Sasaki and Peeps - Volume 7 - Chapter 1

<Family Contract>

After safely resolving Miss Hoshizaki’s kidnapping and explaining the situation to her little sister, we returned to Futarishizuka’s Karuizawa villa. We still had a whole heap of problems on our plate, but we were finally out of the fire, so we decided to take a break.

That night, we all gathered in Ms. Futarishizuka’s dining room and had hot pot. On one side of the rectangular table sat the villa’s owner, myself, and Miss Hoshizaki. Across from us were Abaddon, my neighbor, and Type Twelve. As always, Peeps was right beside me, perched on the table.

While we were eating, Type Twelve put down her chopsticks. “I will be direct,” she said. “I desire a familial relationship and to enact household dynamics with all of you.”

Everyone looked at her in surprise.

Ignoring the rest of us, the alien continued, her tone flat. “I shall be the daughter, and Hoshizaki shall be the mother. I will not yield on this point. I may compromise on the other roles, however.”

Apparently, after the day’s incident, Type Twelve had only gotten more interested in the idea of family. She looked at each person around the table in turn before her gaze landed back on Miss Hoshizaki.

She’s a mechanical life-form who has awakened to emotions, and now she’s after love from a mother figure.

As always, her face was steady as a mask, and yet I sensed more force behind her words than usual. A kind of spirit, maybe, or backbone. Mechanical life-forms apparently never told lies, so she definitely wasn’t joking.

The one under her stare reacted pretty quickly. “Wait. Hang on a second. Why do I have to be the mom?!”

“That’s what you’re worried about?” I said faster than I could think. Her assignment in this hypothetical family was hardly the biggest problem here.

Miss Hoshizaki went on to express extreme displeasure at the role she’d been offered. “I’m only sixteen! I can’t be a mom at my age!”

“There is no blood connection between us,” explained Type Twelve. “Therefore, I believe that age does not matter.”

“Yes it does! I think Futarishizuka is much more suitable!”

My senior work colleague had been emphasizing her age quite a bit lately. I’d also been seeing her without makeup more often. I was pretty sure she hadn’t acted like this back when we first met, and I wondered what had happened to change things. Back then, it seemed like she wanted people to see her as a mature adult.

“Hoshizaki, your thinking is flawed. You should reconsider your position.”

“Wh-why?”

“That human is not a fitting mother. As the daughter, I vehemently protest.”

“Alas, to be disowned as a mother by one’s own child,” moaned Futarishizuka. “How am I to meet my death after suffering such rejection?”

“Could you stop being so depressing?” Hoshizaki shot back.

At her age, Futarishizuka could easily have a daughter or a granddaughter—or even a great-granddaughter or a great-great-granddaughter. I wanted to ask her about it, but I was sure her response would be more vivid than I’d bargained for, so I stayed quiet.

“I suppose that would make my partner your sister, then?”

“Now, hold on a moment, Abaddon,” said my neighbor.

Abaddon had purposely taken the chance to work my neighbor into the conversation. He knew perfectly well how useful Type Twelve could be; he was desperate to maintain some sort of connection with her. My neighbor tended to be indifferent about such things, so the demon was probably working hard on her behalf.

“Oh? No to the sister idea, then?”

“Abaddon, your thinking is very logical,” said Type Twelve.

“Really?”

“Yes. As the daughter, it would please me greatly to have an older sister.”

The mechanical life-form seemed intent on putting herself under the guardianship of the rest of the family. Since she had already offered to look after my neighbor for the foreseeable future, this potential relationship didn’t seem like a bad idea. Though personally, I got the feeling my neighbor wasn’t very keen on the idea of family.

“See? She likes the idea. At least consider it.”

“I’m less concerned about myself and more interested in who is going to be the father.”

“Come now, child,” said Ms. Futarishizuka. “In this group, there’s only one option.” She glanced at me, a wry expression on her face.

In fact, everyone was looking at me.

She was right. The only men at this table were Abaddon and me. And since the former looked very young—real age aside—it was only natural that the role of father would fall to me.

Still, I couldn’t just agree with them. What a pain, I thought.

“Gay marriage has become widespread in recent years,” I said, trying to deflect. “I don’t think there’s any reason a man has to occupy the position of father. There are also families where one parent lives separately. Perhaps it’s not that important to have two parents.”

“You always try to run away the moment you’re put on the spot,” said Ms. Futarishizuka. “Don’t you think that’s a little unfair?”

“No, no,” I assured her. “I’m only raising the obvious counterarguments.”

Steam billowed from the pot at the center of the table as it gently simmered over the cooker. Our chopsticks had been moving ceaselessly until a few moments ago, but Type Twelve’s remark had made everyone set them down on their plates. In their place, what flew back and forth over the pot were suggestions of how to split up the roles in this as-yet-unseen, fictional family that I couldn’t even envision.

“I agree with you, mister. I would be fine with an absentee father.”

“Indeed. He isn’t related to any of you by blood, so maybe he can just fill in the gaps when needed. He doesn’t seem into the idea anyway, right? I doubt anything good will come of forcing him.”

Without missing a beat, my neighbor cast her vote for an absentee father—a perspective doubtlessly rooted in her many negative experiences around family. Abaddon instantly chimed in with his support.

Miss Hoshizaki, however, seemed displeased. “There are many different kinds of families in the world and that variety is a good thing. I won’t claim you have to follow a specific formula to be happy. But personally, I’d rather a family have both a father and a mother.”

“As Hoshizaki’s daughter, I shall prioritize her viewpoint. Sasaki must be the father,” said Type Twelve. My colleague’s opinions were absolute to her.

I sensed an odd kind of danger in that. Ever since the alien had arrived, Miss Hoshizaki had been wielding a lot more influence. And now that her psychic power had leveled up, her words and actions had a strength to them they’d previously lacked.

“But I’ve never even been married,” I reminded them.

“Well,” said Miss Hoshizaki, “she’s making me the mother, even though I’m still in high school. So who cares?”

“That may be true, but…”

“And isn’t it kinda normal these days for someone’s first marriage to be to a divorced single parent?”

“Are you divorced, Miss Hoshizaki?”

“N-no, I’m not! I’m just making up our backstory! Duh!”

I was hoping to distract her, but she proved surprisingly persistent.

Despite everything she’d been through with her father, she seemed dead set on this. Or maybe it was because of all the anguish he’d caused her that she wanted, at least while we were playing pretend, to put her junior colleague in the role and use her leverage to control him.

And man, she’s really playing up the whole “I’m only in high school” bit.

“Incidentally,” I said, “Abaddon, what sort of role are you planning to fill?”

“Huh? You want me to be part of this, too?”

“You were the one making suggestions earlier. I don’t think it’s very fair to make me do all the work.”

“Yeah, but I’m a demon. I think that disqualifies me.”

“There is a vacancy in the position of brother. You are welcome to take that role.”

“See? The one in charge agrees.”

“Well, in that case, I’ll have to put on my best big brother act!”

“Then it’s settled. Please make Abaddon my younger brother.”

“Understood. I shall adopt your viewpoint, Kurosu.”

“Aww…”

Now the neighbor and Abaddon had been unofficially crowned siblings to Type Twelve. The two of them had always seemed like siblings to me, so I didn’t need any further convincing. I hoped they, along with Miss Hoshizaki in the role of mother, would do a good job reining in the mechanical life-form. She already hated Ms. Futarishizuka and me, after all.

“I would also like the Java sparrow pecking at his food to take a role.”

At last, Type Twelve’s attention turned to the spot in front of me on the table, where Peeps was standing next to his plate, enjoying some beef. He’s been chowing down the whole time we were talking. He just can’t resist, can he? For a meat lover like him, the thinly sliced brand-name domestic beef, plump and moist with soup broth, must have simply been too tempting. Occasionally, I’d see the meat split apart without him doing anything; he was probably using magic.

The distinguished sparrow heard Type Twelve’s remark and glanced up from his plate. He looked so darn cute with tiny pieces of meat stuck to his cheeks.

“You wish me to take part in this event as well, then?”

“You shall play the role of the family’s pet,” said Type Twelve.

“Is that truly a position we require?”

“A pampered pet is an irreplaceable part of any harmonious family.”

“…I see.”

Maybe this was my chance. I could use his role of pet as an excuse to take pictures of him. Aside from Lady Elsa’s videos, I’d had almost no chance to capture Peeps on camera. When I thought about it like that, I was a little—just a little, mind you—excited by the alien’s proposal. I already had a folder for him on my computer but it was empty. This was the perfect opportunity to fill it up.

As for the future subject of my photographs, he simply nodded and said he supposed it was fine. Sorry for making you do all this, Peeps.

Meanwhile, there was only one person left to raise an objection—the very one we’d been ignoring this whole time—Ms. Futarishizuka.

“Hold the phone,” she said. “Why are we going on like this family idea is already set in stone?”

“To state my viewpoint as the daughter, I do not mind that Futarishizuka has no place in our family.”

Judging from how she kept prefacing her sentences, Type Twelve had already settled completely into her role.

“How cold of you, dear. I hope you understand that such things will only make me all the more determined to join in.”

Managing this pretend family without Ms. Futarishizuka’s help sounded difficult, so I decided to use my role as father to back her up. It didn’t matter what part she played, but I had to get her something.

“Then, taking into consideration your outward appearance, perhaps you could take the role of little sister?” I suggested.

“Sasaki, I find it difficult to agree with your viewpoint,” objected Type Twelve.

“Is that a no, then?”

“There is no need for anyone younger than me. I will not give up my position as youngest child. For the same reason, I strongly recommend Abaddon take the role of middle brother. Should this be dissatisfactory, I must insist he consider a different role.”

“Hearing you speak so honestly about what you want is actually rather refreshing,” said Ms. Futarishizuka.

Type Twelve was out to get all the love and affection she could, and it seemed she already had a good grasp on what a family was supposed to be. Her claim that she’d been observing Earth and gathering information for a long time must have been true. I found myself wondering just how long ago she’d gotten here.

“Hmm. I can’t think of any other suitable roles for me,” Ms. Futarishizuka continued.

“Futarishizuka, I strongly recommend you take the role of live-in servant,” suggested Type Twelve.

“Hey, hold your horses. That doesn’t sound very familial to me.”

A thought suddenly occurred to me. It was probably best not to dwell on such things, but could it be Type Twelve had designated Ms. Futarishizuka as the character it was okay to bully? The alien had been particularly scathing toward her ever since we’d all met.

Still, it would take more than that to put the girl in the kimono into a slump.

“Ah yes. I think I see what you mean,” she said conspiratorially. “I’ll take the role of the flirtatious maid that has an affair with the father.”

“W-wait,” stammered Miss Hoshizaki. “I don’t like the sound of that one bit!”

“I don’t see why you should be so flustered, dearie.”

“Well, aren’t I supposed to be the mom here?!”

