The Peaceful Royal Capital
Satou here. When I was a kid, my family and friends would throw parties to celebrate my birthday. But as a working adult, I feel like there’s not much celebration around birthdays anymore—you just treat someone to lunch or a few drinks.
“Now, where should we go for fun today?”
In the living room of our royal capital mansion, we looked over a map marked with sightseeing locations.
I’d attached sticky notes to the places my companions requested so that we could plan around those in particular.
“Ta-daaaa!”
Arisa burst into the room and struck a strange pose, complete with a little celebratory jingle.
She was wearing an elf-style spring dress; perhaps she had it made in the elf village when we went there with Nana’s sisters. The tights on her feet were so tightly fitted that they looked almost like…
“Wait, are those real stockings?”
“Exactamundo!”
Where does she get these phrases?
“Now, prepare to be bewitched by the beautiful Arisa’s slender legs…!”
Diving onto the sofa across from me, Arisa extended her stocking-clad leg toward me with what was probably meant to be a suggestive smolder in her eyes.
That was all well and good, except since she had the appearance of a little girl, it wasn’t so much sexy as adorable, with the charm of a kid trying to act like an adult.
“I’ll take a look, then.”
Since I had her permission, I gave the stockings a light pinch, testing out the feel of the fabric and so on.
They actually felt very well-made. The high-quality material was about as thin as 25-denier tights.
“Hey, wait, that’s so forward… Aaah, you naughty boy, you…!”
Arisa started goofing around, probably to hide her actual embarrassment, so I let go of her leg.
“It doesn’t seem to be nylon, but it looks and feels just like it.”
“Eh-heh-heh… I remembered that there was a way to spin thread from spiderwebs, right? So I brought in a bunch of webbing that we got from the labyrinths and had some samples made.”
When we went to Bolenan Forest for Nana’s sisters to train, Arisa had gone to the sewing studio several times. She must have been getting these stockings made.
“It involves Water Magic and alchemy, but the spiders that make the thread are in that unpopular poisonous-bug part of area four—I think they’ll be able to stock up on supplies even without our help.”
I asked Arisa about the species of spider monster, searched the map, and discovered that they lived in a fairly widespread area. They ranged from level 5 to 13, making them an easy enough hunting target for any mid-level explorer with proper protection from poison.
“Looks good to me.”
“But now I have a request for you, master! Can you customize the elf alchemy and Water Magic needed to make these so that humans can use them?”
“Yeah, sure.”
I could do a little extra work if it meant the ladies around town would someday be showing off their gorgeous legs in stockings.
“Satou.”
“Ta-daa, sir!”
“Tra-la-la…?”
Mia, Pochi, and Tama entered in white stockings.
Apparently, Arisa wasn’t the only one trying on the new stockings.
“Stockings feel quite unusual to wear.”
Liza looked quite alluring in scarlet stockings.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed they had a roselike pattern embroidered on them with dark red thread.
“My skin looks the same color as always, I declare.”
“It feels like my legs look a little slimmer and smoother than usual.”
Nana wore nude-colored tights, while Lulu wore black stockings like Arisa.
“You all look very cute.”
The rest of the group all looked pleased and bashful, but Nana alone tilted her head in confusion.
“What’s the matter, Nana?”
“Master, the base of my stockings feels strange, I report.”
Nana casually flipped her skirt up and pointed at the area where her underwear was beneath the stockings.
“N-Nana, stop!” Lulu cried. “Cover yourself up! You can’t expose yourself to people.”
“But I am showing my stockings, not my underwear, I protest.”
“That doesn’t matter if you can see through the stockings!”
“Satou.”
“How long are you going to look, huh?!”
The iron-wall pair of Mia and Arisa latched on to my face so I couldn’t see Nana.
I wasn’t particularly looking at her underwear, but rather than making a feeble-sounding excuse, I just waited for the situation to resolve itself.
“Well? Do you understand the appeal of stockings now?”
“Mm. Got it.”
“Good, because we’re just getting started! Settle in for a lecture on how to work those stockings to the fullest!”
Arisa started instructing everyone in the best poses for showing off their stockings.
I watched them bustle around as I picked out an itinerary for the day’s royal capital sightseeing.
“Byooti-full…”
Gazing up at a statue of a giant elephant in the courtyard, Tama’s eyes sparkled as she exclaimed with glee.
We were at the home of the sculptor we had met in the museum.
A servant led us down a narrow pathway shaded from the sun by tall hedges.
“Très bieeen…?”
“Excellente, sir!”
This time it was a statue of a male deer.
Every one of them looked like they might spring to life at any moment.
It looked at first like Pochi was just mimicking Tama, but her furiously wagging tail indicated that she was just as excited as she sounded.
“The surface looks so strange. I doubt this could’ve been made with a chisel alone—maybe there was Earth Magic involved?”
“Yeah, probably.”
Despite being made of stone, many of the statues had smooth lines like something sculpted out of clay. It was probably possible in theory to accomplish this with normal polishing, but it seemed more realistic to assume that they used Earth Magic or a similar magic tool.
“Wind.”
At the spot where Mia murmured the word, there was a sensation like passing through a thin film of air, after which the sound of stone being chiseled was suddenly audible.
“Master, there are many people fighting against stone, I report.”
“They must be carvers.”
A little farther down the path, we could see people carving.
“Rhythmic.”
“It certainly is, Mia.”
As I listened to my group talking, the guide called out to the master of the shop, who caught my eye.
