This chapter is LONG LONG!!!
Chapter 4: A Clean Sweep to Refresh Town and Heart
“I’ve seen the condition of the domain capital and the north–south disparity. Shall we head to my manor soon?”
“Ryoji-sama, your manor is that castle over there, isn’t it? Count Reim lived in a castle instead of a manor, then. I think this castle looks nicer than a manor in the royal capital — why did he live in the capital?”
“How much would the upkeep cost?”
A castle standing in the center of the domain capital came into view for Ryoji and the others. Carena muttered as she looked at the stately building, and Ryoji, wearing a weary expression, spoke to the gate guard.
“Hello.”
“What business do you have? We cannot let unrelated people pass! State your purpose!”
Faced with the guard’s stern attitude, Ryoji felt reassured by their duty-mindedness, pulled a letter from his storage, and showed it to the guard.
“Thank you for your service. Go fetch the person in charge.”
The guard eyed the letter he took from Ryoji with suspicion, then froze in astonishment at the contents and snapped to attention.
“My apologies! I will inform my superiors of Count Ryoji Uchino’s arrival. Hey! Tell Castellan Nicholas that the Count has come!”
“Yes, sir!”
The other guard answered and sprinted into the castle. Ryoji was about to follow, but the first guard casually blocked the path and began to question him.
“So? What are your impressions coming from the royal capital to Count Reim’s domain?”
“Let’s see. I looked at Lord Yuhan’s county and Lord Harrold’s duchy, and the royal capital as well, but Reim’s domain, especially the south, looks pretty down. I haven’t seen the north yet, so I can’t say for sure. The south has many villagers leaving because of bad weather and tax hikes, so we’ll need to intervene in various ways. Now, is the reason you’re blocking my path because you doubt whether I’m the real thing?”
“My apologies. I cannot judge from the letter alone whether you are truly Ryoji-sama. Once I can confirm, I’ll guide you in, so please cooperate.”
The guard said this with a bow and continued to block the way. After a short wait, a group of around ten people arrived at the gate. One older man in the group saw Ryoji and dropped to his knees, bowing deeply.
“My Ryoji-sama. Forgive me. I am Nicholas Sturm, the castle butler. I’m sorry to have detained you after your tiring journey from the capital.”
“It’s all right. I’m relieved the guards are performing their duties. I just came from seeing the malpractices of magistrates in the southern region. And thank you for your work as castellan. I expect your support from now on.”
“Those are kind words, but I turned my back on suffering subjects and sent money to Count Reim. The people will not accept me remaining as castellan after that. Therefore… I wish you to condemn me and clear the air.”
“What are you saying? Did you embezzle the tax increases like those southern magistrates? You acted under Count Reim’s orders, didn’t you? Or did you actually enjoy watching the people suffer because of the higher taxes?”
Ryoji’s cutting words enraged Nicholas, who sprang up and shouted.
“Who would take pleasure in causing the people’s lives to become harder! We even cut our own pay that remained in the domain to send money to the capital! Do you understand what that did to us? If I am not punished for making the people suffer, then my sin is—”
“That thinking is wrong. Many of the people hope things will change because I’ve come. I have ideas, but I can’t handle a vast domain alone. To restore the people’s lives to what they were — no, to make them better than before — I need your ability. Think punishment will atone for sin? Then work with me like your life depends on it!”
“…Understood. I will work with all my might for the Count and the people.”
At Ryoji’s rebuke, Nicholas bowed his head and held a silence for a moment. Then, as if steeling himself, he raised his head and answered with resolute eyes.
“Nicholas, I appoint you head civil official. Immediately, draw up a list of civil and military officers. We’ll interview them later and decide placements. Also, work with the others to investigate the condition of the entire county. Where should we provide food aid? Survey the level of hardship everywhere without omission. Then there’s road maintenance — prioritize by assessing which roads are damaged and which are most important. Report any other problems, and if there are disputes with neighboring domains, don’t hide them. Tell me about any dungeon information as well; I want to consider whether to tackle them.”
“Yes, sir! I’ll prepare a report and submit it within a month. Also, since Count Reim left for the capital, the soldiers’ discipline has collapsed. While patrols are being maintained, morale is extremely low and it’s causing problems.”
“Well now. The soldiers lack spirit, do they? Oh my. We’ll have to properly train them.”
Seeing Ryoji wear a broad, delighted smile at Nicholas’s report, Carena and Melta, who had been listening from behind, exchanged wry smiles at the soldiers’ prospects.
There was a training ground set up to the north of Rehm Castle. As Ryoji, guided by Nicholas, walked toward it, instead of the usual clashing of swords and shouted commands, he heard drunken laughter and crude talk.
“This is worse than I thought. I didn’t expect it to be this bad. I’ll have to train them properly.”
“Many of them won’t listen to me, so I had no choice but to ask Ryoji-sama to help. I’m sorry. By the way, how do you plan to train the soldiers?”
At Nicholas’s words, Ryoji gave a vague answer with a smile and stepped into the training ground.
“Leave it to me. I won’t do anything cruel.”
“Huh? Who’s this? This isn’t a place for kids or weaklings like the castellan! If you’re lost, turn around and go home! We’re busy — drinking today, you hear! Gya hahaha!”
“Why are you drinking during duty?! Count Ryoji Uchino is here to inspect the training ground! Show some discipline!”
With their rough manners and the smell of alcohol, the soldiers’ attitudes made Ryoji frown, and Nicholas barked at them. The soldiers, who’d been watching and grinning, started imitating Nicholas and laughing loudly and lewdly.
“‘Show some discipline,’ huh! What do you expect from drunks?”
“Hey. There actually are some halfway-decent soldiers here. Can’t believe they can talk back. I thought this place was full of low-level useless scum.”
“I don’t know if he’s a new count or what, but unlike some noble brat like you, we’re a unit made up of battle-hardened adventurers who risked their lives in the northern dungeon! If you want to play swordplay, do it in your room, not the training ground!”
One man stepped forward and threatened Ryoji. Nicholas, red in the face at the insults, shouted at the man.
“You lot! Insulting the Count! That’s beyond rude! Ryoji-sama holds the title ‘Hero of Drugul’! You lot aren’t even fit to face him!”
Nicholas’s words quieted the soldiers for a moment, but then they started laughing and ended in uproarious guffaws. Nicholas was about to say something about how his words had made them laugh when Ryoji signaled him to stop.
“That big laugh was because you thought Nicholas was lying, wasn’t it? I’ll show you the difference in caliber. Adventurers who risked their lives in dungeons, you say? Don’t go calling yourselves adventurers when you’re just loafers drinking up the lord’s absence.”
“Don’t get cocky just because you’ve been called a ‘hero’! We operated as C-rank adventurers! We’ll teach the Lord a lesson about the real world!”
Ryoji provoked them, and the soldiers grew furious, hand on swords, bristling with anger.
“Drunks are easy. Can you even swing a sword while drunk? We can do this tomorrow if you want. You’ll need an excuse when you lose, right?”
“I’ll make you cry for sure! Swinging a sword being a bit druml won’t dull my skill! Count, you better not regret this!”
“Spare us the talk. Come at us one by one.”
The soldiers fetched wooden swords from the training ground and hurled them roughly. Ryoji caught the wooden sword without difficulty, spat a line, and took up a stance.
“Heh. Is that all C-rank adventurers have? Weren’t you gonna make me cry? It’s the booze that’s dulling you. Who’s the strongest among you? I’ll fight that one. Or do you want to gang up on me?”
“You little—! Getting cocky just because you’re a bit stronger! Hey! Attack all at once!”
The soldier who’d first started the trouble was knocked out with a single stroke. For a moment everyone fell silent, then when Ryoji taunted them, all the hot-headed men charged, screaming.
Ryoji smiled at his trapped prey, gripped his sword, and slashed the wooden sword of the soldier in front of him with full force, cutting it clean off at the hilt. With the recoil, he struck the next soldier’s right arm hard, robbing him of his fighting ability.
As the soldier writhed with his arm bent in the wrong direction, everyone tensed — but Ryoji didn’t miss the moment of shock. He closed the distance and smashed wooden swords into the shoulders and thighs of the stunned soldiers, breaking bones and bringing them all down.
“You risked your life in a dungeon and this is what you are? You managed to survive? You’re weaker than the mushroom monster I beat.”
The group gritted their teeth at being told they were weaker than a mushroom monster. Being called weaker than a mushroom monster was synonymous to being declared unfit to be an adventurer. Having been shown the difference in class and with broken arms and shoulders, all they could do was clench their teeth and glare at Ryoji.
“If we hadn’t been drunk! We wouldn’t have made such a pathetic showing!”
“Oh. A template sore-loser excuse. Want a reward for that?”
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
As one soldier, his irritation mounting at Ryoji’s blunt remark, shouted, he was about to say something more when voices of surprise and apology echoed through the training ground.
“Sorry! The liquor store was closed so I got held up! Wh-what happened? Why are all the seniors taken out? Uncle Nicholas… no, Lord Nicholas—why are you here?”
“Hm? Hernan, boy? What are you doing here? You’re from a different unit, aren’t you?”
“The seniors ordered me to ‘go buy liquor’—so I—”
“Just because they asked you doesn’t mean you have to do everything! That’s why you’ll always be a lowly underling!”
Hernan, clutching bottles under both arms and looking a bit green, began to explain how he’d ended up buying the liquor. When Nicholas listened to the whole story, he put a hand to his forehead, heaved a great sigh, and then yelled angrily.
“Huh? This gentleman is Count Ryoji Uchino? The stories I heard say he’s so tall he has to look up at the sky, he always wears full mithril armor and never takes it off, and anyone who sees his true face is cut in two by an enormous mithril greatsword whose tip you can’t see, then incinerated by inferno magic so thoroughly not a speck’s left and their soul can’t even be saved—”
“Who says stuff like that! If someone like that existed the world would be doomed! And what even is ‘inferno magic’? And how would he normally carry that huge greatsword around?!”
“They say he keeps it in an item box given by the god Iorus.”
“You’re way too specific.”
Ryoji muttered a retort at Hernan’s idealized image of him, looking completely drained, and Hernan eagerly continued in a delighted voice.
“Yes! The hero I admire is Count Ryoji Uchino! Swordsmanship and magic to rival founding king Amadeo Sandstrom. The hero who slew three Ox-Men at once. The one who covered his whole body in mithril and was loved by the god Iorus. Four fiancées, one mistress in every town and village. A hero with both the capacity and the wealth to make girls happy. Truly a real hero! I mixed up his looks a little, but I respect Ryoji-sama! May I shake your hand?”[TN: NO! I’ll never write them minotaurs]
Overwhelmed by Hernan’s rapid-fire praise, Ryoji snapped back to awareness at the suggestion of a handshake and started shouting corrections.
“No! That’s not—”
“Huh? You do wear full mithril, and you have fiancées, right? And it’s not a lie that you defeated three Ox-Men at once, is it?”
“Well, yes! But—! It’s not exactly like that! Nicholas! What is with this kid!?”
“He’s always been a little bit over the top, so please forgive him.”
As Hernan looked a Ryoji with sparkling eyes full of admiration, he was apologized to. At that moment a pained voice rang out.
“Oi! Hernan! Go fetch the military doctor! Quit dawdling!”
A soldier who’d been knocked down by Ryoji bawled at Hernan to get a medic. Hernan scrambled to obey, but Ryoji raised a hand to stop him, used a little recovery magic to help the slumped soldier, and then spoke.
“Don’t dump chores on Hernan. If you need a medic, go fetch one yourselves. Hernan is more useful than you lot, it seems.”
“What did you say!? More useful than us!?”
“Is there anyone else here who has chores foisted on them by the seniors besides Hernan?”