It sounded like Miss Hoshizaki absolutely hated our colleague’s idea. I wasn’t too keen on acting out some awful soap opera, either. There was little doubt such antics would negatively affect Type Twelve’s mental state, and it wouldn’t be good for my neighbor’s moral upbringing, either.

“Adultery is an act which spoils the order of a family. It must not be allowed,” stated the alien.

“See? She thinks it’s a dumb idea, too!” said Miss Hoshizaki.

“Oh, but don’t you have a more pressing matter to consider?” asked Ms. Futarishizuka.

“What are you talking about?”

“Do you intend to devote all your time to this pretend family, while leaving your real sister at home, all alone?”

“I…I’d never do that!” Miss Hoshizaki’s expression stiffened.

Even now, her younger sister was preparing dinner and awaiting her return. Now that Futarishizuka had reminded her, our senior colleague must have been feeling increasingly guilty.

“Remember dear, if you’re constantly hanging around with this one, you’ll have far less time to spend with your sister.”

“Well, you might be right, but…”

“Futarishizuka,” said Type Twelve, “Refrain from statements that bother Hoshizaki.”

“Oh, but I’m only speaking the truth. Her real sister is quite important to her.”

“……”

Type Twelve, normally so expressionless, displayed a subtle flash of something like emotion. For a split second, her brows knotted a tiny bit. I wondered if she even noticed. But it only lasted a moment before she was back to normal.

Nevertheless, the reaction concerned me, and I couldn’t pretend I hadn’t seen it.

“How about we do this, then?” I said.

“Sasaki?”

“It’s our job to investigate the unidentified flying object. As employees of the bureau, it makes sense for us to use our work hours for this. The section chief shouldn’t have any objections.”

Much like Miss Hoshizaki, I couldn’t afford to spend every hour of my day with the mechanical life-form. I needed time to visit the otherworld, too. Shuffling all this into work hours was my best option.

I was sure our senior colleague would feel the same. If she was making money pretending to be a mother, she’d probably be a lot more enthusiastic about the role. And she could use family matters as an excuse to snatch all the overtime pay and late-night wage multipliers she wanted.

“How does that sound?” I asked. “That way, you would have just as much time with your sister as before.”

“Yeah… Yeah, you’re right! I like that idea.”

Just as I’d predicted, she okayed my proposal without missing a beat. Next, I turned to my neighbor and Abaddon.

“And you two could join in once school is over and you’re back home. You’ll have plenty of time in the evening to spend with her.”

“I agree with your idea, mister.”

“Yup. No objections here.”

Thankfully, both of them agreed as well. Considering her involvement in the death game, my neighbor was probably hesitant to make any friends. But now that she was starting over at a new school in a different town, I wanted her to make the most of her new life.

Ms. Futarishizuka, however, didn’t seem too pleased. “Why are you taking command all of a sudden, hmm?”

“If we’re going to do this, shouldn’t we come up with an arrangement that makes everyone happy?” I replied.

“I don’t believe it. Are you actually into this?”

“My personal feelings don’t matter. I’d just rather have my say now while I still have the chance.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

That had to be why Futarishizuka kept doggedly inserting herself back into the conversation. Otherwise, knowing you, you’d have opted out of the running right away. Though if I said that to her face, I was sure she’d get her revenge later, so I stayed quiet.

“Understood. I shall adopt Sasaki’s viewpoint,” stated Type Twelve.

“Glad to hear it,” I said.

Ultimately, the alien signed off on my idea. My only concern now was the duration of this little project. Obviously, I didn’t want to be stuck playing house for several years. I might not have much in the works, but my neighbor and Miss Hoshizaki still had the prime of their lives ahead of them. For now, I’d just have to pray that Type Twelve was the sort to give up on things quickly.

“So then, what role is Futarishizuka taking?” asked Miss Hoshizaki.

“Should she be dissatisfied with the servant position, I recommend the role of grandmother. While the mother prioritizes her children, the grandmother is more concerned with her son—my father—and treats his wife harshly. I believe this role would suit Futarishizuka. I have heard such a relationship is standard in this country.”

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea to purposely introduce discord into the family,” mused Ms. Futarishizuka.

“Didn’t you literally just suggest something similar?” shot back Miss Hoshizaki.

“Setting up a mother-in-law as the common enemy will strengthen familial bonds,” explained Type Twelve. “I have come to this conclusion after a statistical analysis of modern families. Mankind is wont to submit to the present situation and allow dissatisfaction to accumulate. We cannot allow this dissatisfaction to remain aimless and untargeted in a family setting.”

“…Okay. Fine. Whatever,” grumbled Ms. Futarishizuka.

Despite how she looked, it was an appropriate role given her real age. But couldn’t we do anything about those distressing attendant circumstances? I didn’t think there was any need to decide such things this far in advance, either. That said, I found myself wondering about the power balance between the grandmother’s role and that of the mother.

“I think that sounds about right for Futarishizuka,” said Miss Hoshizaki.

“Oh, my dear senior colleague, have you always viewed me in such a light?”

“You’ve sided with Sasaki and picked on me a couple times.”

“Oh yes? Have I? Have I really?”

I couldn’t help but agree. She had done that several times, and no good comebacks came to mind. I was destined to be caught between the two of them as father, so I decided to put as much distance between us as I could.

Before I realized it, we’d decided everyone’s roles in our new pretend family. Each one of us sitting around the hot pot now had a part to play. Our little party celebrating a job well-done suddenly felt a bit lonely as we each began to tense up in preparation for the task ahead.

Once our conversation wrapped up, my neighbor politely raised her hand and began to speak.

“Can I ask one thing, mister?” she said quietly.

“What is it?”

“I’m okay with all this. But what should we do about living arrangements? If we’re supposed to be a family, then maybe Abaddon and I should move in here for the time being.”

“Oh, I get it. That’s a great idea!”

Abaddon immediately agreed with my neighbor’s proposal. I suspected the distinguished sparrow currently chowing down atop the table was the reason. They’d requested his protection several times in the past, too.

But Type Twelve spoke up, superseding her. “Kurosu, I have a suggestion regarding the family’s dwelling.”

“Are you proposing we use a different location?”

“Your thinking is correct.”

“We’re a fairly large household,” pointed out Ms. Futarishizuka. “Do you know of somewhere else we could all fit?”

As the topic moved to the issue of where everyone would stay, I suddenly recalled a certain circumstance of my own—one I’d been neglecting.

Ever since my apartment building burned down, I’d been living in a hotel. I’d have to find a real place to live soon or I’d be in trouble. Objectively speaking, I was totally dependent on Ms. Futarishizuka at the moment. I was paying her plenty in return, but others might not see it that way.

“A house is essential for building a good family,” explained Type Twelve. “It must be inviolate. I agree that this mansion is an excellent facility, but its security is not up to an acceptable standard.”

“It isn’t, hmm? That’s a rather bold statement.”

“I am only speaking the truth.”

“Well, I doubt it will be so easy to find an available mansion even better than this one.”

At the mechanical life-form’s mention of security, several candidates popped into my mind, and all of them whet my interest. I had a feeling this development was going to make my explanation to the boss about our next job a lot smoother.

“I will guide you all there tomorrow.”

“Will you, now? I suppose it’s time to see what the youngest member of our family has up her sleeve.”

I figured Ms. Futarishizuka had some idea of what to expect, which was why she had so readily accepted.

And with that, the day came more or less to a close. It looked like the true beginning of our family contract would have to wait until the following day.

No matter how busy I was in modern Japan, I couldn’t skip my regular trip to the otherworld. That night, once dinner was over and everyone had gone their separate ways, Peeps and I used his magic to cross over. Our destination was the office of the court minister, inside the royal castle in Allestos.

The room hadn’t changed since our last visit. After a quick look around, we headed straight for Count Müller.

We wound up in his place of work—the office of the chancellor. There, I took a seat on the sofa opposite the room’s owner, with a low table between us.

“It’s good to see you again, Count Müller,” I began.

“It is indeed, Sir Sasaki—and your bird, of course.”

As you might expect from the count’s mode of addressing Peeps, Lady Elsa was present in the room, too. She sat right next to her father and joined in our conversation. She’d just happened to be there when we arrived.

A few days ago, when Type Twelve had declared that she would destroy humanity, we’d sent Lady Elsa back to the otherworld out of concern for her safety. Unable to remain with us for the time being, she’d spent her days with her family.

“I must apologize once again for barging in on you, Julius.”

“No apologies necessary. Please drop by whenever you wish.”

As always, Peeps was on his perching tree set up on the table. The way he bobbed up and down was positively adorable.

“Since the two of you are here, may I assume the disturbance in your world has passed? Or, if this is an urgent matter, I am prepared to do what I can right away.”

“Thank you for asking, my lord. The situation is under control for now.”

“I’m happy to hear it. My daughter was worried about you, as well.”

“Yes, but I knew you would be fine!” Lady Elsa interrupted. “I would expect no less of you. You seem less formidable than my father, but you always rise to the occasion when it’s needed.”

“I’m very sorry for causing you to worry, Lady Elsa.”

She was buttering me up an awful lot. I assumed her father had put her up to it.

As we exchanged greetings, it became clear to me that the prospective marriage arrangement was still in effect.

“Does this mean I’ll be able to return with you to your world?” Lady Elsa asked.

“Yes, it does. Though I won’t force you to, of course.”

“Force me? Nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve been looking forward to it so much. Futarishizuka is very kind to me, as is everyone else at the mansion. I still don’t understand your language, but I’d like to keep studying it.”

“I see.”

Lady Elsa had a big smile on her face as she spoke. She must have been telling the truth.

Seeing this got my mind spinning. Was there any way to distract her from this marriage business?

Soon, something occurred to me. If she were to experience modern Japanese culture on a deeper level, maybe she’d discover something that would fulfill her personally or some goal she wanted to work toward. Perhaps she would expand her view and find a future for herself that went beyond simply contributing to her family.

“……”

Count Müller had said he would respect her wishes. That might be just the ticket.

“What is it? You’re staring at Julius’s daughter.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking.”

In fact, we could even get her involved in Type Twelve’s family production. That would make complicated discussions easier, too. If I asked Miss Hoshizaki for help, things might progress rather quickly. After all, she was in high school. While her sensibilities were somewhat unique, she was much closer in temperament to the rest of us than to Lady Elsa, a noble from another world.

“Sir Sasaki, I have something else I’d like to discuss with you.” Once we’d decided on our future course of action, the count turned back to me and began to speak.

“Oh. Yes, my lord,” I replied. “What is it?”

“I understand this is sudden, but there is a plan to bequeath territory to you,” he explained.

“You mean as a noble of this kingdom?”

“That’s right.”

That was sudden. I didn’t remember anyone discussing this with me beforehand. And accepting more land was not what I wanted right now.

“I apologize for my rudeness, but I very much doubt I’ll be able to govern this new territory.”