“Ah, good, you made it.”
The apron-clad gentleman pulled off the helmet he wore in place of goggles and beamed at us.
After talking for a few minutes, he invited us to try carving some lumber remnants ourselves, an offer we happily accepted.
“Master, I have located a heretical statue, I report.”
Nana pointed at a poorly carved statue lying near the pile of lumber.
“Oh yes. That was a failed attempt by a youngster from a major noble family,” a friendly craftsman explained to us as he disposed of some sand and gravel. “You can use that, too, if you’d like.”
“What a strange shape… Whatever was he trying to make, I wonder?”
“He claimed it was an ‘evil statue’ to use in some ritual.”
““An evil statue?!”” Arisa and I exclaimed in unison, turning to stare at the craftsman who had uttered the concerning phrase.
“Please don’t worry—it’s a purely baseless story. The boy said it was for a Wind of Freedom ritual, but those lot are just a bunch of loafers with an interest in anything strange or suspicious.”
A polite craftsman stepped in to confirm the other one’s statement.
Come to think of it, the guildmaster of the explorers’ guild also told me that the Wind of Freedom was just a casual group.
But the name sounded so similar to the demon lord–worshipping groups like Wings of Freedom and Light of Freedom that it automatically put me on high alert.
“That young man is so sensitive that he would faint if you filleted a fish in front of him.”
“Yes, even if an insect lands on his work, he just blows on it frantically until it flies away.”
They explained that he was quite popular as a customer or patron because he would buy any strange-looking art or statues at a high price.
“So I assure you, there’s nothing to worry about.”
The craftsmen concluded their explanation about the “evil statue,” and after a quick introduction to the basics, we moved on to our hands-on carving experience.
“It’s very realistic. How many years have you been carving, eh?”
“Oh, this is my first time.”
Since I got the “Carving” skill right away, I used my huge stash of skill points to level it up.
“Ha-ha, well, that’s impressive.” He seemed to think I was joking. “But it could actually be a touch too realistic. You should try giving yourself some creative freedom to play around, like these young ladies. I’m sure you could come up with something even more spectacular.”
The gentleman gestured at Pochi’s and Nana’s sculptures, which depicted a manga-style meat stick and a Cubism-esque baby chick, respectively.
Lulu was working on a bust of some kind: She’d had Liza cut the stone for her with a Magic Sword and was now intently chiseling away at the collarbone area.
Arisa, meanwhile…
“Arisa, if you make something obscene, I’m confiscating it.”
“S-silly master! You really think your little Arisa would do such a thing?”
Remembering the incident at the ceramics class, I gave Arisa a warning with the Space Magic spell Telephone, which caused her to get visibly shaken and make excuses out loud.
She happened to be bringing her hammer down on the chisel at the same time and accidentally slammed it too hard into the small stone statue’s neck, knocking off its head. I’m guessing she was using Space Magic to cover for her lack of physical strength.
“Wow, you’ve got some serious strength there, little lady. Hit it a little more gently, hmm?”
“Tee-hee, I made an oopsie.”
Arisa giggled sheepishly at the nearby sculptor, then started making a new miniature statue.
Let’s hope she makes something normal this time.
“Hmm, it’s a bit rough, but in a good way.”
“Thank you, I’m honored.”
The gentleman sculptor was praising Liza’s statue of a giant snake.
It reminded me of the first monster the beastfolk girls defeated all on their own, although it could just be my imagination.
“Oh-ho…”
Finally, as he walked over to where Tama was working, the gentleman let out a sigh of admiration.
“Incredible! This child’s sensibilities and skills are nothing short of natural genius.”
There certainly was something about Tama’s statue of a fawn that spoke to the soul.
“It looks yummy, sir.”
“Yes, it really does stimulate the appetite.”
“I agree. I would love to cook that.”
Wow, they’re not kidding.
Pochi, Liza, and Lulu were right: For some reason, Tama’s fawn statue had a strange effect of stirring one’s appetite.
“Sir Pendragon, this little one’s gift simply must be cultivated. If you are willing, and if she herself is interested, please bring her back for further studies anytime you wish.”
The gentleman seemed taken with Tama’s talent.
“What do you think, Tama? Want to practice being a sculptor?”
“Aye!” Tama nodded.
She was already training to be a painter and a ninja, too, but I think it’s best to let kids explore anything that interests them when they’re young.
We enjoyed our carving practice until the afternoon, when Lulu and I treated the gentleman and the other sculptors to a lavish meal.
“Wow, what an exotic-looking shop.”
After we left the sculptor’s workshop, we visited a company near the artisan district: the royal company branch of the Sahbe Company, run by the weaselfolk merchant Mr. Homimudory, where I’d made arrangements to purchase some scrolls.
Aside from Arisa and Mia, I sent the rest of the group to another shop on Coin Street: the sugar route traders who Nana’s sisters had imposed upon, shopping under the pretense of guarding Lulu.
Liza wanted to stay with me as my bodyguard, but I refused; truthfully, the main reason I was sending the rest of the group away was for Liza’s sake. She seemed uncomfortable around the weaselfolk since her hometown had been destroyed by them.
“Kinda scary.” Mia shivered and clutched herself.
“Yeah, it does have a lot of eastern-style carvings and decor, and very unusual colors.”
I patted Mia’s head and led the two inside.
“Hello there, youngsters. What can we do for you today?”
A human salesperson came running up to us.
