon she looked at me with a face as if she wanted some more sweets... ah, sheesh, I don't know what's what anymore.

"Creampuff's washing has finished without a hitch and I also took a proper bath. I'll get out now."

"Please wait, Your Majesty."

"What is it, Layla?"

"You have forgotten to wash your head. Your Majesty, keeping your personal appearance prim and proper is an important duty. You must wash your head every day."

"Is it really necessary to wash it so often? Creampuff doesn't wash it every day either."

"Your Majesty, you and Creampuff are different. Now, come here."

"But, you see..."

Is Her Majesty possibly bad with washing her head?

"The shampoo could get into my eyes."

"Please keep your eyes closed then."

"I might start to feel uneasy if I keep my eyes closed all the time while washing my head."

I can totally understand that feeling. I didn't like washing my head during my childhood either.

"Layla, this is an order as queen! Won't it be alright to wash my head tomorrow?"

"No, that will not do."

She had given me the impression of being level-headed for her age, but she also has some childish parts to her. Like her hatred towards washing her head.

"Your Majesty, do you dislike closing your eyes during the shampoo phase?"

"Yes! It makes me feel uneasy."

"In that case... I should give you this."

Dominique-nee-san left the bathroom for a moment and brought back something from the shelf in the dressing room.

"What is this big, thin donuts-like thing?"

"It is a broad-rimmed topless cap that has been invented by Master. If you put it over your ears like this, you can apply shampoo to your hair while keeping your eyes open."

Which reminds me, we also had something like that, didn't we? I'm sure it'll become necessary when Friedrich and the other children reach an age where they can enter the bath by themselves, but since no one is using it right now, I totally forgot about its existence.

"This is something absolutely indispensable to me! Layla!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Urged by the demon queen, Layla-sama put the shampoo cap on the demon queen's head and started to wash her pretty, blond hair.

Since she has such nice hair, she should wash it properly every day, I think.

"Wow, you can really wash the hair while keeping your eyes open."

The demon queen apparently took a liking to the shampoo cap, so there was worth in Dominique-nee-san having recommended it to her.

"Your Majesty, I am done."

"That shampoo cap is a truly nice thing. Maybe I should buy it from Earl Baumeuster."

"I agree with that."

As long as she has the shampoo cap, it'll make Layla-sama's work in regards to watching the demon queen's hair much easier.

"But, don't shampoo caps exist in the demon country as well?"

Going by the fairly advanced impression the city gave me while I was out shopping, I'd think that someone would come up with the idea of inventing a shampoo cap. Or does that mean our Lord is just that much of a genius?

"Ah, I feel totally refreshed now. Has Creampuff been behaving himself?"

* * *

After leaving the bath, the demon queen immediately went to check on Creampuff-chan, but Elise-sama and the other women were doting on him quite a bit. Creampuff-chan was staying very obedient too. Maybe...

"Does Creampuff-chan like women?"

"Why have you reached that conclusion? Right now he's being hugged by Doushi and yet he's remaining docile, isn't he?"

"Ohh! Even after becoming a puppy, you are quite cute!"

Just as Dominique-nee-san pointed out, Creampuff-chan was obedient even while being hugged by Doushi-sama... Eh?

"Dominique-nee-san!"

"What is it?"

"Did you see that just now?"

I saw it! It was just an instant, but the instant Creampuff-chan averted his face from Doushi-sama, he revealed an evil face as you wouldn't expect from a dog!

To me it looked like he was saying he's just playing the good boy here because he got no other choice. I witnessed him showing an expression that was completely different from his usual cuteness.

"Dominique-nee-san, you saw it, didn't you?"

"What? Creampuff-chan is a smart and cute puppy. Isn't that fine? At least, we need to perceive him in such a way."

"Okay..."

Afterwards Creampuff-chan became happy as he was being hugged by the demon queen, but is he really a puppy?

If you start questioning it once... no, we're maids, so if Milord and his friends say he's a puppy, then he's a puppy... but, later on I was told by Erwin-sama that Creampuff-chan was actually a dragon child that had been transformed into a puppy with a magic tool. Hearing that, I could totally agree with that explanation.