“A messenger from the Marc Trading Company visited us recently. He informed me that you’re developing a trade route between Herz and the Republic of Lunge. His Majesty and I came up with the idea that you should have the region around that border.”

“I see, sir.”

That changed things. It sounded like this was merely a pretext to avoid any issues with the project now that my involvement was known.

“I’m sorry, sir. I hadn’t thought word of that matter would reach the king. I’m extremely grateful for your continued kindness, considering my background. But are you sure it’s wise to simply give me those lands?”

“You have contributed far more to His Majesty than I have.”

“You’re very modest, sir. But I am a citizen of another country.”

“If you were to betray us at this point, Sir Sasaki, I believe we would both resign ourselves to fate.”

“I am happy to hear that you have such trust in me, my lord.”

Their decisions were probably predicated on the fact I had the Lord Starsage’s support. Still, I could sort of understand the feeling. If Peeps ever betrayed me, I would feel the same. I couldn’t help it. The sparrow had proven to be someone I could work with smoothly toward our mutual benefit—moreso than anyone else I had ever met. It was a very strange feeling.

“Would it be all right if we requested the Marc Trading Company’s assistance managing your territory?” asked the count.

“Yes, and thank you. Please tell them to do so.”

The language wasn’t the only thing different in this world—its culture, its food, and even its ecosystem were all fundamentally unlike my own. If I was given land here, I’d never be able to govern it properly. In fact, any meddling from me would probably just hold back everyone else involved.

I would prefer to focus on our finances, taking what we earned from the Ohgen Empire and spreading it across the Kingdom of Herz. That was our goal from the start, and it was always best to stick to one’s original intentions.

Now that the topic had shifted to this territory business, Peeps had a question of his own. “If there is to be a route to the Republic of Lunge, would it happen to pass through Alterian?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

He turned to me. “That means you would be called Margrave Sasaki-Alterian in the future.”

“That seems like a bit much, if you ask me…”

When the previous king had bestowed the Rectan Plains upon me, the region had been just how it sounded—empty plains. This time, though, the territory in question was a proper domain, likely including established settlements. Taking charge over such a place was a heavy responsibility, even if I wouldn’t be governing it directly.

It’d be nice to have the freedom to develop it, but I’d rather someone else handle all the towns and stuff.

“Given your sensibilities, receiving such a territory may seem extravagant. But the area is mostly empty. If you recall, developing this route is said to be quite difficult—and for the same reasons, there are few villages nearby. You needn’t concern yourself with such matters; you can go on as you have in the past.”

“A word, if I may,” interrupted the count. “King Adonis believes that Sir Sasaki will govern the territory, including the nearest provincial town of Rotan. He intends for you to take on the rank of margrave in both name and function.”

“I see. From Rotan, we can also hope for trade with the Kingdom of Blase…”

“The king’s thoughts exactly.”

Did the king intend for me to rule an actual domain? I couldn’t tell. I’d be somewhat troubled if he did. That would blow my hopes for a relaxed retirement right out the window.

“Peeps, I’d like to get a sense of the scale of the matter, if I could…”

“Oh, yes. In terms of your homeland, imagine you asked for an area on the border of Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, and the other party says they will throw in Sendai as a bonus. I believe that city is a port that trades with many other nations. Rotan, too, is a bustling city known for foreign trade.”

“Wow. That’s quite a lot to take in.”

A city of that magnitude was quite the “bonus” to “throw in.” I was also in awe of my distinguished sparrow’s grasp of Japanese geography.

“Count Müller, if I may,” I said, “I think such a bountiful town would be too much for me to handle. I’m very obliged to you and the king, but I would rather he look after the town while I receive only what territory is necessary.”

“Sir Sasaki, are you being serious right now?”

“If we are the develop the land as proposed, we will need a steady supply of people. If you could fortify the city with your allies and those of the king, I could procure the goods and people necessary for my venture from there.”

“But that leaves nothing in this deal for you.”

“Herz’s prosperity is the best thing I could hope for from any deal, sir. In exchange, I’d like you to leave the finer details of the trade route to the Marc Trading Company. King Adonis has only recently ascended the throne, and I’m sure the country needs him elsewhere.”

“……”

I’d made my plea to the count; I needed to find a way out of ruling this domain. In exchange, I’d probably lose any income from the city. But that was exactly what I wanted. I already had more money than I knew what to do with—what point was there in racking up more? And besides, being a margrave would involve far more work than any extra earnings were worth.

The count closed his mouth, seeming troubled, and Peeps spoke up instead.

“Julius, there’s no need for suspicion. You may take his insistences at face value.”

“Lor…er, yes?”

Count Müller was always right on the edge of accidentally saying “Lord Starsage.” Thankfully, he remembered Lady Elsa’s presence and corrected himself in time.

“Decisions which seem unthinkable to us are perfectly reasonable for someone from another world. His values are completely different from our own. It is the same for the matter of your daughter’s marriage. But I promise you that his efforts are all for your sake and that of Adonis. I guarantee that nothing suspicious is happening behind the scenes.”

“But then what about your…erm, your position, little bird?”

“All of our past actions have been at his sole discretion. I have not involved myself in any way. I may have told him about the Kepler Trading Company in Lunge, but everything after that was his doing. I’m sure you know that I do not spoil my own so much.”

“……”

Unbeknownst to the others present, he did tend to spoil me. And yet, at times like this, he insisted he didn’t. Perhaps he was embarrassed. How adorable.

Peeps was just as hell-bent as I was on securing a laid-back life for us both. He’d already agreed with me on how to handle our income from the Kepler Trading Company in Lunge. After telling him about how much gold Earth had in reserve, as well as the amount in circulation and its going rate over the past few years, he’d given his approval without a second thought. It was very helpful to have a pet sparrow so well-versed in macroeconomics.

“Are you certain about this, Sir Sasaki? I don’t believe we have given you very much at all. If the little bird is making you work against your will, I beg you to be forthcoming and tell me.”

The count seemed determined to test me. I almost never heard him say such things. He was even putting the Starsage on blast now.

“You don’t need to worry about that, sir,” I replied. “There is a benefit to us in this proposal; and besides, we’ve already received more than enough. I do apologize for trampling on your generosity, but please, there is no need to concern yourself with this.”

“I have no idea what you could possibly be gaining from this situation…”

“Monetary value isn’t the only factor in something’s worth. What I want goes beyond mere money. And he knows what that is, and he agrees,” I said, glancing at the little sparrow on his perch.

Peeps simply nodded without saying anything. I sensed a display of dignity in his fluffed-out chest feathers. This was all for the sake of our relaxing life ahead.

Count Müller put on a serious face and appeared to think this over.

“…Then I suppose a mediocre man like myself could never hope to stand by your side…”

“Count?”

He cast his eyes downward and began muttering to himself. His daughter watched him with concern. I sensed a vulnerability in his demeanor.

But this lasted only a second. He quickly looked back up and faced us.

“I understand your intentions. I’ll advise the king to make the Alterian area your domain while keeping Rotan and the other nearby towns for himself. And just to be certain, you’d like your proxy to be someone from the Marc Trading Company, correct?”

“That’s right. Thank you, sir.”

“You’re always doing so much for us, Julius.”

“No, not at all. This is a simple matter, so please allow me to handle it.”

With this, I assumed the title of Margrave Sasaki-Alterian.

I already had the Kepler Trading Company’s agreement on the Lunge side, and I felt sure that Mr. Joseph would manage things. Now, development of the route between Herz and Lunge could begin in earnest.

For a little while, we’d be spending a lot of money in the provincial city of Rotan. I wondered if the Marc Trading Company would set up a branch there. Either way, Mr. Marc would be doing all of this himself—we wouldn’t have to worry about it.

But maybe I should get an extra radio set ready for them, I thought.

“Forgive me for changing the subject, sir,” I said, “but how is His Majesty doing?”

“He is still busy fighting the last Imperialist nobles remaining in the kingdom. More of them had been secretly in touch with the Empire than we thought. As one moves away from the capital, the problem appears to get worse—he told me his journey through the more remote domains would take a while longer.”

“That sounds difficult.”

“That said, if you two have anything to discuss with him, this is the perfect chance. I know where he’s currently staying, so I can rush a message to him, but you’ll have to tell me right now.”

“No, sir, we don’t have any messages for him.”

If things were going smoothly, there was no need for us to interfere. My sparrow offered no comment, either. After promising to come back soon to pick up Lady Elsa, we departed from the castle.

From there, we left Allestos and headed for the Republic of Lunge. We’d already delivered all the diesel fuel they’d need for their radio setups for the next year, so this time we’d be visiting empty-handed. Upon arrival, we were shown to the Kepler Trading Company’s reception room, where we found Mr. Joseph and Mr. Marc already present.

We all took our seats on the sofas and began trading words over the low table.

“Ah, I see. So King Adonis has bestowed the Alterian region on you.”

“It seems you informed them of our plans in advance, Mr. Marc. You have our thanks.”

“Of course. His Majesty’s prompt decision was surely the result of his immense respect for you.”

“We’ve been told we may do as we please. So if possible, I’d like people from your company to head there as proxies. In return, you can keep all the profits for the company.”

“Are you sure?”

“They told me the area has few settlements. While it won’t require much effort, it won’t generate much money, either. In fact, I should be apologizing to you—I know I’m asking a lot. But if you have a more personal interest in governing, I can renegotiate with the king.”

In fact, why not just have Mr. Marc be the lord of that domain? He was far more suited for the role than I was. If he wished, I could reconsider the matter of the surrounding towns.

“No, no. I’m just a merchant. It would be unbecoming of me to go around pretending to be a noble.”

“Is that so?”

“That, and I’m quite enjoying doing business in Lunge right now.”

It wasn’t clear to me what Mr. Joseph had him working on. But from the looks of things, Mr. Marc occupied a position of considerable import. I was happy they seemed to be getting along so well.

“I understand the circumstances,” Mr. Marc continued. “I’ll dispatch people right away. If we will be based in Alterian, I assume we’ll be procuring our goods and manpower from Rotan. But if you have any other ideas, I’ll hear you out.”

“No, that was my plan as well. I’ve already run the matter by Count Müller.”

Peeps had discussed all this with the count in advance. It was thanks to the bird that I could even keep up with what Mr. Marc was saying. I was a little interested in this otherworldly Sendai. Maybe a trip there was in order during our visit to the region.

If it had any good local cuisine, I really wanted to try it. I started to crave gyuutan—grilled beef tongue—a Sendai classic. I liked mine with extra salted onions.

“I was also thinking of delivering an additional radio set for you,” I continued.

“That would be greatly appreciated. The Marc Trading Company now employs thousands of workers. I can’t possibly visit them all, so the radios are a great help.”

Wait, they’ve grown that much? That’s a little shocking. What could he possibly be doing with that many people? He must have already sold all the products I’d brought from Japan. Was having so few radios hindering their business? I found myself very curious as to what exactly they were doing.