He was addressing us like commoners, possibly because we hadn’t come in a carriage.
“Is Mr. Homimudory here today? I made arrangements to purchase some scrolls…”
I showed him my nobility badge as I explained my business.
“Oh dear, I’m terribly sorry. Please have a seat in here, Sir Knight. I’ll call for our president at once.”
Surprised by my badge, the salesperson quickly switched to a more formal attitude and led us to a reception room.
Then he hurried off to get Mr. Homimudory, leaving us in the care of a human female employee.
The majority of this firm’s employees were weaselfolk like Mr. Homimudory, but it appeared that they primarily employed humans for customer service.
We sipped on the sweet citrusy juice the employee brought us as we waited, and soon there was a polite knock at the door.
When I responded, the owner of the company, Mr. Homimudory himself, entered with an attendant.
“She-she-she, welcome, Sir Pendragon.”
Mr. Homimudory sat down politely, and the attendant produced several scrolls from an elegant box and placed them on the table. They all appeared to be labyrinth-made.
“Those ones are rather ominous-looking.”
“Mrr.”
As Arisa observed, two of the scrolls looked somewhat dangerous.
Both were Ghost Magic: Summon Lesser Undead, which could summon skeleton or zombie servants, and Summon Lesser Ghost, which summoned weak incorporeal undead monsters.
Neither were the sort of scrolls that could be legally bought or sold in the Shiga Kingdom.
Now I knew why Mr. Homimudory had requested that we make this deal separately and in person when I purchased Cherry Blossom Shower and other such scrolls from him through the explorers’ guild in Labyrinth City.
Still, I was a little unsure whether I should buy them or not. Ghost Magic scrolls might not have been strictly illegal to own, but they were certainly suspicious.
The rest of the scrolls included the Earth Magic spell Cultivation, a composite spell Create House, the Summoning Magic spell Summon Bat from the Overgrown Labyrinth, the Practical Magic spell Rolling Gear from the Illusion Labyrinth, and Bonecraft from the Bloodsucker Labyrinth. This last one was normal-looking enough, but it was actually Ghost Magic like the first two.
The carved-bone earrings I’d given to Zena in Labyrinth City were actually unicorn horns that had been modified with the Bonecraft spell.
I definitely wanted this one, since it seemed useful for a lot of different things. Even if it meant I might seem a little suspicious.
Once the attendant finished explaining the scrolls, the negotiations began in earnest.
“These are quite intriguing. May I ask how much you were hoping to receive for them?”
“She-she-she, I’ll leave the pricing in your hands, Sir Pendragon. You are a premier collector of scrolls, after all.”
When I tried to get him to give me a price, he pushed it off on me instead.
Normally, lesser magic scrolls were about one gold coin apiece and intermediate magic scrolls around three. But when I bought scrolls like Cherry Blossom Shower from him, he priced them on the higher end of my estimated value, so I should probably offer the same.
“How about one hundred eighty gold coins for all seven?”
“Satou.”
Mia made an X with her fingers and nodded toward the two more sinister scrolls.
“Master, Mia is right. It would be best not to buy scrolls that might stir up unseemly rumors among the other nobles.”
“Good point.”
Skeleton soldiers had been used in the attack on Vistall Duchy recently, which I got caught up in. If word got out that I bought a scroll that could summon skeletons, it could definitely cause some serious problems.
“Putting those two aside, then, how about one hundred twenty gold coins for the other five?”
“I would certainly never object to your good judgment, Sir Knight. I accept your offer.”
Just like that, the negotiation was over.
“Sir Knight, our company also carries other unusual goods from the Weaselman Empire. Would you like to see those as well?”
Since we were already here, I decided to take him up on that—after making sure it was okay with Arisa and Mia, of course.
Mr. Homimudory led us to a warehouse in the back.
“Ah, excuse me.”
“Not at all…”
On our way there, I almost collided with someone who was leaving the room.
It was a rather suspicious-looking person with deep shadows under his eyes.
Wait, what?!
Absentmindedly checking the AR display, I saw that he was a member of the Light of Freedom group—wait, no, I misread that. He belonged to the casual occult group Wind of Freedom, not the demon lord–worshipping cult Light of Freedom.
“Is something the matter?”
“No, he just looked like someone I know…”
I casually asked about the man while we walked and learned that he was the son of a greater noble and often came to buy specific kinds of items.
He was fond of clandestine actions and apparently took a liking to coming and going through the back entrance.
“This shelf has handicrafts from Dejima Island, and over there we have items brought back from the Illusion Labyrinth on Dejima Island as well.”
Mr. Homimudory explained the various products in the warehouse.
The first shelf was packed with vases in a similar style to Jomon pottery and other strange items. I didn’t know good from bad when it came to such things, but they all had an exotic quality that made it fun just to browse.
On the other hand, the items from the labyrinth were mostly things like gears and bolts, which looked junky by comparison.
“Mrr.”
Staring at the shelves with a glazed look in her eye, Mia made a little displeased noise.
I followed her gaze to what looked like a lump of coal, and soon information appeared in my AR display.
“Whoa…,” I murmured in spite of myself.
“That is a talisman used by lesser warlocks, known as a curse stone.”
Overhearing me, Mr. Homimudory gave a similar explanation to the information I saw.
A warlock, he explained, was a Ghost Magic user who specialized in curses. They were mostly found in the Saga Empire and the western part of the continent.
“A talisman?”