“Yes! There are five others besides me who get tasked by the seniors. What of it?”
“Alright, then I’ll show you how useful Hernan and the others can be. Pick either one-on-one or team matches. Listen, Hernan. Your opponents are the seniors licking the ground. I’ll train you properly for a month.”
Hernan, who’d been staring dumbfounded between the senior soldiers and Ryoji, realized what he meant and screamed with joy at the top of his lungs.
“Will you accept as seniors? Or quit and go home to the countryside?”
“Fine. So you’re saying we’re definitely worse than Hernan, huh! Fine. We’ll have a match in a month—whatever you want!”
“Is that all right? Shouldn’t we just execute them for daring to point swords at a count—”
At Nicholas’s words, the soldiers remembered whom they’d insulted and challenged, and began trembling. Ryoji gave a wry smile and started laying out what would happen next.
“You lot think you pointed swords at the Count, but it was like a welcome party. I’m not going to punish you. Don’t go thinking your skill is enough to beat a B-rank adventurer.”
“A B-rank adventurer?”
“Didn’t you know? The Adventurers’ Guild has already asked me about promoting to A-rank. So of course, a bunch of C-rank fools acting big around someone like me ended predictably. Anyway—there will be matches with Hernan and the others in a month. Until then, no soldier duties. Train so you can fight at full strength. Don’t drink any alcohol until the match is over. If you drink while on duty, your punishment is morning cleaning. Do it every day without fail!”
“Y-yes. Got it. Hey! You lot! We’ll get our feel back for the dungeon and train for the match in a month!”
When Ryoji gave the order, the soldiers acknowledged the match a month from now and the morning cleaning duty, then headed for the military surgeon to have their wounds treated.
“Are you sure about this? Letting those guys go free like that? They might run off, you know.”
“They won’t. I’ll put someone on watch. Someone?”
“Ha! Here.”
At Nicholas’s prompt, Ryoji spoke to an empty spot and a figure in black dress knelt there.
“Keep an eye on the soldiers. Report any strange movement. By the way, how many of you are there?”
“We operate as a team of ten with Kuro-sama at the head. Two of us are assigned to guard Ryoji-sama. Orders acknowledged.”
The black-clad man answered Ryoji’s question, bowed, and vanished. Nicholas and Hernan stood dumbfounded as the sequence unfolded; Ryoji told them not to worry and began talking about the future.
“I cannot believe this. Me? Clean? Why don’t I just go with the first group into the dungeon? No one’ll be watching.”
One of the soldiers Ryoji had utterly humiliated tried to leave fully equipped at dawn. As punishment for the recent disturbance, instead of everyone heading into the dungeon at once, they were split into two teams to attack in turns.
The soldier heading out from the capital was supposed to be in the latter half, but he figured he could slip in with the first group and avoid cleaning, so he went to the meeting point.
“Hey. Where’re you going?”
“Hm? Heading to the dungeon now, so don’t get in the way.”
On his way to the stables, a hooded child spoke to him. It was odd to see a kid up so early, and the soldier, annoyed, answered begrudgingly.
“Huh? And, cleaning?”
“What? Where’d you hear that from… R-Ryoji-sama? Why are you in a place like this? Ah—ah! Right! I’m with the first group, so I’m heading to the dungeon now.”
When the soldier saw the child pull back his hood and realized it was Ryoji, his face went pale and he took a few cautious steps back, stammering excuses. Ryoji watched the pathetic display with obvious amusement, and after hearing the whole excuse, he beamed and spoke happily.
“Don’t you think that’s a pathetic excuse? Just give it up—you’re already here, after all.”
At his “give it up” Ryoji muttered in admiration as the soldier ran at full speed.
“Huh, so you can make a call on the situation.”
Ryoji fired a Water Ball spell without chanting. It sank into the back of the fleeing soldier’s head as if sucked in, and the man went down writhing in pain. Ryoji bound him with a rope, cast a light healing spell, and dragged him along.
“What did you come for? If you came to check we wouldn’t run, you’re mistaken. We’re heading to the dungeon to get our feel back and beat Hernan senseless—”
The first group at the meeting point saw Ryoji and, ready to mouth off with sulky faces, froze when they noticed five men being led in. Ryoji glanced over those stunned soldiers, pulled the ropes, and the groaning, bound men lined up in a row.
“Oh yeah. These guys insisted they wanted to see you off in full gear. They asked, ‘Please tie us up so we don’t follow the first group,’ so I had no choice but to bind them. Right? That’s what you said, right?”
With a bright smile Ryoji explained, and the first-group soldiers glared at the latter half with strained faces.
“First team, sharpen your skills properly. Be sure to come back before the swap. I’m always watching you. This is important, so I’ll say it again—if you don’t want to end up like these latter-team guys, be back by the deadline.”
At Ryoji’s words, the first group nodded and left the capital as if escaping. Ryoji watched them go, waving, then remembered the item box with potions he had intended to give the soldiers.
Once the first group’s horses were out of sight, Ryoji turned to the latter half with a broad grin.
“All right. We’re starting the cleaning now. Get ready.”
“Get ready? Just change into civilian clothes and clean, right?”
When one soldier replied like that, Ryoji pulled cleaning outfits out of storage and ordered everyone to put them on.
“They really suit you.”
“You’re making us clean in those? Why? Care to explain?”
Everyone in the outfits made awkward faces and demanded an explanation. What Ryoji had prepared was a headless raccoon mascot costume. The hand parts even replicated claws, but were designed so the wearer could still slip their bare hands out to work without fuss. The feet were waterproof and made tough for cleaning.
“Pfft. It looks great on you. These—costumes I gave you are suitable for cleaning. Not at all prepared as a spectacle or anything, understand?”
“You definitely don’t mean that! Why did you make us wear this?! We could’ve worn normal clothes!”
“If it were normal clothes it wouldn’t be a punishment, would it? It’s a punishment, so clean in that outfit. And don’t start any fights. If you fight, I’ll make you clean in women’s clothes.”
Ryoji doubled over laughing while making the soldiers wear raccoon costumes, and the soldiers shouted angrily at him in their outfits — but he paid them no mind at all.
First day of cleaning
“All right! Start from here today!”
“Isn’t that the toilet?! We’re supposed to clean from somewhere like this?”
“Yeah. Let’s clean out the filth of the toilets and people’s hearts together.”
Ignoring the soldiers’ thoroughly disgusted faces, Ryoji took out the cleaning supplies and began. The soldiers were stunned to see the Count himself start cleaning, but when one of them timidly began, the rest followed suit and started cleaning too.
“Okay! That’s it for today! Tomorrow we’ll clean the kitchen! Be at the same time! Don’t be late!”
At Ryoji’s cheerful shout, the exhausted soldiers — their strength and will sapped from the unfamiliar work — could only answer with groans.
Second day of cleaning
“Hm? Is he absent today? Or did he run off?”
When a soldier noticed one person wasn’t present at the meeting time and muttered about it, Ryoji grinned broadly and explained the reason.
“Oh. He got sick from yesterday’s cleaning, so he’s doing cleaning somewhere else. I’ll help over there; do you all want to come along?”
“He’s cleaning somewhere else by himself? He’s probably got an easy spot, right? I’m going.”
Hearing that it was somewhere else, the rest agreed to come along to change the mood. When the casually arriving group saw the figure of their comrade, their faces went pale.
“Count? What on earth is this?”
“Hm? I said he’d clean somewhere else, didn’t I? Is there a problem?”
In their sight, their comrade was being swarmed and crushed by children. The soldier, flattened under them, seized the nearest help and shoved the kids aside before clinging to Ryoji.
“Count! I absolutely won’t fight, so please forgive me!”
“What are you saying? You’re the one who, when given the choice between cleaning in women’s clothes or doing a visit to the orphanage while cleaning, said ‘please the orphanage.’ See it through. Or I’ll make you clean in women’s clothes, alright? Don’t worry! Your comrades who care about you will work alongside you!”
The group finished the cleaning while being swarmed by the kids at the orphanage, and Ryoji told them that as punishment for getting into a fight the day before, the soldier had chosen the orphanage visit.
“Huh? Didn’t he get sick?”
“Yeah. Apparently he got blackout-drunk at a tavern, started a fight, and broke some of the place’s equipment. I went there, beat him cleanly, and lectured him for two hours until he was in shock; then I let him choose between cross-dressing or the orphanage. He picked the orphanage, so I just casually told everyone he ‘got sick’ today so they’d skip coming along.”
“That’s too much of an understatement. If I’d heard that whole story I’d never have come…”
A soldier answered Ryoji’s explanation with a weary look and glared resentfully at the culprit.
Fourteenth Day of Cleaning
“Ryoji-sama! Thank you for the two weeks! I’ve discovered the joy of cleaning, and I’ve learned the importance of being appreciated by people. I’m truly grateful. But I won’t go easy in the match against Hernan! I’ll give it my all!”
Those who had seen their attitude on the first day would have been amazed at how much they’d changed. When the final cleaning was done, the soldiers lined up in a row and one representative spoke words of thanks to Ryoji.
“Good work. Thanks to you all, it’s clean. Looking at your faces, I don’t think punishing you with cleaning was wrong. Keep in mind the gratitude from the people and keep doing your best. The orphanage also sent thanks. The second shift will take over from here, but make sure you hone your skills in the dungeon!”
Ryoji remembered the soldiers cleaning over the two weeks. They fought back fiercely for about three days, but by around the fifth day they began obediently cleaning and even took the orphanage visits on proactively.
After receiving thanks from the orphanage director, he decided to make orphanage outreach part of his domain management policy. Seeing the fulfilled expressions on the soldiers’ faces, he decided cleaning was useful and made it part of the curriculum in soldier training.
“Maybe I’ll whip Hernan and the others into shape.”
After the first day’s duties were finished, Ryoji had told Hernan to gather everyone at the training ground in the early afternoon, curious what kind of people would show up. Seeing the five who had assembled fired him up, he started walking toward them, keeping his eager steps under control.
“Isn’t this a textbook lineup of promising talent?”
The five gathered in the training ground were, one skittish, one fidgety, one trembling, one insolent-looking, and only Hernan was full of fighting spirit. As Ryoji approached to speak, the insolent soldier stepped forward to block him and glared.
“Hey! This is a training ground! We’re the elite soldiers who were called by Count Ryoji, the hero of Drugul! The count’s going to put us through special training for our sake, so don’t get in the way!”
“W-wait! Dewey! This gentleman is—”
“Shut up! Hernan! Don’t act like you’re my senior just because you were the first one the Count spoke to!”
Dewey cut off Hernan’s protest, put a hand on Ryoji’s shoulder, turned his body toward the entrance and began to push. But the moment he wondered why Ryoji didn’t move at all, his vision spun and he found himself looking up at the ceiling.
“Good grief. You don’t even know me, huh. Hernan. Did you tell everyone about me?”
“Yes! I definitely said, ‘Count Ryoji is going to train us, so assemble at the training ground!'”
Staring blankly at the ceiling, Dewey only realized that the person he’d been trying to shove out of the training ground was Ryoji. He went pale, dropped to his knees, pressed his forehead to the dirt and began apologizing.
“I’m truly sorry! Trying to drive out the Count—”
“You don’t need to apologize. Don’t bother to.”
Ryoji cut off Dewey’s apology with a weary look and, annoyed, made everyone fall into formation before speaking.
“Listen up! I’m going to make competent soldiers out of you in one month! From now on, call me Sergeant! And add ‘sir’ to the end of every sentence! Replies must be ‘Yes’, ‘Sir’, ‘Understood’, or ‘Roger’! Nothing else will be accepted!”
“Yes! Sir!”