“In that case, should I prepare several sets instead of just one?”

“Are you sure? I would be extremely happy with that arrangement, but…” Mr. Marc’s gaze flitted to Mr. Joseph as he spoke.

The man had been silently listening to our conversation this whole time, but now he decided to have his say. “Sasaki, may I ask you something as well?”

“Oh, yes. What is it?”

“I’d like to talk about these radios you’ve just mentioned.”

“Has something gone wrong with your existing setup?”

“No, it’s nothing like that. But there’s something I need to tell you.”

Not only did Joseph usually steer clear of meaningless small talk, when we had a chance to speak, he very frequently brought up critical business matters. Seeing him ask to discuss something with me so formally sent a shiver up my spine. What could it be? I felt myself unconsciously straighten up.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It relates to something that all large trading companies in Lunge, not only my own, have been talking about for some time. I had always meant to inform you about it at some point, and this seems as good a chance as any.”

“In that case, I will leave the room while you two discuss,” said Mr. Marc, standing up to go.

“Actually, I want you to hear this as well, Mr. Marc.” Mr. Joseph motioned for him to sit back down.

“…All right.”

“I’m sure you’re aware of this, Mr. Sasaki,” Mr. Joseph continued, “but every major firm in the republic has been researching high-speed information exchange for a long time now. The leading candidate is a process utilizing large-scale magic to produce waves that would carry information.”

Peeps had told me about all this before. According to his very scholarly explanation, large-scale magic sent weak magical waves across long distances, which could then be used to exchange information. The technology was still being researched, though, and was not yet ready for practical use.

“Has another company gotten it to work?” I asked.

“That’s what I’d heard,” replied Mr. Joseph.

It seemed the otherworld’s technology had advanced in the time between the sparrow’s death and his reincarnation. I was a little curious about what kind of setup they were using.

“Though it pains me to say, the Kepler Trading Company is far from succeeding in this endeavor. Should this state of affairs continue, we predicted that the company would be in a very disadvantageous position, indeed. We asked you for help as a stopgap measure until our research bore fruit.”

“I see. So that’s why you were so eager to take what I’d offered.”

I recalled my past conversations with Mr. Joseph on the matter. It had always felt like he saw the radios as a temporary measure, and it seemed I’d been right on the mark. He’d been after a substitute for the technology his company had yet to perfect.

“You’ll recall how our radio equipment broke not long ago,” he said.

“Yes, I do.”

“I’m embarrassed to admit it, but that was because a rat from another company had infiltrated our ranks.”

“Were they trying to eliminate potential competition?”

“That was my thought at first. And when we located and interrogated the culprit, we found out another company had indeed succeeded in developing the technology. That was a big reason I asked if you would become a member of our board, Mr. Sasaki.”

I thought back to Mr. Joseph’s attitude at the time. He must have been quite agitated. Exchanges of information happened in two ways: post and telegraphy. For companies of equal size, the difference was absolute. Mr. Joseph must have been in a panic—he was staring down the possibility of a multi-generational company coming to an end on his watch.

Also, I was sure by interrogation what he really meant was torture.

“You said ‘at first,’” I pointed out. “What happened to change your mind?”

“The company in question has been struggling in spite of this supposed tech,” he explained. “For example, Kepler came away from the war between Herz and Ohgen with a much greater advantage. Upon investigating things in more detail, we found out what was really going on with the other company.”

Mr. Joseph’s shoulders fell and he sighed, sounding fed up.

“Their supposed success was embellished,” he continued. “The installations linking two of their locations needed half a day just to exchange a few words. Plus, the devices they were using were not just expensive—they were also used up in the process, meaning they’d need vast amounts of capital just for one exchange.”

“That’s, well… That sounds rough.”

“As a result, Kepler is now unexpectedly miles ahead of similar companies in regard to information exchange. I’m certain, as are my analysts, that we’ll be able to monopolize the market for a long time to come.”

After hearing this lengthy explanation, I recalled what Mr. Marc had said earlier—that they now had over a thousand workers.

“Excuse me for asking, Mr. Marc, but the boom in your worker count…”

“It’s so that our company can handle all aspects of the technology you brought us internally,” Marc replied. “If needed, we can even have our own people run security for the installation sites. That way, we can greatly restrict who comes into contact with the devices.”

“That does sound like it would require a lot of manpower,” I said.

“However, we expect our profits to exceed the cost of the additional labor. In the near future, the Marc Trading Company might be earning more by itself than Kepler does currently.”

When he put it like that, the magnitude of the situation really hit me. But such things were bound to happen when a company had a monopoly on telegraphic communication.

In fact, a similar situation was brewing back in Japan. Now that our friendly exchange with Type Twelve had begun, Miss Hoshizaki had access to technology far exceeding anything else found on Earth. If she wanted to, she could cause the planet’s entire electronic communication system to collapse overnight.

She’d risen to a terrifying position in no time at all. And now, with her psychic power getting an upgrade, she could kill with only a touch. She was practically a real-life grim reaper.

“Owing in part to these circumstances, in addition to keeping our radio equipment a secret, the Marc Trading Company carefully guards the knowledge of how to use them,” Mr. Joseph explained. “My own company has sent many executives over to the Marc Trading company, either full-time or serving both businesses.”

“So that’s what was going on behind the scenes.”

It seemed the Marc Trading Company was now serving as Kepler’s communications department. That was an incredibly crucial role to be entrusted with. I began to wonder if its position as a subsidiary was simply a front at this point.

“Excuse me for asking,” I began, “but do you expect to make a technological breakthrough in the future?”

“As I understand it, this research will take several more decades,” said Mr. Joseph.

To use Earth technology as a comparison, perhaps it was like research on self-driving cars. Practical use kept being pushed back, and it seemed like no one would ever see it to fruition. No offense to the engineers trying their best to make it happen, of course.

“Again,” he continued, “while I am ashamed to admit it, I doubt any other company is pouring as much money into this technology as we are. That’s why I’m virtually certain that it won’t be finished any time soon.”

“All right. I think I understand.”

It made sense now why he’d interrupted my conversation with Mr. Marc. Given his position, he probably didn’t want me going around setting up radios wherever I pleased.

“Then I suppose I should refrain from carelessly installing more devices,” I said.

“Again, I’m terribly sorry,” said Joseph, “but I would appreciate that immensely. They are complicated to use and nigh impossible to replicate. I believe chances of theft are low, but their very existence presents additional risk.”

“Has someone already tried to steal it?”

“As far as I am aware, there have been two attempts. We were able to prevent both, but there’s no guarantee we will be able to stop a third.”

Wars between companies raged without end. But once I stopped to consider, I began to wonder what position the military occupied in all this. In places like Herz and Ohgen, the royalty maintained direct ownership of the army.

But what about Lunge? There was no royalty here, nor was there an aristocratic class. Did Lunge’s military belong to the state? Or did larger trading companies keep their own private forces? Perhaps military might was concentrated in the mercenary business in Lunge, and they outsourced as necessary. All of these seemed like good possibilities.

“However, I wouldn’t mind another set of radios to use in the development of the trade route with Herz,” added Mr. Joseph. “Even I would feel bad asking Mr. Marc to travel such a long distance over and over.”

“I appreciate your thoughtfulness,” said Mr. Marc.

I bowed gratefully to Mr. Joseph; Mr. Marc did the same, giving a little bob of his head.

From that point on, our three-way meeting’s focus turned to the actual route between Lunge and Herz. Mr. Joseph had preemptively examined things on the Republic’s end, and thanks to the starting point in Herz having been decided earlier that very day, we were able to narrow possible routes down to just one. In addition to laying out the points on the map that would form the route, we also pinned down where to situate outposts along the way.

Despite knowing very little about the otherworld’s geography, I managed to ride things out by nodding along with a smug expression and insisting that I understood. As long as I could funnel gold back into the Kingdom of Herz, everything else could be overlooked.

After the meeting, I accepted Kepler’s offer and stayed the night in Lunge. The following day, we left the country.

Back when we were first coming to the otherworld, we’d go straight back to our lodgings in Baytrium as soon as our business dealings were finished. After that, we’d spend our time in relaxation—eating, sleeping, practicing magic, and generally doing whatever we wanted.

Recently, however, we no longer had that luxury.

Upon leaving the Republic, our next port of call was an area near its border with Herz. Peeps and I had discussed earlier whether we should scope out Alterian—the region the king had recently bestowed upon me—and the bird had agreed that taking a quick look might be a good idea.

And so, we’d come for a visit—only to be greeted by vast wastelands reaching as far as the eye could see.

As we looked down from our vantage point in the sky, we saw an unending blanket of uncultivated land stretching out to the horizon. According to Peeps, if we continued straight ahead, we’d eventually end up in Allestos. But all we could see from here was desolate earth.

Turning around and looking in the opposite direction, we saw steep mountains—the vast range separating the kingdom from the republic. It filled our entire vision, as if to say nobody would ever get past it. Now that I’d seen it, I understood why Mr. Joseph had been so reluctant when I’d first suggested creating a trade route.

“We’re supposed to develop this? It looks completely impossible.”

“Lest you forget, you were the one who suggested it.”

“Well, yeah, I mean, you’re right, but…”

Judging from the map Mr. Joseph had shown me, these mountains were just like the Alps, which separated the Italian Peninsula from the rest of Europe. Naturally, travel between Herz and Lunge usually necessitated taking a detour around the mountains. That was probably why it had become a national border.

“What if we just carved out a tunnel?”

“You’ve seen the map, have you not? You know how far these mountains reach. In your world’s terms, it would be akin to putting a subway line under the Alps. I think you understand just how expensive it would be and how many years it would take to do something like that.”

“Yeah…”

I recalled that even with cutting-edge technology, it had taken over a decade to open up the Gotthard Base Tunnel. So Peeps didn’t just know about Japan’s geography, but the whole world’s. I was a little terrified.

As a realistic point of compromise, we had decided to establish several small hut-like bases throughout the mountainous portion of the route Mr. Marc and Mr. Joseph had investigated. By using mages capable of flight magic in tandem with familiars, it would be possible to link the bases up and shuttle goods quickly between them, thus improving shipping times.

Naturally, it wouldn’t be possible to transport large quantities of goods. The plan was to use the route for delivering urgent letters, moving people, and shipping small but expensive products. I’d made this suggestion myself during the previous day’s meeting, and Mr. Joseph and Mr. Marc had adopted it without issue.

Apparently, teams of mages particularly skilled in flight offered similar services transporting people quickly over mountainous terrain. That was how Mr. Marc traveled between the two nations. But such teams did not make regular journeys and only worked sporadically.

Thus, we could expect a degree of demand for our service. The issue was that the profits wouldn’t outweigh the expenditures. Mr. Joseph’s suggestion was to set up a bare-bones shuttle system as our first step, then take a look at the income it was generating and decide whether to continue breaking ground—though I was pretty sure what he really wanted was to end this as quickly as possible.