“Yes, although low-grade talismans like that curse stone cannot do much more than make the victim’s nose itchy. Nothing to worry about,” he assured us with a smile. The effect was a bit unsettling with his carnivorous teeth, though.
He went on to explain that this curse stone was produced in the Bloodsucker Labyrinth in the Saga Empire and that such objects were frequently sold to Wind of Freedom members like the one we met before.
At any rate, it seemed harmless enough. There was probably no need to worry about it.
Other than that, there weren’t many items that particularly caught our attention. Since Arisa and Mia looked bored, I was just thinking about taking our leave when Mr. Homimudory appeared to pick up on the mood and offered to show us his best treasures of all.
“Are these golems?”
The storeroom Mr. Homimudory brought us to contained rows of golems. Aside from a box-shaped head that jutted out to their shoulders, they looked like the usual ten-foot-tall variety.
“Yes, indeed. However, they are not quite the usual kind of golems.”
On Mr. Homimudory’s command, a weaselfolk man in work clothes stepped onto a platform next to one of the golems and jumped up into its head.
The weaselman’s hands moved inside the golem, and the golem moved accordingly.
“Is he controlling the golem from there?”
“Yes, that’s correct.” Mr. Homimudory smiled and nodded at Arisa.
Come to think of it, the prime minister did tell me that the weaselmen expanded their empire in the east by using armies of manned golems and “screws” that could forcibly control monsters.
This golem didn’t appear to have any armor or weapons, so it was probably adapted from the combat models for heavy lifting and such.
“Would you like to try it for yourself, Sir Knight?”
“Yes, please.”
“Me too! I wanna try!”
“Mrr?”
Mia didn’t seem interested, but Arisa and I gladly walked up the steps to the platform next to the cockpit of the golem. A female employee led Mia away to look at some picture scrolls from Dejima Island.
“This seems like the kind of robot a future boy named Conan would use.”
“True.” I nodded in agreement with Arisa’s reference to an old, famous anime.
“There are so many levers, it’s like a crane or some other industrial machine.”
“Two levers at your feet, two levers on the left and right, and two foot pedals…maybe they’re for the expansion and output of the legs?”
“Si-si-si, more or, less, correct-like. <Very good,> child.”
Coming up to the platform, the weaselman praised Arisa’s wits with stilted speech.
The “very good” part alone was in the language of the Saga Empire. He must be more fluent in Sagan Language than Shigan.
He introduced himself as a mechanic and gave us a simple tutorial.
The foot pedals moved the golem forward when pushed, moved backward when pulled up, and stopped when released. While walking, the levers corresponding to the legs were unresponsive for safety purposes.
I decided to go first so I could make sure it was safe.
“Ooh, cool!”
Its response time was a little slow, but it was easy to get used to the simple controls.
I tried carrying around wooden crates and other simple movements.
“…Master! Heeey, master!”
Arisa seemed to be calling for me; I stopped and looked back at her.
“Geez, how long are you going to play around by yourself?!”
“Sorry, sorry.”
Checking the clock in my menu, I realized I’d been messing around for well over ten minutes.
I guess I got carried away with the fun of piloting a robot.
There were pilotable golems in the elf village, too, but those moved based on verbal orders, which wasn’t quite as fun as controlling this kind with your own hands.
I brought the golem back to the platform and traded places with Arisa, then watched her settle into the cockpit as I enjoyed the pleasant breeze at the top of the platform.
“••”
> Skill Acquired: “Weaselfolk Language”
Evidently, I had picked up a new skill just by hearing a voice from right outside the open entrance to the warehouse. I put in some skill points and activated it, just for kicks.
“<…ttack…steal… So decrees His Majesty the Emperor’s brother…>”
Hearing some rather suspicious-sounding phrases, I focused on my “Keen Hearing” skill.
The speaker was a robed weaselman mage. According to my AR display, he was level 31 and could use three kinds of magic: Summoning Magic, Practical Magic, and Dark Magic.
He seemed to be talking to Mr. Homimudory, the very merchant who had brought us here.
“<And even Parion Province, which is under the gods’—>”
“<That’s enough, Siporohhoy,>” Mr. Homimudory interrupted. “<It would be blasphemous for mere subjects like ourselves to guess at the intentions of His Majesty the Emperor’s brother.>”
The mage seemed to want to say more, but then he noticed my gaze, pulled the hood over his face, and left without another word. I guess even the weaselfolk nation had drama of its own.
While I had no intention of stirring up trouble by sticking my nose into their business, I certainly didn’t want to be caught by surprise if something bad happened, so I put a marker on the mage just in case.
“She-she-she, please pardon my rudeness.”
“No, no, it’s fine. Was that someone from your company?”
When Mr. Homimudory came back, I decided to ask a few questions about the mage.
They’d obviously noticed me looking at them, at which point it would probably seem stranger not to ask any questions.
“Indeed. What about him?”
“Oh, I’d just never seen a weaselfolk mage before.”
“I see, I see. Indeed, we beastfolk are sometimes too dismissive of magic.”
Many beastfolk and scalefolk, including my trio of girls, tended to be physically stronger than most humans.
It seemed to be a common feeling among beastfolk that it was faster to run up and strike someone than stand around chanting magic.
“At any rate, did you enjoy trying the piloted golem?”
“Yes, it was excellent. Are they very common in the Weaselman Empire?”
It was very satisfying to pilot a robot.
Maybe I should make one myself sometime.
“They were developed just a few decades ago by His Majesty the current Emperor before he was enthroned. These small golems are for light-duty work, but the military sort are some three times larger.”