Only Hernan answered cheerfully, the other four stared at Ryoji with bewildered faces. Seeing the four unsure of what to do, Ryoji silently summoned four Lightning Arrows and fired them at their feet without warning. Startled, the four leapt, then collapsed to the ground as if their legs had given out.
“Hey. Answer when I check! Got it?”
“That’s right! Count Ryoji Uchino, the hero of Drugul, is going to train us! You should treat Count Ryoji’s voice like the voice of God! If we follow divine guidance, we’ll surely get stronger!”
“Is that flattery!”
Ryoji couldn’t help but snap.
“Alright! Training starts now. Since it’s the first day, we’ll start simple. Is there a place nearby where monsters appear?”
“Yes! Wolves appear in a forest east of the capital! It’s an hour by horse, sir!”
Ryoji nodded at Hernan’s energetic answer, then turned to the four who had a bad feeling and flashed them a broad smile.
“Let’s go!”
“Yes! Sir!”
A spirited reply came from the four.
“So this is the monster forest. It’s surprisingly well maintained.”
“Yes! There are monster-repelling devices on the paths, so you rarely encounter monsters. But if you go off the path into the woods, wolf-type monsters will attack you, so be careful! Sir!”
Ryoji ignored Dewey standing rigid as a soldier and stepped into the forest. He switched to scouting mode, located the enemies, and began walking in the direction they were in. Seeing Ryoji walk so casually as if he were defenseless, the five assumed there were no enemies and followed along relaxedly.
“Hey. Monsters will appear in thirty seconds. Don’t get careless—draw your blades!”
“Eh? Monsters?”
“Yes! Sir!”
At Ryoji’s shout, Dewey looked dazed while Hernan answered cheerfully and drew his sword; the other three, slower to react, looked around in a panic. To support them, Ryoji pulled a mithril sword from his storage and assumed a casual stance.
“Count Ryoji! Please give us orders on what to do!”
“Hmm? Then split into two groups and take them out individually. I’ll watch how capable you are.”
Ryoji answered lightly and decisively at Hernan’s shriek. The three besides Hernan and Dewey hastily drew their swords and prepared, splitting into two groups in panic to brace for the wolves’ attack.
“Why do we have to fight monsters all of a sudden?!”
“I’ve never even fought a monster! If it were real combat I should’ve brought my staff! If my parents hadn’t told me to become a soldier, I would have spent my life as a researcher!”
A trembling soldier and a fearful soldier formed a pair and shouted. Even as they yelled, they wildly swung their swords to keep the wolf-type monsters at bay, but the wolves cleverly kept distance, waiting for the two to tire before attacking.
“Don’t—come—near!”
Slipping through the space opened by the two swinging blades, a wolf closed the distance, bit at a man’s legs and dragged him down. It then tried to sink its fangs into his throat. The soldier, dragged down without understanding what was happening, instinctively closed his eyes and braced himself for death.
“Hey! How long are you going to stay lying there? Get that monster off you and get up. We’re moving out!”
Startled by Ryoji’s stern voice, the soldier scrambled to his feet. When he looked at the wolf-type monster that had been trying to take his life, it was already dead.
“Huh? It’s dead? I don’t see any wounds anywhere.”
“Hm? I killed it with Lightning Needle. More importantly—why did you close your eyes? Is that how a soldier acts? If you’re a soldier, don’t you try to injure your enemy up until the moment you die? What’s your name!”
“I’m sorry! Uradis! Sir!”
“Uradis! Your giving up nearly put your comrades in danger! Don’t close your eyes! If you’d even nicked the monster, someone else might’ve finished it off! Always fall with your sword pointed at the enemy! Understand? And you standing next to him—name!”
“Y-yes! Rivas, sir!”
“What were you doing? Just swinging your sword with Uradis? If Uradis is down, attack in that opening! You said, ‘I should’ve brought a staff,’ didn’t you? Then why didn’t you say that sooner! Your selfish action nearly got Uradis killed! Can a staff be used to attack? Answer!”
“With a staff I can cast magic! My elements are fire and water, sir!”
Ryoji took the sword from Rivas, reached into his storage, and pulled out a mithril staff he’d made in his spare time, handing it over. When Rivas received the staff and realized the material was mithril, he stared at it with trembling hands and asked Ryoji.
“I-is this really all right? The material’s mithril, isn’t it? And the mana stone on the tip—that’s a dragon mana stone, right? Even the royal family might not own a staff like this.”
“Don’t worry about that! Even if the royal family doesn’t have one, I do! Use it however you want! If you’re that concerned, then learn to wield it! Answer me!”
“Y-Yes! Sir! I’ll borrow it for a while! Sir!”
Given a national-treasure-level staff, Rivas gripped the mithril staff with shaking hands and shouted his reply as if squeezing it out of his throat.
Ryoji had been watching Hernan and the others’ fight while following Uradis and Rivas’ struggle, and to his surprise Hernan was handling the sword pretty well, landing precise blows on the monsters. Dewey was covering Hernan and making sure to deliver the finishing strikes.
Ryoji decided to focus their instruction on practical training and began to address everyone.
“All right! Up ahead is where a bunch of monsters have gathered! We’re going to head there now and wipe them out! You there! I don’t think I asked your name?”
“Yes! Jose, sir!”
He called to the soldier who’d been fidgeting at the training ground and got a lively reply. He was the biggest man among the soldiers, and according to Hernan, despite his size he was timid—so much so that both seniors and peers piled chores on him.
“Jose! What were you doing during that fight? Be honest!”
“I was scared of the monsters that attacked. I thought if I left it to Hernan and Dewey—”
Jose started to answer Ryoji, but noticing the eyes on him his voice dwindled and finally became inaudible.
“Don’t hide it! You weren’t afraid of the monsters—you were afraid of getting in Hernan and Dewey’s way! A big man like you should be a shield for your comrades without worrying about being a nuisance! I’m giving you a magic-infused Large Shield I made! When monsters attack, you’re the one who takes the first blow! Understood?”
“W-what? This fine shield for someone like me? I understand! I’ll take the next hit for sure! Sir!”
Ryoji nodded at Jose’s awestruck reply and they began marching toward the place where the monsters were gathered.
“All right! Break time! Uradis! Dewey! Hernan! You three get the camp ready! Jose and Rivas, you two are on the battle debrief! Come here!”
“Yes! Sir!”
At the command, the five of them split into two groups and moved. They had originally planned to wipe out the swarm on the first day, but decided to take their time over several days to let the five of them grow. By the seventh day they had reached near the place the swarm was gathered. In seven days they’d fought over fifty battles, conducting combat instruction that played to each person’s strengths and intensive basic skill training.
“I didn’t expect there to be animals or monsters here besides the wolf-type ones.”
“Yeah. We’re getting used to fighting compared to the start. I want to get to that swarm and wipe them out already!”
“You say that now, but Uradis nearly got killed by a wolf on the first day, didn’t he?”
“Wha—! Don’t you dare say that!”
While preparing the camp the three chatted about the events so far. Uradis, in particular, spoke eagerly with a face full of emotion and excitement, saying it had been right to follow Ryoji. Watching that, Ryoji spoke to the two.
“They look like they’re enjoying the work, don’t they? Don’t you want to join that circle of theirs?”
“Yes! We want to join! Sir!”
“Then what the hell was that fight earlier?! Jose! Didn’t I tell you the large shield I gave you is enchanted? Don’t try to take blows with your body alone! You’re just a big tree trunk! But—if you brace that large shield with magic running through it, you can become an ironclad hero! Learn it like your life depends on it! If you can’t learn it, then consider yourself dead!”
“I’ll learn it like my life depends on it! Sir!”
Ryoji nodded at Jose, who stood at attention and answered his scolding, then fired a weakened Fire Arrow at Rivas.
“I will shoot! Water Arrow!”
“All right! They canceled each other out. Rivas! Why didn’t you use the chant-shortening in the last fight? Were you not confident? Don’t be ridiculous! Whether you feel confident or not is irrelevant! Do you mean to kill your comrades? Is the mithril staff I made you a useless weapon? Of course not! I forged it for you! You can do it! Cast magic like your life depends on it, just like Jose! Don’t worry about running out of mana! Drink the mana potions I gave you!”
“From now on I’ll cast only with shortened chant! I won’t hold anything back! Sir!”
He shouted the practice orders to the three who were preparing the camp, then roared at them.
“How long are you going to mess around?! I can’t cook if you keep playing!”
“We’re ready! Please make us a delicious meal! Sir!”
Hernan, who’d been preparing things, answered eagerly.
“This is delicious! Why is food made by a soldier so damn good? And to be able to eat steaming food while we’re on the march! I will follow Ryoji-sama for the rest of my life! Sir!”
“Hey! Jose! Think about the rest of us when you eat! Ryoji-sama! Give me another bowl! Sir!”
Jose, having drained Ryoji’s pork miso soup, demanded a fifth helping. Dewey shouted and ordered a third to match Jose, and the others began asking for seconds as well.
“You’ve gotten less reserved compared to the first day.”
“That’s only natural! Meals made by our soldier are like food given by the gods! I want to get as strong as possible, so I’ll eat as much as I can! Sir!”
Hernan answered Ryoji’s muttered comment and held out an empty bowl. Ryoji filled the bowl with pork miso soup, smiling wryly, and they began eating with ferocious appetite.
“Listen while you eat. For the final stage we’ll assault a pack of monsters. Hernan, Dewey, and Uladis will charge after Rivas’s two consecutive fireballs. Jose’s role this time is to guard Rivas. The pack occupies a plaza. We don’t know from where the enemies will attack, so stay alert. Any questions?”
“What will you do, Ryoji-sama? Sir!”
“I’ll act as a skirmisher and observe. Show me the results of seven days of intensive training. We move once you finish eating. Got it?”
“Yes! Sir!” “Of course! Sir!” “We’ll do it! Let’s go! Let’s destroy them! Annihilate the monsters!” “Ooh!”
Ryoji’s plan was answered by five voices that echoed through the woods.
As the five shouted, a beast’s howl came from ahead. Ryoji switched to scouting mode and saw about ten monsters heading their way. He sighed at how careless the five were and warned them.
“You idiots! Who yells like that in a combat zone?! Ten monsters are coming straight at us from ahead!”
The five flinched at Ryoji’s shout, but Dewey stepped forward, saluted Ryoji, and spoke with determined eyes.
“I’ve never fought ten monsters at once, but let us handle it by ourselves!”
“You’ve got confidence, huh? Fine! I’ll give you the chance to redeem yourselves!”
No sooner had Ryoji spoken than nine wolf-type monsters and one bear-type monster appeared. They were surprised not just by the wolves but by the bear as well, but Rivas began chant with a shortened chant and launched a fireball. Dewey, Hernan, and Uladis were about to charge at the moment the fireball would explode, but the fireball that should have detonated suddenly vanished. Puzzled, Dewey shouted at Rivas.
“Hey! What are you doing? Cast properly!”
“Huh? Why? That can’t be—! I’ll try again! ‘I shall fire—Fireball!’”
Rivas cast a second fireball with shortened chant, but when it too vanished without a trace she went pale. With no magical support, Dewey and Hernan fought the bear-type monster together in a coordinated effort, while Uladis was on the defensive against two wolf-type monsters. Jose looked like he wanted to say something, but he used his shield to protect Rivas from the three wolves that attacked.
“Count! W-what should we do?”
“Huh? You’re supposed to handle this yourselves, right? If your skill level is only enough to panic at an unexpected situation, you’ll just get wiped out by the monsters.”
Ryoji answered curtly to Rivas’s scream-tinged words, which made it clear he couldn’t understand what was happening. He ran a quick status check of the battlefield. Dewey and Hernan would take time but should be able to fell the bear-type monster. Vladis was struggling, but holding the line in a stalemate. Rivas’s magic had been canceled and he was panicking, but Jose was doing a decent job covering him. Judging that those five could cope for the time being, Ryoji shouted encouragement and orders at them.