“Well, the development itself isn’t our goal, so we don’t need to go any further right now.”

“As long as you can throw money at Herz, you’ll be satisfied, yes?”

“I get the feeling Mr. Joseph is on to me.”

“I’ve wondered about that as well. Though he acts reluctant, he has nonetheless agreed to the plan.”

Our objective was to funnel the foreign capital we’d made in the Ohgen Empire into the Kingdom of Herz. This way, we wouldn’t cause trouble for anyone and we’d be creating plenty of jobs. Mr. Joseph, however, probably thought a bit less of me, which made me sad.

Still, with the Marc Trading Company and its radios becoming ever more important to Kepler, I doubted he’d simply cut me off. So for now, I’d be a good margrave and contribute to the kingdom for Count Müller’s and King Adonis’s sakes.

It was the least I could do for the adorable Java sparrow always perched on my shoulder, to atone for my failure to save the previous king.

“Peeps, everyone you’ve introduced me to here is so good and kind—like Mr. Marc and Count Müller. I think that’s why I feel so at ease in this world—or at least like things will turn out all right.”

“From my point of view, such words fill me with concern.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Are things not going well at your new place of employment?”

“No, they’re going fine…”

“Ah, well. If it ever gets too difficult, you may consult with me.”

“R-really?”

I hadn’t even intended to complain, and now Peeps was being really thoughtful. Peeps was always aloof, never allowing me to pamper him, yet he was always so kind and considerate toward me. It really warmed my heart. As I gazed into his peaceful sparrow eyes, I was overcome with the urge to give in and let him spoil me.

I wondered how the section chief would have reacted if I’d said the same thing to him.

“Well, we’ve gotten a good idea of what we’re dealing with,” I said, “so let’s head back to our inn in Baytrium.”

“Very well.”

Just as he had done to take us here, Peeps used his magic to whisk us away again.

We spent the rest of our time at our usual inn, relaxing—our first break in a while. We even got in some magic practice, which I’d been putting off a lot lately. As a result, I learned a new spell.

Actually, rather than something entirely new, I improved my golem-creation spell to produce even larger golems. Before, all I could do was make one a bit larger than an adult man—but now, I could magic them into existence at twice that size. I’d become fixated on producing a large golem ever since taking part in the construction of the Rectan Plains fortress. They were quite versatile, too, which was good news for me. If the nerd attacked again, I could use one as a moving shield. I could now resist even weapons that pierced magical barriers, to a degree.

Of course, I would have liked to learn some awesome spell that instantly eliminated all threats like the one I’d seen the Starsage use. But those weren’t learned in a day, so I decided to keep on plugging away, doing what I could. Recently, it had basically become a matter of life and death, after all.

As my golems got bigger, our time in the otherworld dwindled, and soon it was up. Lately, the difference in the flow of time between the otherworld and modern Japan had been diminishing. After about two weeks, Peeps suggested we head back.

On our final day in the otherworld, we went to the castle in Allestos and met up with Lady Elsa. Then the three of us returned to Japan.

As Peeps worked his teleportation magic, our surroundings changed completely. One instant it was a view of the royal castle, which I’d been getting quite used to lately—and the next, it was a view of Ms. Futarishizuka’s villa in Karuizawa. After a momentary visual blackout, the first thing we saw was the villa’s living room, which led into the dining room.

There, at the table in the center, sat the villa’s owner eating breakfast. She held a piping-hot rice bowl in one hand as she used her chopsticks to pluck up pieces of salmon fillet with the other.

As soon as we appeared, she turned to us. “You seem to always drop in right when I’m eating.”

“I’m sorry for interrupting your leisure time, Ms. Futarishizuka.”

“Don’t tell me you’re angling for some of my breakfast,” she replied, her gaze turning to the sparrow perched on my shoulder.

Peeps objected immediately. “The difference in the flow of time between the two worlds is constantly changing. Considering our other plans, we must travel at a time when there is some leeway. That is the only reason we tend to return around this hour.”

“I see. Then I suppose there was no need to prepare a little extra. Ah, well.”

“……”

The distinguished sparrow seemed to regret his choice a little. He’d never say as much, but his tail feathers twitched for a moment as he stared at the thinly-sliced crispy bacon. It might have been my imagination, of course. That bacon’s gotta be tasty, I thought. Apparently, it’s made from pork belly.

I checked a wall clock hung on a pillar; it was a little after seven in the morning. Ms. Futarishizuka was the only one around, and the villa was quiet. This, combined with the building’s lovely interior—which resembled a posh Japanese inn—made for a charming morning scene. I could even hear the chirp-chirp-chee-chee-chee of a sparrow through the window. The atmosphere was like a balm for my soul.

“Sasaki,” said Lady Elsa, “what is Futarishizuka saying?”

“She’s asking if you’d like to join her for a meal. My bird and I have already eaten, but you can have something if you’d like.”

“Oh, umm, then could I just have some tea?” she asked, her eyes flitting over to Ms. Futarishizuka.

I went for a direct interpretation. “She’d just like some tea, if possible.”

“In that case, I’ll go boil some water. Be right back.”

The girl in the kimono set down her bowl and chopsticks and was just about to stand up when Lady Elsa hastily called out to her. “Wait! I can do it myself. Please stay where you are!”

Though she couldn’t understand the words themselves, Ms. Futarishizuka’s reaction told me she’d gotten the message.

Lady Elsa pattered into the kitchen. I assumed this, along with her simple request, were out of consideration for Futarishizuka, who was still in the middle of her meal. Despite her young age, thoughtfulness seemed to come easily to Lady Elsa. You could really tell she was the daughter of an aristocrat. And all this despite Peeps constantly treating Ms. Futarishizuka like a villain.

After I relayed Lady Elsa’s message to Futarishizuka, she turned to look at her with the eyes of a grandmother watching over her granddaughter.

“She’s such a good girl,” she said, sounding impressed as she gazed at Lady Elsa’s back. “Utterly unlike a certain sparrow I know.”

Peeps chose to remain silent, so I went ahead and broached the next subject.

“Where is Type Twelve, by the way?”

“Oh, the crazy one? As soon as you two left, she said she had something important to do and headed out. Apparently, she has preparations to make before our evening together as a family. She seemed rather excited.”

“Any idea what exactly she’s doing?”

“Nope.”

The alien had reduced an entire town to a crater just the other day. We couldn’t simply let her do as she pleased with no idea what she was up to. I felt ill at ease whenever she wasn’t close at hand.

“She still hasn’t stationed her communication terminal here, has she?” I asked.

“Indeed she hasn’t,” replied Futarishizuka. “What do you need? Is it something urgent?”

“Not exactly. I’m just concerned something might happen before she returns.”

“Now that you mention it, we didn’t exactly swap contact info with her.”

“Maybe she’d come back if we called her on the same frequency band as last time.”

“Well, that’s certainly an option—if you want the whole world listening in, that is.”

“Then I suppose we shouldn’t.”

The unidentified flying object was still floating in the sky. Type Twelve had been the one to suggest stationing a terminal here, capable of both communication and transportation, as part of a network connecting her with the villa. It seemed she hadn’t gotten around to installing it yet, however.

“Eh, I’m sure she’ll return by evening,” said the girl in the kimono. “Our esteemed senior is here, after all.”

“Then we should probably get to work,” I said. “I’d like to finish before she comes back.”

“If you ask me, the real work won’t begin until she returns.”

Once Futarishizuka finished her breakfast, we left the villa. Peeps warped us straight to my business hotel in Tokyo. I’d been relying on this place ever since my apartment complex blew up and burned down. In fact, I was here so often that the employees—from the front desk clerks to the cleaning staff—had started remembering me.

From there, after a short ride in Ms. Futarishizuka’s car, we arrived at the bureau. No sooner had we walked in the door than the chief apprehended us, and we all headed for the bureau’s meeting space. Miss Hoshizaki was already at work.

The four of us squared off around a table in a private meeting room not ten square meters large. Our positions were the same as usual—Ms. Futarishizuka, myself, and Miss Hoshizaki on one side, and Mr. Akutsu by himself on the other.

The boss had his laptop in front of him. Today, though, it was closed and did not appear to be connected to any external output devices.

“I know you just got here,” he said the instant our butts hit the chairs, “but I’d like a report on what happened yesterday.” He looked at each of us in turn.

Ms. Futarishizuka immediately started her banter. “Report? I suspect you’ve already gotten all the info you need from elsewhere.”

“Yes, but I believe there’s value in hearing it directly from you three.”

“I suppose. Though I doubt you’ll learn anything new.”

I shared her feelings on the matter—Captain Mason had probably fed our boss all kinds of intel. Mostly grievances, I was sure. While Type Twelve was the actual culprit, our group had forcibly disabled the man’s helicopters, after all. And the nerd might have snitched on us, too.

“Sasaki,” said the chief, “would you please do the explaining?”

“Of course, sir.”

Ms. Futarishizuka was giving him trouble, so he’d turned to me.

I told him everything that had happened the night before: How we’d rushed to the Chichibu mountains and gotten mixed up in the battle; how Magical Pink and Captain Mason’s group had joined up with us; and how the nerd had attacked everyone. I explained how Ms. Futarishizuka, Type Twelve, and I had worked together to fight back, only to be forced into a corner. And then I described how a powered-up Miss Hoshizaki had arrived to save the day.

Otherworld magic had played little part in yesterday’s action, and considering Magical Pink’s presence, I could obfuscate my use of barrier magic by attributing the affects to her Magical Barrier.

Mr. Akutsu’s vaunted surveillance cameras might seem omnipresent, but surely the mountains of Chichibu were beyond his purview. Plus, after the incident with Peeps, the nerd had promised to keep quiet.

“Well,” said the boss, “from what it sounds like, the reports I received were essentially correct.”

“We don’t have a full picture of what happened last night,” I explained. “For the sake of our future endeavors, can you at least tell us which groups were targeting Miss Hoshizaki? This was a far cry from that riot.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but even the bureau doesn’t know.”

“I see.”

Was that really the truth? I found myself doubting everything the section chief said. I would have expected Captain Mason to know something, at least. Maybe I’d ask him if we had another chance to meet. He owed us for saving Magical Blue, and if we brought that up, he’d have to tell us something.

“I also have quite a few questions about the little girl from outer space,” the section chief continued.

“What are they, sir?”

“This mechanical life-form—is she still with you?”

“She’s doing something else at the moment, but we plan to see her again tonight.”

“…What is going on exactly?” he asked suspiciously.

He was probably having a hard time discerning Type Twelve’s motives. Her absence at the meeting clearly made him anxious. In fact, we were in a similar position. Where was that girl, and what was she up to?

I decided to report her proposal to the boss.