As I suspected, that golem wasn’t for military use. The military ones sounded like they were around the same size as the Shiga Kingdom variety.
“We could hardly bring military golems into another nation, of course,” Mr. Homimudory added. “Would you like to reserve one yourself, Sir Knight? It can be delivered as soon as a year or two from now.”
They already had ten or so orders from especially wealthy noble families, he informed me.
I was amazed they could buy such things, considering that they probably made Magic Swords look cheap by comparison.
There were several more rows of golems beyond where Arisa was gleefully piloting one. Mr. Homimudory did tell me at the garden party that the Marionette Cores required to make golems could be found in the labyrinth on Dejima Island; perhaps these golems were one of the Weaselman Empire’s primary exports.
“Master! Did you see my heroic display?”
“Yes, you were very cool.”
While we were discussing such things, Arisa returned from her test drive. Then we reconvened with Mia and left Mr. Homimudory’s company.
“Master! There’s lots of baked sweets, sir.”
“Yummy dried fruits, tooo…?”
“The dried fish was delicious as well.”
When we met up with the rest of the group at the sugar route traders’ place, the beastfolk girls were preoccupied with their love of all things sweet and savory.
“Master, the accessories were tiny and soft and cute, I report.”
“They were selling castor sugar and crystallized sugar, too. And they said they sell rum by the cask or bottle.”
Nana was more interested in accessories, while Lulu told me about their ingredients.
“Let’s stock up on some things while we have the chance, then. Arisa and Mia, you should see if there’s anything you want, too.”
“Mm, fun.”
“I’m interested in their books, of course, but I’d like to check out fabrics and dyes and such, too.”
Arisa and Mia eagerly headed over to the shelves.
Since I was already planning to buy a lot in order to make up for the damage Nana’s sisters caused with plenty of room for them to profit, I bought lots of the foreign goods the girls took an interest in.
After we enjoyed plenty of shopping, we made our way to the Echigoya Company next.
“All right, we’re going to talk business for a bit. You all can do some more shopping.”
I distributed spending money to the rest of the group before leaving them at the stairs of the jam-packed Echigoya Company store.
The only two coming with me were Arisa, the planning director, and Lulu, the cookery expert.
“Sir Knight, it’s a pleasure to see you.”
A beautiful silver-haired girl came partway down the stairs to greet us: Tifaleeza, Kuro’s slave and the managing secretary of the company’s accounting affairs. Her cool and clever face was lovely as always.
It’d be great if I could set her free from slavery soon, but since she was a criminal slave, it was impossible to break the contract by normal means. A royal pardon was required.
I’ll have to see if I can get the king to issue a pardon next time I see him.
“I’ve consolidated the idea collection survey we talked about last time,” said Arisa. “And Lulu brought a brand-new recipe to knock your socks off.”
“Lulu’s cookin’ up a new recipe?! Oh man, I can’t wait!”
On the second floor, a red-haired girl in an employee’s uniform barged into the conversation.
It was Neru, with her signature tuft of hair sticking up adorably from the top of her head. She was still a slave for the same reason as Tifaleeza; I’d have to remember her, too, when I spoke to the king about issuing pardons.
“Hello, Ms. Neru. Have you transferred to the royal capital?”
“Sure did! Ms. Eluterina asked me to come help out with the whole café frankfurdora thing they’re doin’ here.”
“Nice try, but only the first syllable was right. You mean ‘franchise.’”
Neru had apparently been brought here from Labyrinth City for the café franchising project Arisa proposed.
“Neru, you can talk their ears off later. Sir Knight and company need to talk to the manager first.”
“Whoops, am I gettin’ in the way again? Sorry, Tifa. See ya later, Lulu!”
Without waiting for a response, Neru bounded cheerfully back to work. That girl was always full of energy.
“It’s pretty packed here today.”
“It certainly is. Is there some special occasion, Ms. Tifaleeza?”
“Well, everyone who’s having a coming-of-age ceremony this coming year has been clamoring for accessories to go with their formal wear for the occasion.”
The coming-of-age ceremony took place on New Year’s Day here, it seemed.
Flashy decorations were in fashion this year, which meant the gaudy accessories made in Labyrinth City were all the rage.
“You’ll be coming of age soon, too, won’t you, Lulu?”
“Yes, I’ll be fifteen this New Year’s Day.”
“Your birthday is on New Year’s?”
“Birthday, sir?” Lulu asked.
Something about this conversation wasn’t quite clicking.
“Master, they don’t have a custom of celebrating the day you were born here,” Arisa explained, catching on to my confusion. “For the most part, everyone just adds a year to their age on New Year’s Day.”
Aah, gotcha. So that’s why no one’s birthday has come up even though we’ve been traveling together for almost a full year.
“Most people only celebrate when they turn seven and when they reach adulthood at fifteen, too.”
“I see. We’ll have to celebrate Lulu’s coming of age this year, then.”
A beautiful long-sleeved kimono was a given; I’d have to flex my maxed-out “Metalworking” skill to make a hairpin ornate enough to match Lulu’s beauty, too.
Tifaleeza offered her congratulations as well, after which we moved to a drawing room.
“Goodness, this is delicious.”
“It really is.”
When Manager Eluterina and Tifaleeza sampled the broiled eel with ant-honey sauce Lulu had prepared, they gave it their stamp of approval.
“But this sweetness…it must be sugar, no?”