“Is that the best you can do? So the big promise you made earlier—’we will annihilate the monsters’—was a lie? Dewey! If you can’t command, hand it over to Jose! Jose! You tried to say something earlier and stopped, didn’t you? Were you planning to abandon your comrades out of misplaced concern?”
“N-no! That’s not it! I was just thinking—”
“Then tell them that! You take command!”
Jose let out a small, panicked cry at Ryoji’s rebuke but looked around and began issuing orders.
“Count, take care of the white wolf-type monster farther in! Rivas, when the Count starts handling that monster, fire your fireball!”
“Jose! Bold move! Using me as the vanguard, are you? You’ve noticed the white wolf-type monster’s canceling Rivas’s fireball, huh? Good call! I’ll deal with that one. You lot, focus on the enemies in front of you!”
Ryoji pulled a mithril sword from his storage and charged at the white wolf-type monster. The wolf, noticing Ryoji heading straight for it, let out a howl at the monster that had been guarding the forefront.
“That’s definitely the white wolf-type that’s the leader.”
Ryoji lunged low at the charging wolf-type monster, delivering a sharp thrust. The monster barely dodged, then snapped toward Ryoji’s now-exposed throat with its fangs.
“Too slow!”
Ryoji bent his elbow and slammed it with full force into the temple of the wolf-type that was about to bite his throat, creating some distance, then instant-cast a fireball at the white wolf-type without chanting.
“Gyaa!”
Surprised by the instant-cast spell, the white wolf-type hurriedly dodged and then fired a series of ice balls at Ryoji.
“Oh! Being able to cast spells in succession, are you? Not bad!”
Ryoji slashed the incoming ice balls — which had been imbued with fire-attributed magic by the mithril sword — and returned the favor: three instant-cast fireballs in quick succession. The white wolf-type, unsettled by Ryoji’s moves that were unlike the previous enemies, began to panic.
“Gyaaa!”
Deciding the situation was unfavorable, the white wolf-type let out a loud howl, fired an ice ball toward the center of the battle, then turned on its heel and fled.
“Oh. Good situational judgment. I’d almost want a subordinate like that. Now then, what should I do with those guys…?”
Ryoji was about to give chase, but gave a sigh and abandoned the idea at the sound of a scream from behind. After confirming with his search-mode that no enemies were following Hernan and the others, he headed back to the five who were in a panic.
“Count! Jose—Jose shielded us! He took the ice ball by himself to protect us!”
Hernan began to explain through tears. Two of them had been watching the monsters withdraw in relieved expressions and hadn’t noticed that the ice ball the white wolf-type had fired was about to land where they were standing.
Jose had raised his shield, shoved Hernan and Dewey out of the way, and rushed into the ice ball. Approaching Jose, whose whole body was frozen, Ryoji heard a weak voice.
“G-gunnso. I’m sorry. I couldn’t let my magic pass through the shield when I blocked it…”
“Alright! Don’t forget that feeling! Next time, be sure to let your magic through! If your shield had let magic through, you could’ve blocked that ice ball!”
Ryoji laughed and nodded at Jose’s apology, then took a potion from his storage and made him drink it while checking his condition. The ice ball had hit him directly, but because he used his shield it hadn’t been fatal.
However, his body was covered in lacerations; the potion healed the wounds but hadn’t brought him out of shock. Deciding that travel in this state was impossible, Ryoji addressed everyone.
“You carry Jose back to the capital!”
“Yes! Sir! What about you, Sergeant?”
“Of course I’m going deeper in.”
Ryoji grinned at Hernan’s question and announced it.
They fashioned a stretcher and put Jose on it, then set out for the capital, glancing back repeatedly. After confirming with search-mode that there were no enemies ahead of Hernan and the others, Ryoji moved toward where the monsters had gathered.
“Oh! They’re going to give me the warmest of welcomes, it seems.”
At Ryoji’s murmur, the monsters all let out threatening cries at once. About twenty wolf- and bear-shaped monsters had gathered in the large clearing of the forest; they were lowering their growls and slowly closing the distance toward Ryoji.
“Back off.”
A voice carried across the whole clearing. As the monsters that had been closing in split left and right to make a path, a large wolf-shaped monster slowly stepped in front of Ryoji.
“Hmm. You certainly possess formidable magical power. I can understand why the scouting party couldn’t lay a hand on you. Is that a mithril sword you hold? Your clothes are mithril as well, and on your left hand you wear an invisible, shield-shaped gauntlet—who are you, exactly?”
“Heh. You know your stuff. My name is Ryoji Uchino, Count. I’ve come to govern this region on behalf of Count Rehm. This is the first time I’ve met a monster that can speak—who are you?”
Though inwardly surprised that the large wolf-shaped monster had spoken, Ryoji kept his outward composure. The wolf narrowed its eyes as if impressed, then began to appraise him with a careful look.
“To stand before me without flinching… it’s been since Amadeo Sandström, has it not? Living six hundred years leads one to encounter some amusing things. My name is Feril—the One with the Large Jaw. I was one who fought fierce battles against Amadeo Sandström.”
“The founding king? Amadeo shows up everywhere I go, doesn’t he.”
“Since the pact with Amadeo decreed that strangers entering the forest shall be dealt with without mercy, you are the first to come this far. What business have you here?”
“No business, really. I came in to train my subordinates. I was heading toward a place where monsters gathered and happened to end up here. Nothing special.”
When Ryoji shrugged and answered, Feril laughed out loud after a moment of silence.
“Ha ha ha. You’re an interesting fellow. You come with the strength to reach the heart of the forest where the demon-wolves dwell, you face me without fear, and the magical power spilling from your body… And you wear a holy relic of the god Iorus. You are favored by the gods, it seems.”
Feril watched Ryoji with interest, then let out a small chuckle and spoke.
“Ryoji, I will make a pact with you as well. Is there anything you wish for? We shall be as Amadeo’s were, if you desire.”
“Then could you lend me some of Feril’s subordinates? I want a few capable subordinates—ones who look like they’ve led troops. Could you lend me some wolf-type monsters? I want them to guard my territory alongside my own men. I’ll pay wages, and if the forest needs anything I’ll provide it. Please think it over?”
“Is that all right? Very well. Allow me a month to decide who to send.”
Feril laughed heartily at Ryoji’s proposal, then agreed.
Ryoji visited the Sandström Kingdom Sweets Promotion Institute. Since Elena had become a special inspector, the second director post had gone to Sophia—the very Sophia who’d sold Ryoji the mizuame. While serving tea and some new sweets, Sophia accepted documents from the secretary standing behind her and began her progress report.
“We’ve started offering the sponge cake you provided, Ryoji-sama, at our company-run cafés as an option for the common folk. It’s a bit pricey, so orders are few, but we’re getting individual requests from wealthy collectors who like rare things. Sales of the other confections are doing well, too.”
“That’s good to hear. By the way, how are sales of the mizuame?”
At Ryoji’s question, Sophia smiled happily. The mizuame’s sales had exploded thanks to Ryoji’s publicity, and production couldn’t keep up.
“Ryoji-sama is the savior of our family. Even my grandfather keeps muttering, ‘At this rate I can’t retire!’ but he’s happily training his successor.”
“That’s because Sophia worked hard. It was thanks to her talking to me that those two met. ‘Master, would you please buy it?’—I’ll never forget that line.”
“Aawawawa—”
Sophia’s face flushed bright red at Ryoji’s smile. Trying to hide her embarrassment, she reached to pour tea into her cup and knocked it over spectacularly. Then, hastily grabbing for a dish towel, she knocked that over too.
“Fwaa— it’s hot…”
“Quite the textbook combo.”
“W-were you only here to hear the report today?”
Blushing head to toe, Sophia tried to ask Ryoji with a composed, dignified air as if nothing had happened. She thought she was handling it like an adult, but to the secretary she looked like an adorable girl flustered in front of the boy she liked.
“That’s right. I came because I have a favor to ask of you, Sophia. I want to make a year-end sponge-cake-eating event fashionable.”
“Make an event popular?”
Tilting her head in confusion, Sophia heard Ryoji start explaining selling cakes at Christmas. In the world of Safiria there was no Christmas, so Sophia couldn’t quite picture it thus Ryoji explained the concept to her. The secretary who had been listening with Sophia looked on with an envious expression.
“This is nice. Decorating a tree sounds fun. And it’s a day to eat good food and get presents? Does it not matter whether you’re a kid or an adult?”
“Oh? Even the adult secretary’s interested? On Christmas, kids get presents from their parents. And friends give each other presents too. I even know a guy who gave a present to the girl he had a crush on and confessed. I need to get my preparations ready too.”
As Ryoji spoke, Sophia and the secretary—imagining what his fiancée Carena, Melta, or the recently-rumored Elena might receive—felt a twinge of envy. Then a small box was handed to them.
“For you. For Sophia and for the secretary.”
“Huh?”
“Ryoji-sama, what is this?”
Sophia and the secretary tilted their heads and asked, and Ryoji answered with a wide grin.
“A Christmas present for the two of you who always work so hard.”
Sophia opened the box timidly. Inside was a necklace modeled after the sweets developed at the research institute.
“He mentioned it was a present for the girl he has a one-sided crush on…”
Sophia muttered, and the secretary watched her. Though she thought it was probably meant as a token of gratitude rather than anything romantic, she couldn’t help but stare at Sophia’s face, which had turned into that of a dreaming young girl.
The latter half of the group that had gone into the dungeon returned to the capital. Gone were the hoarse faces they’d had before departure; they now looked sharp and their bodies were in shape. Their report to Ryoji was confident—their lazy lifestyle appeared to have been corrected.
“We’ve returned from the dungeon. Awaiting further orders. Punishment cleaning? Or should we do a mock battle with Hernan and the others without waiting two weeks? Whether we do it now or in two weeks, I think the result will be the same.”
“Good work. Looks like you got roughed up a bit. I’m looking forward to the mock battle in two weeks. You’ll definitely be doing cleaning as punishment. Start cleaning from the main street of the capital, and after that help out at the orphanage. When that’s done, you’re free. Do as you like to prepare for the next day’s cleaning. Muster at five in the morning. Don’t be late.”
Relieved at the relatively simple instructions, the group saluted Ryoji and returned to the barracks.
“Count. What’s with these clothes? I wore them because it’s punishment, but…”
The next morning everyone in costume looked at Ryoji with awkward expressions and questions. They were the raccoon suits the first half had worn—Ryoji had refined and remade them into a masterpiece.
“Be thankful! This is Raccoon-kun Version II, improved based on feedback from the first group!”
“Yeah… you don’t have to look so smug about it…”
Ignoring their reactions, Ryoji launched into a passionate explanation of the suit’s virtues. It was now much more water-repellent and waterproof, and the breathability had improved tremendously. The claws could extend up to thirty centimeters, making it easy to clean tight gaps. Even if you sweat, it’s easy to take off, and it’s elastic and flexible. He explained all of this with zeal.
“There’s more!”
“Okay! Okay! We get it! You’ve sold us on how great it is! Now tell us where we’re supposed to clean!”
They cut him off before he could keep rattling on about the suit. Ryoji looked a bit unsatisfied, but he led them out to the main avenue.
“Good morning.”
“Count! Thank you for coming every day! Since you came two weeks ago, the main street has become unrecognizably clean.”
When they arrived at the main avenue, the soldiers were surprised at how many people were there. Roughly fifty people were cleaning, ages ranging from children to the elderly; everyone was cheerfully chatting as they worked.
“Hey. Why are there so many people? Don’t we make ourselves useless here?”