I explained everything just as she had, conveying that she “desired a familial relationship and to enact household dynamics” with us. I didn’t hide our roles, either—I told him that she would be the youngest daughter, Miss Hoshizaki would be the mother, and that the rest of us had our own parts to play.

My intention was to treat it all as work, so I revealed everything. Our esteemed senior’s wages were depending on this.

I also explained Type Twelve’s personal problems, the background of her mechanical race, and the bug that had given her emotions. There was a chance Captain Mason or the nerd had clued the boss in after their first meeting with her, so he might have already been aware.

After hearing the full account, the chief looked impressed. “I must say, that is one crazy story.”

“This is just our perspective,” I said, “but she seems like a very ambitious, motivated girl.”

“So she wants to create a family to ease her loneliness… For a mechanical life-form, she seems well-versed in Earth’s culture. She also sounds very particular. You said she insisted on being the youngest child?”

“Yes. We’ve confirmed that she’s been observing Earth and continuously gathering information for some time now.”

“I suppose that would explain why she can communicate in our language.”

“I believe so, sir.”

Back in her ship, messages had appeared in many languages from all over the world, not just Japanese. If she’d conducted her meetings with the same kind of hospitality, that would mean Type Twelve could freely speak a great variety of languages.

“And what does it mean,” said the boss, “that mechanical life-forms aren’t supposed to have emotions?”

“We’re not sure of that ourselves, sir. But they apparently do everything according to logic. They sealed away all emotions and treat them as taboo. I don’t know any more than that, but I can ask the girl next time I have the chance.”

“Yes, that would be appreciated,” he said, nodding. “And I’d like you to do it sooner, rather than later.”

With that, the chief ended his line of questioning.

I got the feeling his behavior that day was more affected than usual. Was he suspicious of us, just as I was of him? Well, the sentiment was mutual, at least.

“As an addendum to my report, sir, there will be no more new craters on the planet for the time being.”

“Should I assume that is related to Miss Hoshizaki and her relationship with the girl?”

“That is correct, sir.”

Strictly speaking, it was because she felt a sense of accomplishment after helping to complete a group task. But there was no harm in simply agreeing. If not for Miss Hoshizaki, who knew what might have become of the alien’s mental state.

Our attention naturally turned to our senior.

“I…I didn’t do anything weird, all right? I’m serious!”

Literally overnight, our senior had become a force to be reckoned with. But now, with everyone’s attention on her, she started to get flustered, like a child called out on her mischief. She wasn’t sure what to make of the situation, and I could empathize. If I were in her shoes, I’d be at my wit’s end.

“I believe the alien has taken a liking to her,” I explained, “regardless of Miss Hoshizaki’s feelings on the matter.”

“She gave us the cold shoulder, though,” added Ms. Futarishizuka.

“She did indeed.”

“And you’re saying that, as a result, you formed the pretend family you just explained?” asked Mr. Akutsu.

He was probably struggling to figure out where to go from here. A reckless move might result in another crater. That was why I was pretty sure he’d go along with our decision to play house for a while, since it would allow us to keep an eye on the alien and see how things developed. My only worry was that he’d receive some conflicting order from above.

“I suppose all we can do is go along with it until the robo-girl gets bored,” mused Ms. Futarishizuka.

“She could have control over the surveillance cameras in this very room, you know,” I pointed out. “We should watch what we say. She already has a bad opinion of us.”

“Ugh. You’re right…”

“Mind explaining, Sasaki?” asked the boss. He was paying a lot of attention to my throwaway comments, it seemed. That sure put a wrinkle in his brow.

The alien had been using her superior technology to hack our measly Earth tech. I figured such activities had been helping her gather data on humanity quite efficiently these days. I’d have to ask her about it when I got the chance.

“The mechanical life-forms’ civilization is far more advanced than our own,” I told him. “For her, our state-of-the-art encryption technology is essentially plaintext. She can also intercept radio communications like it’s nothing. I recommend you factor that knowledge into any future plans.”

“If my memory serves, she visited this place just yesterday,” he remarked.

A terrifying rival had just appeared to challenge our boss, the surveillance aficionado. This could prove an excellent opportunity to put pressure on the chief. After all, my continued employment at the bureau hinged on maintaining a favorable power balance with him.

“I don’t think there’s anything you can do to keep her out of the bureau’s data,” I told him.

“…Sounds like we have quite the little spy on our hands,” he muttered.

Still, I was a little worried at how embedded Miss Hoshizaki was in all this. Her fondness for her wages meant there was a possibility she would betray us and align herself with the chief. If that happened, I’d have to put together a suitable counteroffer.

I’ll talk to Ms. Futarishizuka about that later, I thought. Might be best to ready a pile of hard cash, just in case.

“To confirm,” said the chief, “You’ve made sure to secure Earth’s continued existence, correct?”

“Yes, sir. We had her promise in front of everyone.”

“Can she be trusted?”

“According to her, mechanical life-forms never lie.”

“……”

The section chief’s brow wrinkled again. He looked at me as if to ask, “Are you serious?” But there wasn’t much we could do other than believe her. Besides, Ms. Futarishizuka had been pressing her on the question of honesty for a while, and she’d never wavered.

We didn’t want to stir up the boss’s anxieties any further, so it was time to wrap up.

“We’ll contact you immediately if the situation changes,” I promised.

“Please do.”

In the end, Mr. Akutsu agreed to leave the whole thing to us. Maybe he thought it would be too difficult to try and direct us when it came to the complicated subject of Type Twelve. Or maybe he simply didn’t trust us to explain the situation honestly were he to ask directly.

Whatever the case, he had a lot more to do than just issue instructions to his subordinates.

“From today forth, you three are to devote yourselves to conducting this exchange with the unidentified flying object.”

“Understood, sir.”

Just as planned, our job for the time being would consist of playing house with the mechanical life-form. We’d be working outside the office all day, every day—sheer bliss for a corporate drone like me.

“Still,” said Ms. Futarishizuka, “I’d like to send her back home if we can.”

“As I just reminded you, the cam—”

“Oh, right. Silly me.”

Her casual slip of the tongue was probably on purpose—to inform the boss of our position, despite the risk.

Now that our report on the unidentified flying object was complete, the section chief turned to Miss Hoshizaki. “In other news, about your psychic power leveling up…”

Our senior’s eyes brightened as the topic turned to her. The way she looked at our boss made it obvious how much she’d been looking forward to this. Her eyes were full of anticipation. She seemed certain her salary would be going up.

“Sasaki tells me you now have access to fluid through a person’s skin tissue. Is that true? If so, is body tissue the only thing you can bypass, or is anything permeable so long as it’s thin enough? I want to understand the conditions of your new power.”

“In that case, I can give you a little demonstration right now!” offered Miss Hoshizaki.

“I see,” said the chief. “Sasaki, would you mind helping?”

“W-wait, no,” I stammered. “Please, wait a minute.” That would kill me! The nerd had met a terrible fate. Though I suppose he came right back to life.

“Judging by your reaction, it seems you were telling the truth,” said the boss.

“Of course I was!” I exclaimed. “Why would I lie about that?!”

“Her power is serious business, you know?” said Ms. Futarishizuka. “I’d appreciate if you had a little more compassion for your subordinates.”

Now that Miss Hoshizaki’s importance had skyrocketed, Ms. Futarishizuka was quick to display concern. She really is shrewd, I thought. She’d teased her nonstop up until now, so you could really feel the difference.

“I suppose the two of you have seen her psychic power personally?”

“That’s right, sir,” I replied. “We watched as she blew up a rank-A psychic.”

“It’s an awfully grotesque ability, if you ask me,” added Ms. Futarishizuka. “Personally, I’d like to steer clear of it.”

“Isn’t your power basically the same?” demanded Miss Hoshizaki.

“I don’t make people’s insides splatter all over the room.”

“W-well, I…I don’t exactly love that part of it. But you guys were in trouble, and, well, I was desperate. I didn’t really think about the consequences…”

It had certainly been an ugly sight. In fact, I felt a little sick at the prospect of having to see all that again should I accompany her on other jobs in the future. I wondered if she could limit the effect to just a person’s brain or heart. I began to ponder on what my work environment would be like going forward.

But then Miss Hoshizaki turned to me with a serious expression. “I don’t think a little bit would really hurt. Could you let me show him?”

“This might come across as rude, but are you being serious right now?”

“Of course I am!”

She was telling the truth. I could see it in her eyes.

She honestly thought a little bit would be fine, and she was asking for my permission.

Oh no. I think I’m starting to lose all trust in my senior colleague.

“Human bodies are much more sensitive to temperature changes than you think,” I told her.

“Come on. A few bubbles in your bodily fluids is nothing. Everything will go right back to normal, won’t it?”

“High school girls these days are terrifying,” said Ms. Futarishizuka.

“…I suppose we should have you study up on such things while we figure out your new powers,” the chief said to her.

Her incredibly natural delivery made it clear she was genuine, and that was what worried us. The boss, realizing she might try to use her power for real, watched her uneasily. I hoped she’d get suitable training from the proper department posthaste.

I’m so glad her first victim was the nerd. I bet she thought it’d just be a matter of making some lumps move around under my skin. You saw stuff like that in manga and anime sometimes.

“All right, I understand,” the chief continued. “We’ll get a look at your powers at one of our facilities within the day and have your rank reevaluated. If they agree that you have an unrestricted ToD and/or a restricted LoD, I think you’ll be promoted to at least rank B. Good for you, Hoshizaki. That means a pay increase.”

“Really?! I, um, thank you so much!” she exclaimed happily.

A bureau psychic’s base pay was determined by how many years they’d worked for the bureau, their work evaluations, and their rank as a psychic. Other things such as special allowances and semiannual bonuses were added afterward.

Miss Hoshizaki was currently rank D. I thought back to the promotion chart I’d been shown during my onboarding. If they promoted her to rank B, then no matter how bad her work evaluation was, she’d still be making over twice her previous annual income.

It seemed the Hoshizaki family’s finances would be secure for a good while. Her little sister would have no problem going to college.

With that, our meeting came to an end.

With the boss’s orders in hand, we could now approach Type Twelve’s proposed pretend family—this mission to soothe her loneliness—as bureau employees.

After the meeting, Ms. Futarishizuka and I waited around in the office for a little while. It didn’t take long for us to finish the paperwork that had piled up, so we chewed the fat at our desks as we waited for Miss Hoshizaki to finish her psychic evaluation and anatomical study session.

She came back to the office a little before noon. As soon as she saw us, she turned to me and announced, “Sasaki, I had no idea how delicate and frail living creatures are.” When I asked for details, she said they’d used lab animals to confirm that her power had leveled up—and in the process, she’d deepened her understanding of how it worked.

Her pay increase had gone through as well, so we went out for a full course lunch to celebrate. The restaurant was situated above one of the finest hotels in Tokyo. When we told her we’d treat her, she was over the moon.

The suggestion—and the arrangements—had been made by Ms. Futarishizuka. As usual, her favors were always cool and calculated.