“Don’t worry. I used ant honey, which is much cheaper than sugar.”
For the time being, we planned to provide them with some of the huge stock of ant honey we had acquired in the labyrinth.
“Ant honey? We had better not serve it to nobles, then.”
“I prepared a recipe that uses sugar for noble clientele, too.”
“Amazing, Ms. Lulu. You always come prepared.”
Many Shiga Kingdom nobles looked down on ingredients that came from monsters.
That said, we had developed the sugar-based recipe first and then adapted it with this ant honey, not the other way around.
Once we decided on a price for the recipe, Lulu ended up agreeing to instruct the Echigoya chefs in cooking it right away.
“Lady Lulu!” A bearded man in a chef’s outfit came running in. “Oh, goodness! It really is you!”
“E-erm…”
“But of course, you do not remember. The head chef instructed me to assist you in the duke’s castle some time ago.”
“Ah! Aah, I do remember!”
That seemed to bring back Lulu’s memory.
The man said that when he tried the food at the Labyrinth City street carts, he immediately sensed that it was Lulu’s recipe and came running to the Echigoya Company to ask for a job.
“Nothing could be more thrilling than learning from the personal pupil of the Miracle Chef!”
“Hold it! The first person who gets instruction from Ms. Master Lulu is gonna be her top student, Neru!” The redheaded Neru popped up in an apron.
Like the bearded chef, she appeared to want to study under Lulu.
“Hmph, can you really call yourself Ms. Master Lulu’s top student when you are self-taught in even the fundamentals of cooking?”
The nickname “Ms. Master Lulu” appeared to be sticking.
Better than “Personal Pupil of the Miracle Chef,” I guess.
“All right, let’s go, Ms. Master Lulu.”
“Indeed, this is no time to stand around arguing. Ms. Master Lulu, let us make haste to the kitchen.”
Neru and the bearded man pressed Lulu out of the room.
“I hope those two don’t get out of hand and stress Ms. Lulu out…”
“I’ll go with them, Manager.”
“Really? Thank you.”
If Tifaleeza was watching, I would feel much better.
“At any rate, I get that he adores Lulu as the ‘personal pupil of the Miracle Chef,’ but why wouldn’t he be more interested in the Miracle Chef himself?” Arisa raised her eyebrows.
I shrugged. “We’ve never met face-to-face. Maybe he just doesn’t know who I am?”
The manager, Eluterina, chuckled, perhaps thinking the same thing as Arisa.
“Manager, we brought the underwear prototypes!”
Louna, the short girl who rode around on a stone fox golem, entered the room. She seemed as fond of her chosen steed as ever.
“Wow, you already made samples of the bra and panties?”
“It’s all thanks to the patterns you gave us, Arisa.”
The samples were still a bit rough, but identifiable nonetheless.
They had used an empty space in the spinning mill to set up a sewing workshop for making underwear.
I hadn’t come to visit the Echigoya Company as Kuro in the past few days, even though we were here in the royal capital; I had better visit them soon.
“So I have a pitch for a new product…”
Arisa showed them the sample stockings and began her presentation.
Before long, everyone had agreed to add stockings to the Echigoya Company product lineup.
I presented them with the results of my all-nighter: modified alchemy and spells, recipes, and a magic device for sewing up stockings.
“This is quite an unusual magic device.”
“I’m told it’s in the style of ancient Lalakie.”
Arisa had borrowed the washing machine–size magic device from the elves’ sewing workshop.
I used my “Disguise” skill to make the outside look like an old-fashioned Lalakie device.
“Are you certain you don’t mind lending us such a valuable item?”
“Yes, it’s fine. We acquired all kinds of magic tools when we traveled the sugar route, and this one is a bit too large for us to use alone. I would rather it be with people who will use it properly.”
It was a somewhat roundabout response, but that was all part of trying to disguise its origins, which was also why I’d made it look like an antique from Lalakie.
As much as I trusted Manager Eluterina, I wanted to make sure no third parties caught wind of it and went to bother the elves about similar devices.
After the business talks, I moved on to asking for some more personal advice.
“Private tutors and servants…?”
“Yes, I’d like to hire a teacher to instruct my kids in manners and a few employees to take care of chores in our royal capital mansion.”
“I’ve got just the list for you.”
The manager called for one of the noble executive girls and sent her to get a “yellow binder.”
“It’s a list of people who were employed as maids in the Lessau County castle, noble manors, and so on. We would’ve liked to hire them ourselves, but I’m afraid it’s a bit complicated…”
She was probably being careful because of the circumstances of girls like Tifaleeza and Neru.
Most of them were currently working side jobs, or at the spinning mill that had recently reopened.
“There aren’t any weird strings attached, are there?”
“No, I’ve already made sure of that.”
The list included their places of origin and most recent jobs, and even a simple work history, whether they discriminated against demi-humans, and so on.
I picked six or so names from the list, interviewed a middle-aged veteran maid named Tenmarya as our head maid, and hired her on the spot to come work for us the next day. There were a few promising candidates for teaching and gardening who I hired as well.
Instead of hiring an exclusive coachman, I made a contract with one from the coachman’s guild for a month or so, complete with a carriage. I thought about using a carriage from Storage and making some horse golems with the Earth Magic spell Create Earth Servant but decided that would draw too much attention.
“Monsters in the royal capital…?”
While we waited for Lulu to return, Ms. Manager mentioned this in conversation.
I’d heard some nobles talking about that at the garden party, too.