“When we were cleaning with the first group, the shopkeepers came over shouting, ‘You can’t make the Count clean!’ They wouldn’t believe it was punishment, so they joined in, and before we knew it this many people showed up.”
As Ryoji and the soldiers were talking, five children ran up cheering. The kid who looked like their leader spoke to Ryoji.
“Good morning! Ryoemon! Huh? Where did the old men from before go?”
“Good morning. The old men who were here until yesterday went to another job in a different place. From today on, this old man is your subordinate, so whip you into shape. Come pick up your pay after you’re done.”
“Hey. Ryoemon? What the heck is that? Who are these kids? Are we going to be the kids’ subordinates? And I’m in my twenties, you know?”
“Ee?!”
“Why are you guys so surprised?!”
As Ryoji and the kids bantered, the leader-type soldier from the latter group asked, puzzled. At the mention of age, even Ryoji, the children, and the soldiers let out surprised voices.
“Let me introduce things. You guys will pair up with the children two to a team and clean. The children’s orders are absolute. If anyone breaks that rule, I’ll administer punishment myself.”
“Whoa! Ryoemon sounds so cool!” “He’s like a noble!” “That old man is scary.” “Ryoemon, don’t forget our reward!” “Please take care of us.”
“Okay? Call me Ryoemon. Don’t tell the children outright that I’m the Count. Got it?”
Ryoji took candy from his storage and handed it out to the children. Then, so the delighted kids wouldn’t notice, he made the soldiers swear again to keep the fact that he was the Count a secret.
After their eyes lit up and they accepted the candy, the children listened to Ryoji explain the payment and what they’d have for lunch, then cheered loudly as they tugged the soldiers’ hands and headed off to the cleaning area. Ryoji waited in the square, making pork miso soup, for the soldiers to return.
“I totally underestimated the cleaning…”
One of the returning soldiers said to Ryoji with a drawn face, and the rest, streaming back in, nodded in agreement. The leader among them, who introduced himself as Nisan, had red, swollen eyes and, without answering the questions from those around him, vigorously ate the pork miso soup before heading back to the barracks.
“What happened?”
“We were just talking while we were cleaning and then we started crying, that’s all, really.”
When they checked with the child assigned to the leader, he gave that answer with a blank look. Everyone curious crowded around and asked the child what they’d been talking about. He explained in a matter-of-fact way, how his father had died protecting him from a monster that had attacked, how his mother had worked herself to ruin and was now bedridden, and how his siblings were working somewhere else and he hadn’t seen them for nearly two years.
“But! Now, if I do my job well I get food and money! And Ryoemon gives me candy, so that helps me keep going! I’m gonna work harder, earn more, and make my mum eat delicious stuff so she can get better!”
“Oh. Nope. Those kinds of stories are not allowed. I’m about to cry. I’m out—I’m leaving the rest to you lot.”
Hearing the child declare with an innocent smile that he’d try his best, Ryoji looked up at the sky, snuffled, muttered quietly, and hurried off.
“Hey! Don’t you dare run off on your own! Do something about this atmosphere!”
The soldiers shouted after him, panicking, but Ryoji shrugged them off and returned to the mansion.
A week had passed since the second group started cleaning. The leader and the others, who’d heard that heavy story on the first day, had suddenly thrown themselves into the cleaning as if they’d had a change of heart. The leader in particular was working with an energy that surprised everyone around him.
“Today’s lunch is oden!”
“Is that a famous dish in the Count’s country? It’s good, but it seems like it would make you hungry again fast. Hey, Jamie! Eat your fill! Did you get some for your mum? Ryoemon! Don’t you have any containers he can take it home in?”
Ryoji announced lunch, tapping the lid of the pot with his ladle, and the leader, who’d filled a bowl to the brim with oden, asked him that. Sitting beside him, the boy he’d been with since the first day—stuffing his face happily—was Jamie, the child everyone fussed over and who’d become the little morale booster during cleaning time.
“Come on. Prepare a container for him. The leader’s fallen for Jamie’s mum, Renate-san. That’s why he’s so doting and takes care of him.”
“What? Don’t go saying unnecessary things! It’s not like I’m taking care of Renate for that reason! I’m just trying to protect Jamie’s smile, okay? You lot do the same, right?”
“Hang in there, leader! Don’t worry—we made a container for you.”
Ryoji grinned and handed over the container filled with oden at the leader’s words. He snatched it up and, taking Jamie by the hand, left.
“Why is a different guy crying today?”
“Listen to this! Count! The old woman I went to help started telling stories! About her and her old man struggling together but having fun in their adventurer days, about some rift with a daughter who lives in the royal capital that caused her to move to the domain capital, and then Maia came to visit… oh, Maia’s the old woman’s granddaughter. She talked about how living together was fun, and how Maia tried to get her to come live with the family in the royal capital but she couldn’t bring herself to do it—’I’m old and in the way, I’d only be a burden,’ she said with a lonely smile!”
On the tenth day of cleaning, the soldier Yozua came for food with his eyes swollen bright red. When Ryoji asked, an onslaught of words poured out.
“Good grief. How many of these template topics are there?”
Ryoji called Kuro over with a wry smile and asked him to look into it.
“What’s wrong? If you’ve got complaints you need to say them, otherwise I won’t know. I know I ask a lot of unreasonable things.”
Ryoji was receiving the investigation report he had requested and noticed Kuro looking displeased. When Ryoji, who hadn’t much idea what it could be, pressed him, Kuro replied with an exasperated face.
“Ryoji-sama is oblivious. We want you to be considerate of us too. Everyone’s working really hard.”
“Right. Thank you for everything you do behind the scenes. I’ll send something to the subordinates later. I’m a failure as a master, huh.”
Ryoji stroked Kuro’s head, reflecting on his actions. Kuro looked pleased as Ryoji, in a gentle voice, offered words of thanks.
On the final day of cleaning, the soldiers from the first half of the rotation returned from the dungeon. They were friendly and didn’t tease like before. Anyone could see that Ryoji’s training had worked, and Ryoji watched the soldiers with a satisfied nod before starting to speak slowly.
“Everyone! Thank you for the cleaning and the dungeon assault. I think it was useful for resetting our minds. Get plenty of rest and prepare for tomorrow’s mock battle with Hernan and the others!”
“Thanks to the Count’s mercy, we got off light. We’re grateful. We grew mentally through the cleaning. As for the mock battle—by now I’m curious to see how the Count has trained those guys. So we’ll give the mock fight our all. No holding back, no mercy.”
Ryoji nodded happily at the squad leader’s words, smiled broadly, stepped closer and patted him on the shoulder.
“Do your best. Father.”
“Wha—! What are you saying!? Who said I’d become Jamie’s father!?”
“Huh? I never said you were Jamie’s father, did I? Hey— I didn’t say that, right?”
Ryoji grinned, scanning the gathered soldiers, and the men laughed in the same vein as they continued to encourage their leader.
“The Count didn’t say ‘Jamie’ at all! Do your best!”
“What are you misunderstanding? Jamie’s a good kid!”
“You thought you’d hidden it? It was obvious!”
“When we came back from the dungeon, all anyone could talk about was the leader!”
“Drop dead!”
The friendly teasing had the squad leader turning beet-red as he shouted back.
“Renate’s bedridden! I’ve turned my life around and I’m going to work hard to earn money and cure her! After that— the talk about becoming Jamie’s father is… eh? Wh-why? Why are you here? Weren’t you bedridden until morning!?”
The squad leader watched in stunned surprise as Renate and Jamie walked up to him. Jamie was held in Renate’s arms; upon noticing the squad leader she waved with a full smile.
“Hu-huhu. Who do you think I am? If I use the secret remedy I have, curing Jamie’s mother, Renate, is easy.”
“H-hey! Don’t use such a precious remedy. We don’t even know what the Count—”
“Hey. So? Is Renate okay now?”
Noticing Renate smiling at him, the squad leader approached, completely red in the face, dropped to one knee and began to speak.
“Can I make you all happy? I’ll do my best. If someone like me is all right, will you marry me?”
“Yes. You didn’t abandon me when I was bedridden and you took care of me. Will you continue to look after us?”
“Ah—ah! Yeah! Leave it to me! I won’t let you suffer!”
Jamie looked puzzled, and Renate explained to him.
“Ara-chan is going to be your father.”
“Really? You’ll be my dad?”
At Jamie’s beaming smile, the squad leader called “Ara-chan” burst into tears and hugged the two of them.
“Hey, sorry for the sappy moment, but who the hell is Ara-chan?”
“Uh? N-no. Well, um—”
“Ara-chan is the uncle who wears a raccoon kigurumi, so he’s called Ara-chan!”
Ryoji’s simple question had left the squad leader tongue-tied; Jamie, cradled in Renate’s arms, happily explained instead.
“All right! From today you’re Ara-chan, commander of the Raccoon Knights! Got it? You lot are under him. Salute the commander!”
“Nice to meet you! Commander Ara-chan!”
Ryoji’s announcement sent the soldiers into uproarious laughter as they saluted.
Amid the celebratory mood surrounding the Ara-chan family, Ryoji spoke to the soldier Yozua.
“You’re next.”
“Huh? Me?”
“That’s right! The old woman you were in charge of had a problem too! You even went to the capital to investigate!”
A man under Kuro’s command led a middle-aged couple, who had been waiting in a carriage, into the square. At the same time, the old woman and her granddaughter Maia arrived. Maia broke into a wide smile when she saw Yozua, but then caught sight of someone nearby and cried out in shock.
“Eh!? Mother, why are you here?”
“‘Eh!?’ Isn’t it obvious? I thought you’d run away, and now you’re here! Return to your fiancé!”
“I absolutely refuse! Why do I have to marry someone older than Father? Is Father okay with this!?”
The man Maia called Father, Artur, looked sorrowful and began to speak in an attempt to persuade her.
“Maia. There’s no helping it. Our baronial house is in financial ruin. For us—cloth-robed nobles with no lands—he was the only one who offered to help.”
“As the price, he demanded me and the dagger that proves I’m a noble!”
Yozua watched the suddenly erupted argument in stunned silence. He glanced at the old woman he admired, asking with his eyes why the story he had heard was different. The old woman shrugged and answered him.
“I’m not lying. The good old days when the old man and I made a name as Dragon Busters and he was decorated as an honorary baron. The story about my daughter bringing home a no-good son-in-law who couldn’t even fight so we quarreled and moved to Count Rehm’s provincial capital. And the bit where I told Maia, ‘You can live here.’ See? Nothing’s wrong with that!”
“Huh? No? Is that so? When Maia said, ‘Grandma, let’s go to the royal capital together,’ you said with a sad face, ‘An old woman with few days left to live would only be a nuisance,’ didn’t you?”
“I almost married Maia off as collateral for the debt. If I went to the royal capital I’d be in the way with all my fussing!”
Watching the old woman laugh so happily, Ryoji forced a wry smile and tried to summarize the situation.
“Alright, then. I’ll take care of the rest as I please.”
“Who are you!? Stay out of the baron family’s affairs! This girl will marry a merchant. That’s better for her happiness!”
“H-hey. This person is—”
“You, a tax official who increased the debt by acting as a joint guarantor, shut up! You’re too kind-hearted; that’s why her mother wouldn’t approve!”
As Ryoji was about to speak, Maia’s mother Petra snapped at him. Artur noticed Ryoji and hurried to stop her, but Petra, with her blood up, didn’t notice and continued to argue with Maia.
“Listen up. You wrecked the nice atmosphere! Was bringing him a mistake?”
Without speaking a spell, Ryoji fired an Earth Ball at Petra’s feet. Petra screamed, everyone around jumped back in shock, and a silence fell over the square. Ryoji fixed around twenty Lightning Arrows circling him and began to speak in a measured tone.
“There’s no point in arguing, is there? Let’s talk calmly here.”