Afterward, we took a ride in her car and returned to the business hotel I was using as a base. From there, we had Peeps warp us back to the Karuizawa villa.

Looks like this will be our workplace for the foreseeable future, I thought as I headed into the living room.

“I can’t believe I’m doing homework on the job—getting paid for studying math. If this keeps up, my moral fiber is going to rot.”

“You’d be very surprised how many people secretly study for certifications while at work, dear. And those are the ones who move up in the world.”

“Are you sure you weren’t just surrounded by cheaters and schemers?”

“No, not at all. I don’t think so anyway.”

We all had some free time while we waited for Type Twelve to get back. Miss Hoshizaki was doing her math homework at the dining room table, and Ms. Futarishizuka was lying on one of the couches in the living room, playing games on her phone. I was sitting directly across from her, staring at an amateur radio textbook. We couldn’t exactly start the fake family business without the alien, after all.

“Have you been doing that kind of stuff, too, Sasaki?” our senior colleague asked.

“Actually, I think studying is an important part of our work at the bureau. You should be well aware of the value of improving your English conversation. And you were pretty excited about the data we got from the UFO the other day, remember?”

“I always think this, but you’re really good at dodging questions, you know that?”

“……”

I knew how she felt.

Our current situation reminded me of my college days, when my friends would all gather at one of our dorms and laze around. We were all there, but we weren’t doing anything together. We were just spending time in the same place, doing whatever we liked. It felt like the peak of sloth.

So I understood where she was coming from. This probably felt like just a deferment of real work, real adulthood—and that scared her.

Some time later, as the setting sun began to dye the western skies, my neighbor and Abaddon arrived. They’d skipped going home and come straight here. My neighbor was still in her school uniform, bag in hand. As soon as she reached the living room, she turned to face us and lowered her head in a deep bow.

“I’m terribly sorry for making you wait, mister.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I assured her. “The one in charge hasn’t shown up yet, so it’s no problem.”

“Really?”

“We’re just waiting for her to get back.”

My neighbor looked around the room, her gaze eventually moving to the dining area.

“By the way, what’s she doing?” she asked.

She was looking at the table we’d eaten at the night before—and specifically at Miss Hoshizaki, who was seated with her math textbook and a notebook open on the table. She had on a sour face as she tackled her homework.

“Miss Hoshizaki, you mean?” I asked.

“Yes. That looks like a school textbook…”

Now that we were talking about her, Miss Hoshizaki looked up and said, “Yes, I’m doing my homework. What about it?”

“I don’t even want to ask this, but are you using that as a prop to get into character?”

“…What are you talking about?”

“Isn’t that going a little far? It’s kind of cringe.”

“What now? I have no idea what you’re getting at.”

“You don’t? Personally, I can’t believe you dug out a textbook from your school days just to keep up this act of being in high school. Or is this part of your job? If so, I apologize for speaking out of line.”

“Hey…!” Miss Hoshizaki’s eyes went wide.

Apparently, my neighbor believed my colleague was a full-fledged working adult.

Come to think of it, hadn’t I told her as much at some point? Back when I first met Miss Hoshizaki, I’d thought the same thing.

“Listen, you,” said my colleague. “Like I said, I’m an honest-to-goodness high schooler!”

She was wearing her suit today and her thick makeup. At a glance, she looked like an adult woman. It was all intentional, of course, but the transformation was admittedly dramatic.

“I apologize. If there’s some misunderstanding, I believe I’m partly to blame.”

“Sasaki?”

“Mister?”

My neighbor looked at me, vaguely confused. After a moment, she seemed to have an epiphany. Grimacing, she turned back to Miss Hoshizaki.

“…Excuse me, but were all those remarks true?” she asked with much consternation.

“Ugh…!”

Miss Hoshizaki seemed to sense my neighbor’s genuine doubt. She groaned, and a moment later, her chair clattered as she rose. She slammed her pen down on the table and called out “Futarishizuka, I’m borrowing your bathroom!”

“Fine by me. But why?”

“To take off this makeup!”

It seemed she wasn’t just upset by adults treating her like a child. She also didn’t like it when younger kids treated her like she was older than her age. Her expression the picture of rage, she stormed off down the hallway. It was a scary sight.

Trying to preserve peace in the workplace, I backed her up right away. “I think you look great with your makeup on or off, Miss Hoshizaki.”

She stopped walking after a few steps. Then she slowly turned around. “Uh… Really?”

“And we’re on the clock right now, so I think your current appearance is more appropriate.”

“Well, if my colleague says so, I guess there’s no need to bother…”

Type Twelve had once leaked information over a televised broadcast, and we couldn’t say for sure she wouldn’t do it again. With that in mind, I figured it was better for Miss Hoshizaki to keep her makeup on at work. After all, unlike Ms. Futarishizuka and I, she had a family.

Just then, something occurred to me. Hadn’t my pet sparrow once done something very similar?

“What is it? Why are you looking at me all of a sudden?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing, Peeps.”

Also, I got the feeling that if she took off her makeup while still wearing her suit, it would throw me for a loop. Her thick makeup was like part of her outfit to me. In fact, if she looked like a neat, fresh high schooler only from the neck up, she’d be like a girl working at one of those shops.

“To be blunt,” said Ms. Futarishizuka, “dropping the makeup would make you look like you work at a costume brothel. So you should probably keep it on.”

“Wh-what?!”

“You don’t see it? You’d look like the new girl forcing herself to wear a suit she doesn’t belong in.”

“Urk…”

Ms. Futarishizuka had immediately put into words what I couldn’t. She’s definitely a middle-aged man in there. But thanks to her, Miss Hoshizaki gave up on her bathroom trip.

“Do you want to practice putting on makeup when we go home?” the demon said to my neighbor.

“You’d help me with that, Abaddon?”

“Sure thing. I’m pretty good with my hands, even if I don’t seem like it.”

After that, we continued to chat as we passed the time.

Eventually, there was a knock from outside the sliding glass door leading from the living room into the yard. Everyone looked over to see who it was—and all our eyes landed on Type Twelve.

She looked exactly the same as when she’d left the previous night. I found myself wondering if she ever washed her clothes. She was a mechanical life-form, so she probably didn’t produce any waste—but wouldn’t she get dirty after walking around outside for a while?

“Ah, the prodigal daughter has returned,” said Ms. Futarishizuka. She stood up from the couch and went to open the sliding glass door.

As soon as the door was open, the one standing outside immediately issued us instructions.

“Preparations are complete. In accordance with last night’s agreement, I would now like to depart for our household.”

“Just to be absolutely sure,” said Ms. Futarishizuka, “what do you mean by household?”

“A family home, wherein a family may reside. I have been preparing such a place since last night.”

Type Twelve had spoken passionately about a suitable stage for our family production the night before, and it seemed she was finally done setting one up.

“So we’re changing locations? Your big sister seems to be worried about the return journey.”

“Abaddon, your thinking is correct. I have also prepared for the return journey.”

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t uneasy. In fact, my heart raced as I thought about where she might take us. Unusually, though, we’d have Peeps with us this time. Even if we wound up unceremoniously dumped into space, we should still be able to return safely.

The Starsage himself was at my side. That simple fact made me feel like everything would be all right. What an impressive little bird. I bet Count Müller feels the same.

At that point, Peeps asked our host, Type Twelve, for confirmation.

“May I accompany you?”

“Peep, affirmative. Pets are included within the scope of a family.”

Type Twelve had adopted a strange nickname for Peeps. Maybe she thought the “s” was something only I was supposed to use. What should I do? Should I say something? Nah, I guess it’s fine. It’s kinda cute.

“I have prepared a transportation terminal in this residence’s yard. Please board as soon as possible.”

“Well, if you insist, I suppose I’ll avail myself of the youngest daughter’s hospitality,” said Ms. Futarishizuka.

“Futarishizuka, the sarcasm in that remark is reminiscent of a mother-in-law whose hobby is bullying her son’s bride. It is very good.”

“…Heh. I know, right?”

At Type Twelve’s insistence, we went out through the front entrance and into the yard.

We had Lady Elsa accompany us, as well. Since both Peeps and I were heading out, I decided it would be safest to invite her along. By now, just about everyone had probably figured out we were using Ms. Futarishizuka’s villa as our base of operations.

We used the same terminal as before to get to our destination. The same strange door appeared out of thin air in the villa’s yard. This entrance was the only part of the device we could see with our naked eyes. Everything else blended into the surroundings as though by optical camouflage. Everyone filed in.

Inside, we found a space enclosed by metallic surfaces—walls, floor, and ceiling. It was exactly the same as before. In the middle of the space, we could see one of Type Twelve’s trademark midair displays.

We watched as Ms. Futarishizuka’s villa and the surrounding area of Karuizawa pulled away from us with incredible speed. Our surroundings seemed to zoom down into the distance, and eventually we passed through the clouds and into the upper atmosphere toward the setting sun.

Skipping over the finer details, the “household” Type Twelve had prepared for us was in space.

Within minutes of leaving the villa, our terminal was sucked into the same UFO we’d witnessed numerous times from Earth’s surface.

Part of the ship opened up, allowing our craft to enter, and then closed behind us. The midair display even showed the outer space side of the opening. Like a car entering a garage, the terminal took us into the mother ship.

The room we landed in was empty, just like the inside of the terminal. The ceiling was much higher and the floor even more expansive than a multipurpose gymnasium. Every surface around us was made of some metallic, lustrous material. The place was probably a bay for terminals to enter and exit the larger ship.

Once we disembarked inside the UFO, we saw for the first time what the terminal looked like from the outside. The craft had always been transparent before, hidden by its optical camouflage technology. Though we’d previously seen only the entranceway, we could now observe it down to its finest details.

At a glance, it looked kind of like a pancake—or perhaps a dorayaki. In other words, it looked like what most people would imagine when asked to picture a UFO. Compared to the archetypical Adamski saucer, this one felt a bit more modern in its construction. However, the circular base design was very similar in sensibility.

“This style of UFO is quite cliché,” observed Ms. Futarishizuka, as she looked over the craft. “Why is it like that?”

The other members of our party were standing beside her in a line, all staring at the terminal.

“I constructed this terminal after visiting your sector. Its purpose is the transportation of local life-forms. To that end, I kept the design close to that envisioned by humans. If you are feeling a sense of déjà vu, that is likely the reason.”

“But why go through all that trouble?” asked Miss Hoshizaki.

“It was my viewpoint that such a craft would be more familiar to humans, and thus induce less psychological resistance.”

“How considerate of you…”

“Hoshizaki, if you are feeling grateful, I give you permission to thank me to your heart’s content.”

“…Um. Uh, thank you?”

“These words of gratitude from my mother bring me great happiness as the youngest daughter.”