“Yes, although it hasn’t been confirmed directly…there have been reports of homeless people being found dead in a terrible state in the lower part of the city, and the torso of a ratfolk merchant was discovered in the sewers.”
There were also rumors about a monsterlike shadow attacking people, traces of suspicious rituals being found in abandoned buildings, and so on.
“There have been several incidents with demon lord revivals and monster attacks in the past six months or so, and rumors like this often go around this time of year leading up to an Evil-Cleansing Ceremony, but…”
“If they’re finding bodies, then obviously something’s going on,” Arisa supplied.
She shot me a look that probably meant “Find out what’s happening,” but just like when I checked during the garden party, I couldn’t find anything suspicious on the map.
There weren’t any dangerous creatures like the giant alligators that lived in the sewers of the old capital, only rats and bats.
“I’ve heard that the guards suspect it might be a creature or ghoul summoned by a monster summoner or necromancer, a chimera made by an alchemist, or perhaps a tamed monster that’s escaped.”
A monster summoner… I remembered the weaselman mage I’d seen at the Sahbe Company.
Although he certainly seemed suspicious, it was probably a bit too much of a leap to suggest him as a suspect just because he could use Summoning Magic.
If anything, this seemed more like the work of a demon, but that wasn’t listed as one of the options.
“That’s a lot of contenders.”
Disturbingly enough, there was apparently a betting pool among some of the more unscrupulous guards about which of those was responsible for the incidents.
“By the way, what’s an Evil-Cleansing Ceremony?”
“You’ve never heard of it, Arisa? It’s a ritual in which they collect all the miasma from the royal capital and surrounding areas into holy vessels, then priestesses from all seven temples purify it all at once,” the manager explained. “It clears out the monsters from the vicinity of the capital, since they don’t like places without miasma.”
I had just learned about it recently, but the Evil-Cleansing Ceremony was evidently held twice a year, using items like a Holy Grail or Holy Chalice to magically drive monsters out of the royal capital and its surrounding areas. This time, it would be done with the royal family’s Holy Grail and the dukes’ Holy Chalices, a bigger version of the ceremony that was only done once every six years and was sometimes even called the Big Clean.
Since this ceremony wiped out all the monsters in the area, the royal capital was able to maintain agricultural fields far larger than most other places. It probably helped that the outer border of the farmland was surrounded by barrier posts to prevent monsters from reentering.
“Isn’t that dangerous? I would think it’d attract monsters when they gather all that miasma.”
“It’s perfectly safe. The patrolling knights and Wyvern Riders will be on high alert, and the miasma evaporates before the monsters can approach, so it’s rare for monsters to even come into view of the royal capital.”
The royal capital native seemed quite confident in the safety of the ceremony.
“Gotcha. Thanks for the explanation, Ms. Eluterina. Sorry for derailing the conversation…” Arisa brought back the original subject, mentioning Mr. Homimudory’s company. “Oh, right. You said a weaselman merchant was killed—was it someone from the Sahbe Company?”
“Yes, that’s right.” Ms. Manager nodded, then turned to me. “Why, could it be that you’re in business with the Sahbe Company, Sir Knight?”
“I wouldn’t say that. I just purchased some scrolls from them,” I answered truthfully. “Why do you ask?”
“Oh, it’s just that the Sahbe Company deals in products that are forbidden in the Shiga Kingdom. I wanted to be sure you hadn’t purchased any without knowing.”
“Thank you for the warning.”
I would have to be careful, since they seemed to have some gray-area products that could be mistaken for illegal items, too.
I did buy the Bonecraft scroll, but it didn’t look particularly dangerous, nor did I plan on showing it off to anyone. Hopefully it would be fine.
“But if it’s known that they deal in illegal products, why haven’t they been reported to the authorities?” Arisa asked.
“Because the Sahbe Company has the backing of some powerful nobles. The law only makes sure they limit their dealings to private places. If they try to do anything more than that, the company will get out of it.”
This was only for gray-area items like the curse stone, though; if they were selling highly illegal drugs like demonic potions or corpse potions, proof would be enough to get them in serious trouble.
Just then, Lulu and Neru returned.
“Somethin’ about the Sahbe Company?” Neru asked.
“Just that they sell some dangerous items.”
“Yeah? Figured as much. I always see sketchy people comin’ and goin’ through the back entrance there.”
Neru added that there was a delicious food cart near the Sahbe Company.
The “sketchy people” she mentioned were probably members of that casual occult group Wind of Freedom.
“It’s still a little early to go home,” Arisa remarked.
“Want to go to the fountain plaza nearby, then?”
Lulu proposed a spot that Neru had told her about.
It sounded like a fun place, with street performers, caricature artists, and plenty of food carts.
“Aah, look! That must be the place, right?”
“Master, destination sighted up ahead, I report.”
It didn’t take long to reach the fountain plaza.
Our carriage would’ve taken us all the way there, but since that wouldn’t be as fun, we got off a little ways away and walked there together.
“Gwaaaaah!”
As we were strolling along, a young man came tumbling out of an alleyway with a yell.
For some reason, a crow was pecking at his head.
“D-damn you, black-feathered beast!”
“H-how dare you harm our friend!”
A few men who appeared to be the first man’s friends came running out after him. Their words sounded brave and all, but they were sweating like mad and wheezing so hard I thought they might collapse at any moment.
“Preeey…?”
“We captured Mr. Crow, sir.”