“N-no. Count, you should be calm—”
“Huh? I’m calm, you know? I just got a little annoyed because some people wouldn’t listen, so I called forth a few Lightning Arrows. Can I continue?”
Interpreting the surrounding silence as assent, Ryoji began outlining the plan. He would acknowledge Yozua and Maia’s relationship. He would cover the baron family’s debts in full. Artur would move to the capital and take a post as treasurer. His salary would go to repaying the debt, while Ryoji would guarantee their clothing, food, and lodging. Those were the arrangements.
“But… the debt is enormous, and I can’t neglect my duties in the royal capital.”
“Enormous? It’s five hundred gold coins, right? As a baron, he’ll receive ten gold per year, and he’ll also have a treasurer’s salary. Give all the baronial pay toward repayment. And the treasurer’s pay is fifteen gold a year, right? Put both together and it’s paid off in twenty years. I’ll take care of notifying the Royal Capital. I’ll tell King Marcel myself.”
With Ryoji recalling his Lightning Arrows and declaring he’d inform the king personally, Artur and Petra had no choice but to kneel and accept. The old woman watched happily and then spoke up.
“As expected of Ryoji-sama, the hero of Drugul. Now I can confidently hand the barony over to Artur.”
“Huh? You’re a Baroness, Grandma?”
“Of course. This one is unreliable. But with Ryoji-sama as a backing, I can hand it over without worry. And if Artur holds the title, Maia’s husband Yozua will eventually be able to take a title as well.”
Watching the old woman beam with pleasure, Ryoji felt as if everything had been taken from beneath him and could only smile wryly at her shrewdness.
“Huh? A Baron? What about a proposal to Maia?”
“No need! I considered having you propose, but from how this went it’s impossible! If it’s a proposal, do it later when you’re alone.”
“I don’t mind doing it later.”
“If she says that, it helps me. So have the ceremony at the church tomorrow!”
“That’s outrageous!”
“What about it is outrageous?”
As Ryoji and Yozua argued, they noticed a large group prostrating themselves in the dirt. Kuro’s intelligence unit, the Ara family, and Maia’s relatives were lined up in neat rows, all kneeling with their foreheads to the ground.
“Huh? Why are they kowtowing?”
Ryoji asked, and the three groups tried to defer to one another, but it was decided that Kuro’s team would apologize, and the other two groups stepped back while still bowed.
“Ryoji-sama. Our lack of proper investigation caused you trouble. We’re truly sorry.”
“Huh? That? It’s fine. I knew I’d asked for two investigations in two weeks without thinking about the trip to the capital. It worked out somehow, so don’t worry. Actually, I should be the one apologizing for ordering such a reckless investigation. Sorry.”
“I’m sorry.”
While Kuro was crying and Ryoji looked apologetic, one of Kuro’s subordinates stepped forward and handed him a letter.
“What? A letter at a time like this? ‘Please read it so the young lady doesn’t notice’? Then you could’ve just given it to me later… Huh? ‘She’s bawling, so there’s no one watching her and you can hand it over’? Is that it? And you want me to look at it now?”
Ryoji turned the letter over and saw Schwarz’s signature. He broke the seal and read. It began with an apology. It said that this investigation had been carried out by Kuro alone and that Schwarz had received no reports. It went on to apologize, explaining that, for the sake of the future, he had deliberately withheld assistance even though he was aware the investigation was insufficient. As an apology he had enclosed the merchant investigation report — the merchant who had declared he would give financial aid to the baron family.
“Well. If Schwarz covered it, then there’s no problem here. I never intended to blame Kuro anyway. Tell Schwarz I appreciate the help.”
“Yes! We are grateful for Ryoji-sama’s consideration. Please, make sure the young lady stops crying. Everyone, dismissed!”
The subordinate thanked Ryoji, gave a brief dismissal, and then the group melted away as if they had disappeared.
“So, who’s next?”
“How should we apologize?”
The Maia clan and Yozua prostrated themselves and asked Ryoji. Petra had been shouting at Ryoji and now stood white-faced and trembling. Seeing that, Arthur pleaded with Ryoji desperately with a look that begged for leniency.
“Count! Could you please reduce the punishment for my wife even a little? I’ll take the blame myself!”
“Ah, you…”
Ryoji sighed and, addressing the two who were clinging to each other, began to speak.
“Listen. I already gave you your punishment. Arthur will work for me as a tax official with all his heart. Twenty years is basically slave labor, you know? That’s the penalty. That’s enough. By the way — can you be ready to hold the wedding tomorrow morning?”
“Huh? Ready? We’ve only been staying in the barracks. I spent my money on new weapons and armor, so I don’t have anything left…”
Yozua stammered, confused, and an old woman interrupted from the side.
“If the Groom shows up looking penniless on my granddaughter’s big day, it will reflect poorly on the baron household. I shall provide funds to Yozua—”
“No, I’ll give my subordinates the wedding gift myself. Don’t worry.”
Ryoji cut the old woman off and declared he’d cover the entire wedding. The old woman, Maia, and Yozua all tried to refuse, but Ryoji drew five gold coins from his storage and shoved them at them, ending the conversation quickly.
“Good grief. That was a fine ending, wasn’t it?”
After dismissing Maia and the old women to prepare for the next day’s wedding, Ryoji turned his gaze to Ara-chan and Renate, who were still bowed, and to Jamie riding on Ara-chan’s back.
“My lord the Count. I don’t know how to express my gratitude. Not only did you arrange work for Jamie, you introduced me to such a wonderful person. And you used a precious medicine to cure my body — how can I ever repay you…”
Renate kept her head bowed, tears mixed in with her words. Ryoji, embarrassed, began to speak.
“Hey, hey! Lift your head! Jamie looks puzzled. I gave you that secret medicine as thanks for raising bright little Jamie. Look at Ara-chan. At first he drank, I knocked him around, and even when he sulked and trained his body in the dungeon he still had that defiant look. After he started cleaning with Jamie, he turned himself around. Renate, you should be more confident.”
Renate watched Ryoji jabber on, and when she noticed his face flushing bright red, her tears eased into a small smile and she said her thanks again.
“Happy New Year!”
Ryoji’s greeting left the assembled, who didn’t have a New Year custom, a bit startled, but they replied in kind. Along with Carena, Melta, and Kuro, the dining hall hosted vassals called to the castle: Nicholas, who had become chief civil officer from castle steward; Vitor, who led the Raccoon Knight Brigade guarding the north; and Ara-chan, captain of the Raccoon Knights who patrol the fief and the south.
Many were meeting for the first time, but they shared a camaraderie born of having been dragged around by Ryoji.
“Everyone! In thanks for your daily work, I’ve prepared some hometown New Year dishes — osechi and zōni. I’ll also give sequential leave, keeping only the minimum staff on duty. First, anyone with family in the provincial capital take five days off. I’ve already made a list. If you want to change it, come tell me later.”
Cheers went up from the retainers when they were told they’d be given a leave. Then Ryoji handed out New Year’s gifts, and when everyone confirmed there were five silver coins inside, they erupted into even louder cheers.
“In my country we have a ceremony at the start of the year where you state your resolutions to get yourself fired up, you know?”
“Oh? Is that so? What’s Ryoji-sama’s resolution?”
After he finished handing out the New Year gifts and, with a face full of smiles at being granted a holiday, was eating his food, Ryoji was asked the question by someone. When Carena casually asked Ryoji what his resolution was, he started to recite it happily.
“My resolution? You want to hear it? Really? Okay, I’ll tell you! This year’s goals are to turn the countship’s finances around, boost production capacity, and raise the standard of living for our people. Also, attack the northern dungeon. I want to develop new seasonings, and find a signature specialty product for the domain. And there’s more! I want to visit other territorie and countries. And—”
“Ryoji-sama! That’s too many! There are too many and we can’t remember them all!”
At first everyone listened to Ryoji’s barrage of resolutions with approving looks, but as he heated up they hurriedly stopped him. Interrupted, Ryoji puffed out his cheeks and began to complain.
“Why’d you stop me? I had thirty more I wanted to say!”
“Understood. We’ll record them! Nicholas, please appoint someone to take notes.”
“As you wish. Carena-sama. I shall, as scribe, record all of Ryoji-sama’s resolutions.”
Nicholas produced paper and writing implements himself and began to write down Ryoji’s resolutions.
“All right! Now that I’ve said my resolutions for this year, I’ve got to work hard. Nicholas, write down everyone else’s resolutions while you’re at it. At year’s end we’ll check progress and achievement, and hand out special rewards accordingly!”
Hearing that difficult achievements would yield greater special rewards, everyone began to think up anything they could put down that might earn them bonuses.
“I am home. How’s the capital been?”
“Welcome back, Ryoji-sama. The capital is changing. The roadworks from the capital to the Divine City are progressing well, and those involved are doing quite nicely for themselves — the luxury sweets are selling well.”
They returned to the capital manor via the transfer magic circle, and the head butler reported on recent developments in the capital. He also reported that the faction called the aristocrats had shrunk to the point of virtual extinction. The reasons were said to be the close relationship between Harrold and King Marcel, Ryoji’s intimacy with Pope Orland, and the aristocrats’ string of scandals. Another rumor, spreading like a festival, was that Princess Elena and Ryoji were on the verge of engagement.
“Well. It’s nice and easy now that that arrogant aristocrat faction has quieted down. But what’s this about being close to engagement with Princess Elena? Common people don’t even know about that, do they?”
“That can’t be helped. Together they established the Sandstrom Kingdom Sweets Promotion Research Institute! They were given honorary titles like Pudding Honorary Head Chef and Ice-Cream Honorary Head Chef by the royal family! Elena is being posted to the Reim County as a special inspector! Understand? Elena, who until now has only ever done charity work within the country, is being dispatched to Ryoji-sama! If we show how close they are like this, anyone — yes, anyone — will understand!”
“W-wait a moment? Carena? Your tone at the end there got way too intense, are you angry? And Melta and Kuro’s looks are kind of scary, too.”
When the engagement rumor came up, Carena initially spoke sweetly, but gradually pasted a huge smile on her face while her eyes didn’t smile at all as she closed in on Ryoji. Melta and Kuro moved in as well, and with Ryoji slowly being cornered into a room corner, he looked toward the head butler for help. The butler understood immediately and bowed respectfully.
“Please wait. As for candidates for Ryoji-sama’s wife, rumors also say Sophia, the second director of the Sandstrom Kingdom Sweets Promotion Research Institute, and Sieve, who runs Ryoji-sama’s manor at the Drugul garrison, are possibilities.”
“Head butler?”
“You should deal with it sooner rather than later.”
Ryoji’s eyes went wide at the fresh fuel tossed onto the fire as he glared at the head butler. But the butler calmly bowed, and the circle of people closing in tightened further.
“Ha ha ha. That was quite a predicament, Ryoji.”
“It’s not ‘quite a predicament.’ Princess Elena’s situation is also King Marcel’s responsibility.”
“What did you say!? You don’t like my Elena!?”
Marcel, who had been listening to Ryoji’s story with amusement, changed expression when told he bore responsibility and lunged at Ryoji angrily.
“That’s because the king lost in a duel against Princess Elena.”
Harrold chuckled as he pointed this out, and Marcel, looking stricken, averted his gaze and went to get some of the prepared food. Beside him, Hernan was clutching a box and crying.
“Having received something like this, I pledges my lifelong loyalty to the Count. I have nothing else to offer but my loyalty—”
“No! Lord Helman! I only handed him a ‘Potion-Making Kit Even Beginners Can Do’! Don’t pledge anything to me!”
“I received a statue of the god Iorus and devoted my life to Ryoji-sama. Even if it’s a replica, having been given a full set of life-sized sacred items, should I also dedicate the lives of my followers?”