Tama and Pochi caught the crow and came back, its victim trailing behind them.
“Th-thank you for the help.”
The young man was holding what appeared to be a crow’s feather.
He must have tried to pluck it from the crow and got attacked in retaliation.
He asked for the crow back, so I gave it to him in exchange for two copper coins as a reward to Tama and Pochi for catching it. They could buy some meat skewers or something later.
“Comrades! We have taken another step closer to realizing our ambitions!”
“Indeed, now we will be able to commune with the dark god!”
I seriously doubt there’s any god you can contact with a single crow feather.
“Now our ranking in the secret society Wind of Freedom will surely rise. It was worth doing battle with the black-feathered beast.”
It’s not much of a secret society if you go around saying its name in broad daylight…
No wonder the guildmaster called Wind of Freedom a casual group.
We parted ways with the nerdy occult lovers, who were still lost in their own world, and continued our stroll.
“Smells like sobaaa…?”
“No meat-filled galettes, sir.”
“There’s a cart selling grilled sakura salmon fillet, too.”
The food-loving beastfolk girls were immediately entranced by the food carts.
We decided to purchase some snacks and eat them as we walked.
“Sakura.”
The path to the fountain was lined with cherry blossom trees.
“They’re starting to bud here and there.”
“Mm. Exciting.”
It would be a while yet until they bloomed, but I was looking forward to having a flower-viewing party with everyone when the time came.
“There’s more people than I expected,” Lulu remarked, looking around at the bustling passersby.
“Crowded,” Mia agreed.
“Well, yeah. A fountain that big is bound to draw a lot of sightseers.”
Arisa pointed at the towering fountain beyond the crowds of people.
The fountain plaza we were headed toward was one of eight large fountains found throughout the royal capital, and it was the most popular of those in the areas that commoners and lesser nobles could visit.
Each of the fountainheads at the center was carved into a different statue.
The statues moved at regular intervals with the chime of bells; it might be worth checking out the other ones after this, too.
Naturally, there were pickpockets and gropers to be found in a crowd like this, but the beastfolk girls and I made quick work of them. I raised the magnification of my radar to a radius of around a hundred feet so I could easily identify miscreants in the crowd.
“Whoo! How nostalgic!”
Arisa gave a cry of delight at a beastfolk street performer who was using a flute to control a snake in a basket.
Nostalgic? Were there performers like this in Arisa’s hometown?
“Wrigglyyy…?”
“It’s Mr. Broiled Eel, sir!”
The snake somehow reminded Pochi of broiled eel.
We had just eaten some snacks from the food carts; evidently, Pochi’s appetite knew no limits.
Maybe I should make some eel—or rather, naga—for dinner tonight.
As I started getting lost in thought about what to make for side dishes, the excited voices of my party reached my ears.
“It’s shooting up in the air like peeew, sir!”
“Wonderfuuul…?”
“Stay back, you two, or you’ll fall into the fountain.”
“It reminds me of Mia’s magic, I declare.”
“Mm?”
“I wonder if they have a tradition of throwing in a copper coin for luck here?”
“Don’t be silly, Arisa. Money isn’t a toy.”
The girls seemed to be enjoying the sights of the fountain. There was one at the park we’d visited just a few days ago, too, but I couldn’t blame them for getting excited, since this one was on a much bigger scale.
“It’s pretty, although the little spray of water is really cold. I bet they’d love something like this in Labyrinth City.”
“Yeah, really. But how would that work, I wonder? Water is a pretty valuable resource there.”
“It could just spray at particular times and be a place for drawing water otherwise.”
Hmm. If we made one in the plaza in front of the west guild, it could be a good sightseeing spot and rest area for explorers.
“Satou.”
Mia tugged on my sleeve. I looked where she pointed and saw several carriages stopped on the other side of the fountain, one of which was especially fancy.
Peering out the window of the fancier carriage was Athena, the pink-haired Sakura Protector we’d met at the base of the Royal Sakura Tree. The glasses-wearing Princess Sistina and her two ladies-in-waiting were inside as well.
They must be here to see the fountain together.
There were six female guards on horseback protecting the carriage. They all wore gleaming armor, befitting the bodyguards of a princess.
Just then, the bells that marked the time throughout the royal capital began to ring out.
“Waaah, amazing! Look, Arisa! Master, too—it’s beautiful!”
Lulu got my attention in a voice a full octave higher than usual, and I closed the window of detailed information that blocked my view.
Oooh.
My eyes were fixed immediately on the spectacle in front of me.
I don’t know if it was Water Magic, Practical Magic, or something else entirely, but the water all around the fountain began floating in defiance of gravity, forming rings in the air.
Then the fountain itself sprayed up through the rings.
The circles of water flew up higher into the air with the spray of the fountain, then disintegrated in a rainbow of sparkles.
Moments later, the nozzles below the surface all started spraying more water up into the rainbow light, forming arches that blossomed around the fountain at the center.
The falling spray turned into the shape of petals, dancing in the air over the plaza like a storm of cherry blossoms.
The stone statues underneath danced around with comical motions.
What a fantastical sight.
I hadn’t expected there to be magical components in addition to the mechanical movements.
Still holding on to my sleeve, Lulu gazed at the scene in silent wonder.
The rest of the group were equally entranced, watching the water change shape and color as if their hearts had been stolen away.
…Okay, Mia and Pochi. I get how you feel, but you shouldn’t let your mouths hang open.
I reached out and gently closed the pair’s mouths.
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