“Cardinal Ralph! Don’t dedicate your life to Iorus! And stop dragging your followers into this!”
“Oi! Ryoji! Fight me! With this Cozimo sword!”
“I will not fight the Captain of the Royal Knights! Be satisfied with that sword!”
“Ryoji—what about me?”
“For Lord Harrold I prepared several fruit wines. I used rare fruits. Please enjoy them.”
“AND？ Ryoji? And for me, the King?”
Ryoji handed New Year’s gifts to all the dignitaries gathered at his mansion, everyone except Marcel. He continued to receive them and entertain them, poking fun at each of their reactions. Marcel, who seemed particularly interested in the New Year’s customs that didn’t exist in the Sandstrom Kingdom, declared the first three days of the year to be holidays and arranged for the royal family to distribute wine and food to the kingdom’s people.
“I see. So the gift you give to an elder is called an ‘otoshidama’? And it’s customary to hand those out in Ryoji’s country?”
“That’s right! That’s why I brought one for Marco too!”
Ryoji went over to Marco, who had been drinking in the mansion, and handed him the New Year’s gift. Marco beamed when he received it.
“Can I open it?”
“Of course! I think you’ll like it. Clothes for the child and some educational toys. And a nutritional tonic for Natasha! I also made a hot carpet for winter!”
“O-okay. Thanks. It’s a little embarrassing that you went to so much trouble, Ryoji.”
“Well。Is there one for me too? Really, thank you, Ryoji.”
Marco took the items from his item box with an embarrassed smile, and Natasha, happily, checked hers while thanking Ryoji.
“I don’t know how to use this hot carpet.”
“It uses a fire-attributed magic stone as fuel to heat the embedded magic circles. It’s dangerous for a small child to be near a hearth, right? So I made this instead.”
“You thought of everything── Hey. What’s this?”
Marco had been gazing at the hot carpet with a moved expression, but then stiffened when he pulled an educational toy out of the item box. Ryoji, smiling from ear to ear at the sight, began to explain.
“Fufufu. This is a tool to give Marco’s kid an elite education! The Tsukkomi-Machine Training Brace! This magic device trains the wrist snap for tsukkomi, applying resistance according to level. It also protects the wrist, so—. Oww! What are you doing?! I sank fifty gold coins into developing this… Oww! As expected of Marco! Your wrist flick is second to none… Oww!”
“Give me back the feelings of being moved! I’m not going to have my kid forced into Ryoji’s tsukkomi… No way! I’m not even the tsukkomi person!”
Marco produced a mithril fan with a flowing motion and delivered a perfect tsukkomi to Ryoji. Ryoji ran off shouting “I thought you’d like it!” while Natasha watched the two of them smiling and ate the sweets that came with her gift.
“They really are close.”
“Sir, we have a visitor. What would you like me to do?”
“Hmm？ I didn’t expect any visitors.”
Melta informed Ryoji, who unusually was attending to state affairs in his study—that someone had come. She had been instructed not to admit any unannounced visitors, but when Ryoji looked puzzled at her coming to confirm, she added a new piece of information.
“She kept saying only, ‘Tell him Feril has come,’ so I thought I should ask for Ryoji-sama’s decision.”
“Oh! Feril came to see me! It’s not causing a huge commotion, so she must have come in human form. As expected! She nailed the template perfectly! We must give her the best hospitality possible! Treat her with utmost respect, and serve our finest tea and sweets!”
Ryoji’s delighted face and instructions for hospitality sent Melta into a flurry as she hurriedly gave orders.
“How about that! You didn’t expect me to come in human form, did you! But to keep me waiting like that is a hundred years too early!”
“Sorry, sorry. Work piled up. But the tea and sweets I prepared were good, right? I’m proud of them… Wha…t is that…”
When they entered the dining hall, two women and ten wolves were waiting. The woman who spoke to Ryoji was a regal beauty typical of royalty—tall, with long straight silver hair and silver eyes that shone with a will so strong it drew everyone in.
What pinned Ryoji to the spot, leaving him momentarily speechless, were the wolf ears perched atop her silver hair and the silver tail swishing behind her.
“Thank you! This is important so I’ll say it twice! Thank you! Animal ears and a tail. Thank you so much! I’ll even say it a third time!”
“O-oho. It’s Ryoji. What’s gotten into you? Hey. Ryoji’s gone into a frenzy! Somebody do something!”
The moment Ryoji caught sight of Feril’s ears and tail he began to weep with gratitude and started to worship her, moving in as if to touch the tail. Feril had at first been proud of coming in humanoid form, but Ryoji’s enthusiasm made her back away a little; she held his shoulders to keep him at bay and shouted to those around them.
“Just a little! Just a little bit! Let me fluff your tail and ears! I’ll grant you any wish as thanks… Ouch! Ouch! Ooooh… That really hurts! Who hit my head—”
“Calm down. Ryoji-sama is an Count. Composure is important.”
“You were like this with the elf, too. You get far too excited. Haven’t you seen beastkin before? There should be more of them than elves, right?”
“Ryoji-sama. No wandering eyes. It was a good choice having those mithril fans mass-produced.”
When Ryoji tried to shove past Feril’s attempts to restrain him and reach for the tail, a succession of sharp impacts struck him. He reflexively covered his head to protest, and saw Carena, Melta, and Kuro holding mithril fans in their right hands, their faces blank but smiles pasted to their mouths. Noticing this, Ryoji eased away from Feril and began speaking to the three of them slowly.
“F-first, let’s calm down? N-no, I’m calm. Just hear me out? In my country there aren’t any beastkin. So I got a little excited. Ah! Right. I haven’t introduced her yet. Her name is Feril—”
“New candidate for a wife?”
“No I’m not!”
Ryoji reflexively snapped back at Kuro’s question.
“Allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Feril. I am the warden of the forest where the magic wolves dwell, and the head of my clan. I have come to fulfill the new pact made with Ryoji.”
“Today’s business will be changed to a meeting with Feril. Shall we move to another room and work out the details? Huh? Who’s that girl over there? I didn’t notice. Oh! Oh! Animal ears! Miss, let me fluff your ears a bit… I-I’m calm. It’s fine. No problem.”
Ryoji’s eyes lit up when he noticed the girl sitting beside Feril. She had translucent white hair and wore white clothing. Her eyes were silver; she was the kind of beauty that would make anyone in town turn to look.
The moment he saw that she, like Feril, had ears atop her head and screamed out in excitement, a trio of harisen smacks sounded in Ryoji’s ears.
“Ryoji-sama?”
“Yes! Um—I’m calm, and I will give precise orders. May I leave her handling to Melta?”
“Understood.”
At Carena’s murmur, Ryoji stood at attention and issued the instruction. Melta nodded and agreed to continue attending to the girl.
Escorted to the reception room, Feril took up her cup of tea and wore a satisfied expression at its aroma and taste. She broke into a smile as she sampled the sweets that had been prepared alongside it, then began to speak.
“You made us wait long enough, but I’ll forgive you on account of the tea and sweets. By the way, what is this golden-colored sweet? It’s fluffy and modestly sweet. It’s nothing like any confection I have eaten before.”
“Ah. I’m glad you like it. In my homeland we call it castella. If you enjoy it, I can have them sent regularly. If you allow me to put a teleportation magic circle in the forest where your magic wolves live, I can deliver them easily. And we’re developing other sweets, so you’d have a variety to enjoy.”
“Well, I suppose that will do.”
When Ryoji proposed installing the teleportation circle as a condition for regularly delivering sweets, Feril considered for a moment with a serious expression. Her tail, however, wagged happily from side to side in accordance with her instincts, conveying to Ryoji how delighted she was.
“Oh! The tail’s wagging. This is truly a reward! A template response! I’ll give you an item box containing the pedestal for the teleportation circle on the way out. I’ll put castella and tea in it too. This month I’ll include castella and scones with fruit mixed in. Let me know when you’ve installed it.”
Ryoji handed Feril an item box containing the pedestal for the teleportation magic circle, along with tea leaves, a silver teapot, an afternoon tea stand and teacups, and sweets such as castella and scones.
“Now, to the main point. Is it sufficient for the pact only to prohibit the excessive felling of the forest where Feril’s magic wolves dwell?”
“It matters not. I bind this pact because I have taken a liking to Ryoji. My clan does not suffer so long as we have food from the deepest parts of the forest. And the number of clan members we can provide is eleven in total. The only one who can take human form is my daughter Laila. The one who was with me earlier was Laila.”
When Ryoji double-checked, Feril nodded affably and replied, saying that the girl from earlier was her daughter, Laila.
When Ryoji and Feril returned to the dining hall, Carena and Melta were combing Laila’s tail and hair. Laila had been happily eating sweets with Kuro, but when Ryoji showed up she panicked and hid behind Melta.
“No, you can’t do that, Ryoji-sama. If you appear out of nowhere you’ll scare Laila.”
“Sorry about that. No — wait! Hey! That’s cheating! You’re fluffing Laila’s tail! I want to fluff it too! Let me fluff it! Pleeease!”
Ryoji began beseeching them with the desperate intensity of someone about to prostrate himself. Laila peered out a little from behind Melta.
“Can he touch it just a little?”
“Eh! Really?! Just a little? I’ll only touch it a little! I’ll make a mithril comb right away! Combine water and fire magic to make steam… hang on, yes! If I develop a treatment it’ll give Laila’s hair shine! I’m a genius! By the way, how far down the tail can you comb safely? I should test that and publish it as a paper. Right! Fluff time! Okay, just a little… Ow!”
Ryoji muttered to himself as he eyed Laila and began pulling out a mithril ingot to start working. At first everyone looked puzzled, but when they saw Ryoji’s breathing grow ragged, Carena brought down a mithril fan with all her might.
Several months had nearly passed since Ryoji had come to the Uchino territory, formerly the Count Reim’s domain. He’d been providing food aid to the south as winter approached in earnest, revising the county-wide tax system, and visiting towns and villages. He’d been pushing public works—road maintenance and building reservoirs among them—to promote employment.
He’d also taken measures to boost the inns and set low tariffs so merchants would gather. To advertise widely, he made full use of the merchant Cecilio, whom he’d met in the domain capital, and had taverns in towns, villages, and other territories spread the word.
When merchants came through Cecilio’s introductions, Ryoji gave Cecilio an incentive of five silver coins, and the merchants were allowed up to five trips with tariff-free trade. The effect was phenomenal, and since Cecilio was promoting that the count would buy all the goods himself, long lines of merchants formed.
Ryoji’s reforms extended to personnel matters as well. Using intelligence gathered by Kuro’s spy unit, those who had been fattening their pockets through over-collection were dismissed. In their place, hires were made based on ability rather than status, refreshing the workforce. The newly formed Machikata Doshin and the Raccoon Knight Order initially drew puzzled looks from the townsfolk because of their odd costumes, but as people came to see their competence and fairness, they gradually accepted them.[TLN: Machikata Doshin are the Edo-period samurai police officials who performed administrative, judicial, and policing duties in the city of Edo (modern-day Tokyo).]
A side effect emerged. The wolves Feril had sent, who often accompanied the Machikata Doshin and the Raccoon Knights, became popular especially with children, and wolf-themed goods sold at the domain capital’s general store rose to the top of the charts.
“The wolf merchandise is selling like crazy.”
“Yes. They’re friendly wolves who don’t threaten anyone except villains. Kids adore them. The plushies you designed, Ryoji-sama, are cute and have helped sales, too.”
Ryoji spoke to Carena in his office, looking over the merchandise sales list. The Carcano Trading Company’s first out-of-domain shop in Drugul had become extremely popular.
Aurelio, the chairman who was acting as regent at the garrison in Ryoji’s stead, had rushed over for the opening, showing how much he cared about it.
“It’s been half a year, right? Huh? Did you lose weight? Aurelio, you’re the chairman—take it easy.”
“Excuse me? Who do you think made me lose weight? It was Ryoji-sama! Do you have any idea how busy I’ve been? Still, the Carcano Company’s sales are through the roof. I’m grateful. I think the garrison’s population might even surpass Drugul’s.”
“Ah—sorry. I’ll send you some restorative elixirs later.”
Ryoji apologized sheepishly to Aurelio, who had dark circles under his eyes. Aurelio had been full of complaints about how overworked he was at first, but his eyes lit up when he saw the products Ryoji had developed.
“The concept for the plushies is excellent. Especially that each one has its own distinctive traits—that’s fresh. Elderly customers with their grandchildren come in looking so happy.”
“See? The ones with the real purchasing power are the older folks. They hoard money most of the time, but when it comes to their grandchildren, the purse strings loosen.”
Aurelio listened with a wry smile to Ryoji’s explanation—odd, given Ryoji was on the selling end. Sales had been good since opening, and discussions about future store expansion were proceeding cheerfully.
“By the way, how are your relations with Lady Feril of the forest where the pact-bound warwolves live?”
“Ah. I deliver sweets and tea to Feril every month. The manju and green tea I brought last time made her so happy. Her beast ears were twitching and her tail was wagging like crazy. It was fun just to watch.”
While Aurelio asked questions, Ryoji was happily extolling the wonders of beast ears and tails. Then, as if he’d remembered something, Ryoji pulled a bottle and a comb out of his storage.
“What’s this?”
“I developed it to make beast ears and tails even fluffier. It’s a comb and a treatment! We’ll mass-produce and sell them in the capital — Aurelio, want to carry them?”
Aurelio opened the bottle and inhaled; a fresh, soapy scent filled his nostrils. According to Ryoji, it could repair damaged hair, so it was aimed at women. The comb combined water-attribute and fire-attribute magic to produce steam; when you combed with it the hair gained shine, and it was powered by ghost-mushroom magic stones so it could run for a long time.
Aurelio was convinced it would be a huge hit the moment he saw it. He signed a sales contract on the spot, put thirty combs and three hundred treatments into his item box, and returned to the garrison in high spirits.
“We’ve changed, haven’t we?”
“What do you mean now?”
One member of the Raccoon Knight Corps muttered, and an exasperated reply came from his comrades. They were lounging in one of the southern towns — the first town Ryoji had visited.
Three knights and a wolf on a routine patrol had been met with a warm welcome from the townspeople and bombarded with questions from the children as soon as they arrived, and had only just made it back to the garrison. After sipping the tea they’d been offered, one knight laughed as he looked over his gear and spoke to his fellows.
“Look at your equipment calmly. At first you were all like, ‘What is this outfit?’”
“Yeah. When I heard we were supposed to patrol the whole count’s domain in this getup, I nearly quit being a knight.”
It was an outfit inconceivable by the old standards. The armor and the limbs were covered in fluffy fur, and the helmet was shaped like an animal none of them had seen before. Their lord, Ryoji had explained raccoons to them, and the charming helmets were wildly popular with the children.
“Hernan and the others were appointed senior knights to defend the count’s castle. Given how much combat ability they’ve picked up in such a short time, I can accept that.”
He remembered the battle from about two months ago with a nostalgic expression.
“From here on, we’ll start the mock battle! There are ten people on the cleaning squad, so select five carefully! Use the iron swords we’ve provided. Other armor and shields can be your normal gear. Magic isn’t forbidden, but don’t use wide-area spells!”
Following Nicholas’s call, five people from each side came to the briefing area. Ara-chan gave a sly smirk and addressed the nervous Hernan and the others with a hint of intimidation.
“You’ve trained well to get this far in a month. Back when I was a drunk I might have put you down in an instant. But sorry — I’m going to make this a complete victory today.”
“W-we don’t intend to lose either! We’ll crush you with the skills the count trained us with!”
As Ara-chan’s pressure stirred them up, Hernan and the others steeled themselves, and then an even more terrifying presence hit them. Ryoji — whose intimidation could make even Ara-chan draw his sword — was grinning from ear to ear.
“Hey! You lot! You trained with me and you’re going to flinch at someone like Ara-chan? If you lose I’ll put you through brutal extra training! Answer me!”
“Yes! Sir! Even that training left us waking up in a sweat — if it’s any worse we’ll probably die, sir!”
“Then go and win quickly!”
“We’ll definitely win! Sir!”
Facing Ryoji’s full pressure and the threat of extra training if they lost, Hernan and the others answered with pale faces.
“You can’t call him ‘someone like Ara-chan.’ He’s your direct knight commander, you know?”
“It’s fine. To me Hernan and Ara-chan are the same. Wanna try fighting me fifteen to one?”
Ara-chan’s remark drew a wry chuckle from Ryoji, who responded with a joke. He then pulled a large crystal sphere from storage, placed one at each corner, and began to explain.
“These are magical devices I made. By placing them at the four corners, anyone inside who receives a wound judged to be mortal will be teleported out, so fight without worry. Time limit is ten minutes. By the way, each crystal sphere costs five hundred gold coins — if you break one you’ll pay for it.”
“Hahaha. We can’t afford to bring shame on the corps’ name. We won’t lose, commander.”
Hearing Ryoji, Ara-chan reaffirmed there was no need to go easy and nodded with a ferocious grin. He tightened his stance, checking his center of gravity with the mock iron sword. Leader Jose judged that everyone except Ara-chan was letting their guard down and began explaining the plan to his four companions.
“Ready? Then, begin!”
“Ice Arrow — five shots!”
Nicholas, the castle steward watching, gave the start signal. At the same time Rivas fired Ice Arrow at all five of them. Ara-chan and the others, who hadn’t expected the reduced chant time to allow Ice Arrow to hit everyone, were slightly shaken and broke formation as they made large evasive maneuvers.
“Not bad! But… gah!”
Uradis, Dewey, and Hernan all attacked at once the soldier who’d broken formation and moved off by himself. Between the three of them, Hernan’s blow was barely held back, but Uradis’s and Dewey’s swords couldn’t all be parried — the soldier took them head on.
“Attacking one man with three is a bad move, isn’t it?”
Glancing at the vanished form of the soldier who’d collapsed and gone limp, Ara-chan straightened up, closed the distance to Rivas and tried a horizontal slash. But Jose’s attack from the side caught her eye; he faltered slightly and took the hit, tumbling and pushing Rivas with him.
““Whoa!””
Seeing Rivas fall as if hugging Jose, Ara-chan cut down the startled and flustered Uradis with a single stroke.
“Uradis! You bastard! Uradis’s enemy!”
Rage-filled Dewey lashed out at Ara-chan in blind fury. While trading blows with Dewey, Ara-chan calmly assessed the situation and threw the sword he’d been holding toward Jose.
“Huh?”
Jose, unable to react to the suddenly flying sword, was struck directly, knocked unconscious, and teleported away. With Dewey’s movements halted by Ara-chan’s action, he struck him with a punch suffused with wind magic.
He then grabbed the iron sword Dewey had been using and tried to attack Hernan from a blind spot, but Hernan noticed and created distance.
“I strike that enemy! Earth Ball!”
“Oh—nice. Not bad, Hernan.”
Hernan’s performance was so striking that Ryoji couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration. Hernan kept his distance from Ara-chan, fired off an Earth Ball, then took up a defensive stance with his sword pointed toward him.
“So you think we can fight one-on-one now?”
Ara-chan’s teasing got a serious answer from Hernan.
“I am grateful to you, Ara-chan. Thanks to you I could receive direct instruction from the count I admire. Depending on the outcome of this fight, he’s even considering appointing me to the guard. So we’ll make sure we win!”
“‘You’re grateful,’ huh. Sounds like nothing but sarcasm. Then lose! I just started a family, you know!”
With a wry smile, Ara-chan infused his blade with wind and lunged at the solemn-faced Hernan.
The duel between Ara-chan and Hernan began to show the difference in combat experience around the thirtieth exchange. After forty or so, their raw ability began to show. Both were breathing hard, but Ara-chan still had reserves; Hernan was gasping for breath. Everyone around was glued to the two duelists, feeling that this match would decide the victor.
“T-this next strike is my last. I’ll give it everything!”
“Fine. Do your best. I’ll take it.”
Hernan drew a deep breath and, pouring every ounce of strength into it, swung a massive overhead blow. If taken squarely it had the momentum to cleave through sword and all, but Ara-chan deliberately took it. Hernan, convinced his blade would cut through and secure victory, relaxed his guard and was caught by a sweep to the legs. As Hernan scrambled to stand, Ara-chan pressed the broken tip of his sword to Hernan’s throat.
“That’s my win.”
“That’s enough! I declare Ara-chan’s Knight Squad the victors!”
The victory of Ara-chan’s Knight Squad was announced. Confirming their win, Ara-chan sat down on the ground, breathing heavily and rejoicing.
“Ara-chan’s Knight Squad wins, but everyone except Ara-chan and Hernan gets special training.”
“What about those of us who were just watching?”
“While we’re at it, you lot will join in too! Oh, and Rivas, who was making those pathetic noises, gets a special course different from the others!”
“Sergeant! Rivas is dizzy and passed out! Sir!”
“I finally have time! We can do the dungeon attack! We leave in a week, okay? Can I ask Melta to handle the preparations?”
“Understood. Can I decide what’s needed on my own?”
With the office work finished, Ryoji flopped face-first onto his desk and shouted in joy. Melta, firmly established as head maid, summoned her maids and gave instructions.
“I can guide you, you know? The Count’s never been into the Deep Labyrinth in the north, right? Even if he’s registered as a B-rank adventurer, going in without a guide would be rough.”
“It’s fine! Figuring it out myself is part of the fun, right? But pre-mission info is important, so that helps.”
“We normally charge for that info, though.”
Ara-chan smiled wryly as he explained the dangerous areas of the dungeon known as the Deep Labyrinth, the monsters that lurked there, and the kinds of traps set within.
“Ryoji-sama! We’re ready! Let’s go soon!”
“I’ve got the snacks ready. I even got the capital’s new releases. There’s some for Ryoji-sama, too.”
“I’m excited for my first dungeon. I don’t know Ryoji’s actual strength, but is he okay? Mother said, ‘If anyone could beat me, it’d be someone like Ryoji,’ or so I heard.”
“My gear’s all ready too, so let’s get going. Ah—Laila can see my strength for herself in the dungeon. Melta, you’re on house-sitting duty!”
The coachman cracked his whip and urged the carriage forward. When they reached the main street, a huge cheer rose up from the roadside. Ryoji scrambled to stick his head out the window, and a variety of voices called out.
“Have a safe trip, Ryoji-sama!”
“Ryoemon! Don’t forget souvenirs!”
“The Knights Who Love Cleaning will protect the town!”
“Oh? Did someone tell everyone I was going to the dungeon? And what’s this ‘Knights Who Love Cleaning’ business?”
Ryoji waved awkwardly, answering the townsfolk while asking the people around him for explanations. Carena raised her hand energetically and began to speak. She explained that they were a volunteer knight squad formed by merchants in the shopping district to rival the Raccoon Knights. Naturally they had no combat ability, but they prided themselves on being unbeatable when it came to cleaning. After Ryoji and the Raccoon Knights stopped having time to clean, this group had taken the lead and also acted as a sort of vigilante force.
“I’m the honorary commander of the Knights Who Love Cleaning! The actual captain is the chairman of the shopping district.”
“You’ve been helping out from the shadows, huh. Thanks, Carena. I’ll make uniforms and a crest for the squad and send one to everyone later.”
Carena’s face lit up at Ryoji’s words.
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