“……”

Now that I’d gotten a good look at it, I could see that the craft was pretty large—way bigger than your normal car. It was at least the size of several dump trucks lined up. It was so large, in fact, that I had to wonder how it hovered without making a sound.

“Are you honestly telling us,” said Ms. Futarishizuka, “that you have the facilities to manufacture something this gargantuan right here?”

“As I expressed previously, the main ship’s name is Independent Multipurpose Early-Model Frontier Sector-Pioneering Long-Range Space Cruiser Type Three-Seven-Six-Nine. In other words, it is capable of developing entire sectors independently.”

“I bet that requires quite a big factory. And it’s installed on this ship?”

“Your thinking is correct. In addition, the development and manufacturing of resources and facilities is not limited to this ship alone. By utilizing this ship’s functions, I can construct production facilities elsewhere, such as in outer space, around other fixed stars, and on satellite moons. I choose suitable environments based on the situation.”

“Wait, then you’ve gone ahead and developed our entire solar system?” Ms. Futarishizuka was incredulous.

“Does that present an issue?”

“It’s just a little overwhelming. We humans are still struggling just to venture out beyond our own moon.”

Incidentally, we were able to walk around inside the UFO without issue. I’d asked Type Twelve about this in advance, and she had explained that the air pressure, oxygen density, and other such aspects of the UFO’s internal environment had been adjusted to match Earth’s. She’d explained we wouldn’t need any space suits, at least within the areas of the ship we could access.

“I will guide you to the house,” she said. “Please come with me.”

“I’ve been a demon for a long time, but I’ve never seen a place like this before,” said Abaddon.

“Don’t blame me if you float off and get lost,” my neighbor replied.

“Impossible! I could never ever leave your side.”

“That sounds creepy. Could you not phrase it like that?”

“Alas, looks like he didn’t react. I’m running out of ideas here.”

“Mgh…”

We followed Type Twelve in accordance with her directions and headed for a doorway she’d created in one corner of the large space. Beyond it was a hallway. The alien took the lead as we went inside.

I’d imagined how it might look beforehand, but now that I was physically in the ship, my heart leaped at the prospect of uncovering all its secrets. The hallway looked the same as the one we’d passed through when we first came here in the swan boat and met Type Twelve.

We made several turns along the way, even passing an intersection. There were no signs to guide us; without Type Twelve, we would certainly have gotten lost. Eventually, we saw an end to the hallway ahead.

We exited into another wide-open space. It was smaller than the terminal landing area, but still big enough to fit several tennis courts. The ceiling was quite high as well—I’d never reach it, even if I stood on a stepladder.

In the middle of it all was a lone house.

It was built entirely in a Japanese style—the sort that had been steadily disappearing from residential districts. It was a solid-looking, partial two-story structure with striking tiles on its hip-and-gable roof. You would have seen a lot of these in the Showa era when prices were cheap. The way you could go out on the roof from the second-floor window and hang futons out to dry gave it a decidedly retro feel.

And here it was, all by itself, in the middle of a spaceship. I felt like I was looking at a full-scale model or something.

What’s more, there was nothing around it—no attached facilities, like a garden or a shed, not even a block wall surrounding the property. It was simply a house sitting in the middle of this huge space. All this made it feel even more out of place than it already did.

“So this is our little play house, then?”

“Futarishizuka, the answer to your question is affirmative.”

One thing was for sure: Nobody would bother us here.

It made sense if she was worried about a rank-A psychic like the nerd mounting a serious attack. But considering Type Twelve was likely to retaliate with more craters, I doubted anyone would be so bold.

“Did you use this ship’s facilities to construct this house, too?” I asked.

“Sasaki, your thinking is partially correct.”

“Will you explain the part I got wrong?”

“I was not able to manufacture certain building materials in time. These, I procured from Earth.”

I’d suspected as much. Scrapes and nicks were visible on the roof tiles and outer walls, which made me think they’d seen a few years. I didn’t know whose houses she’d taken them from, but if possible, I hoped to have the bureau refund the owners.

“Did you take parts of other people’s houses?”

“To utilize an extremely euphemistic expression, there is a possibility one might say as much.”

“I don’t know,” said Ms. Futarishizuka. “That sounded pretty clear to me.”

“Hoshizaki, my grandmother has begun to bully her granddaughter.”

“I don’t think I can defend you stealing other people’s things.”

“…Hoshizaki, you would side with your home planet over your own daughter?”

“Hey now,” interrupted Ms. Futarishizuka. “She’s only trying to educate you as a mother should.”

“……”

This particular lesson made me extremely nervous. Considering the alien’s fragile ego, I thought she might require a little more kindness from her mother. Was this how the fathers of the world felt when they watched mothers and children interact?

A moment later, our family’s reliable older brother piped up to change the topic. “What does it look like inside?”

“I will now guide you into the household.”

Type Twelve walked over to the front door and pulled it aside with a clatter.

It was a sliding door rather than one that opened inward, which I found rather charming. Beyond that were a tile-floored entranceway and a step leading up into the rest of the house. This latter feature was a central distinguishing characteristic of Japanese architecture. To one side was a shoe rack.

We each took off our shoes and entered the house.

From there, we looked around inside.

The layout was much as its retro exterior implied—the kind popular earlier in the twentieth century. Rather than a Western-style living room, we found a large space with tatami floors, and I could see five other similar rooms beyond. According to Type Twelve’s explanation, there was one room for the mother and father, two for the children, one for the grandmother, and a guest room.

Part of the hallway was an enclosed veranda looking outside. The kitchen had a wooden floor and was connected to the living space. The bath was made of weathered cypress and fitted into the floor. A separate room housed a flush toilet, but it was an older variety without a heated seat, much less a warm-water bidet. Maybe it was unfair to expect that much from an alien.

That said, it seemed Type Twelve had revised her thinking after the unavoidable incontinence incident during the big abduction. The house had electricity, gas, and running water—enough to play pretend family. The gas was propane, while the ship itself provided the electricity and water.

After Type Twelve gave us the rundown, everyone went to the first-floor living area and sat down on floor cushions around a low, wooden table.

“Sasaki, this room smells a little weird,” remarked Lady Elsa. “Where is it coming from?”

“I believe that’s the soft rush,” I replied. “It’s coming from the tatami on the floor.”

“Tatami? You mean these mat-like things made of woven grass?”

“Yes, I do.”

As Lady Elsa pointed out, the living room had the faint scent of soft rush to it. Judging by the fresh tatami surface, it had been recently replaced.

“There was a room in Futarishizuka’s mansion with similar mats. The construction in it was clearly different from the other rooms in the house, so I wondered if it was used for some kind of ritual. But all the rooms in this house have these mats.”

“Tatami floors have long been a traditional element of houses in Japan and other nearby countries. Currently, due to changing trends and cost issues, they aren’t as common. Still, some houses retain more traditional features, like this one.”

These days, just about the only time I ran into tatami floors was in restaurants with private rooms. Most Japanese people were probably the same.

“I suppose I can’t complain about the security here, eh?” noted Ms. Futarishizuka.

“For something set up overnight, everything’s quite well put together,” I added.

“The furniture looks used, too. She probably just yanked the whole kit and caboodle and plopped it down here.”

Maybe she’d sucked it all up with her terminal just like when she’d abducted us—along with our swan boat—from the lake in Nagano. Though that left me with some questions about the infrastructure, such as the electricity and water.

“Futarishizuka, your viewpoint is correct. I obtained the entire house from Earth.”

The rooms contained desks and bed frames, but the closets, dressers, and bookshelves were all empty. The mattresses had been removed, too. In the kitchen there was no food, or even any tools for cooking. The lack of these expected daily necessities made it seem like a short-term rental property with furniture included.

The whole place was sparkling, too. When we’d entered the living room, I’d gotten a glimpse behind the TV and there was no dust. It had clearly been cleaned from top to bottom not long ago.

“We call that having sticky fingers,” said Ms. Futarishizuka to the alien.

Type Twelve immediately complained to Miss Hoshizaki. “Hoshizaki, the grandmother is bullying the granddaughter again.”

“Seems you’ve discovered the joy of relying on your mommy, eh?”

“……”

The alien turned away from Ms. Futarishizuka and declined to answer. Mechanical life-forms didn’t tell lies—was she using silence to avoid admitting the truth?

Everyone’s attention naturally shifted to Miss Hoshizaki.

The sensible girl sighed and asked the youngest daughter, “Why did you steal?”

“This vessel does not have the facilities required to raise Earthlings or to provide them with an appropriate habitat. In order to resolve the problem quickly, I acquired what was needed directly from Earth and reconstructed it here. I plan to make further improvements going forward.”

“In our culture, taking things from people without asking is a crime.”

“But Earthlings plunder other animals and plants without asking in order to maintain their lifestyle. Humans never repay bees for the honey they steal. All of humanity is committing a crime against bees.”

Type Twelve grumbled like a small child.

In this day and age, a lot of people probably felt bad about robbing bees like that. But Miss Hoshizaki was swift and sure with her answers. Maybe it was because she’d had to handle her own little sister.

“Remember what you said before?” she told her. “About how mechanical life-forms rule over non-mechanical life-forms without asking? Our species is the same. In our culture, there is a clear division between humans and creatures who aren’t human. You understand that, right?”

“But mechanical life-forms and humans are different.”

“If they were that different, we couldn’t form a family, could we?”

Miss Hoshizaki kept gently admonishing the alien into accepting what she was saying—deftly playing the role of mother. At the mention of our pretend family, Type Twelve quickly gave in.

“…Understood. The youngest daughter will follow her mother’s teachings.”

“Thank you. I’m really happy to hear that.”

“Hoshizaki, do you truly feel happy?”

“Yes, I do.”

“As I thought, you have the proper qualifications to be a mother. I was not mistaken.”

“I’m not sure how to feel being treated like a mother at my age, but that’s nice to hear.”

As I listened to their exchange, I realized that maybe Type Twelve wouldn’t sweat the small stuff as long as Miss Hoshizaki was kind to her. I was reminded again that she had only developed emotions recently.

At the same time, the alien’s unaffected reply seemed to mask a kind of certainty. Even now, she was probably monitoring our vital signs, such as our heart rate and body temperature. It was a good thing Miss Hoshizaki wore her heart on her sleeve.

At that point, my neighbor joined in. “Mister, could this be where it came from?” she asked, showing me the phone in her hand and pointing to the screen.

On it was a news article. The caption read, Shocking! House Disappears Overnight!

The contents included pictures depicting the now empty lot in the middle of a residential area. The way it had been scooped out so uniformly seemed like sufficient evidence that Type Twelve was the culprit.

The article showed it side by side with a picture of the house in its original location for comparison. The building looked exactly like the one we were currently occupying.

At this point, I felt obligated to ask the one responsible. “I’m curious as to what you did with this house’s occupants.”

“The appropriated house was up for sale in your society, and as such, no humans were living within it. I did, however, remove the small animals and pests from inside.”

“I see.”

It seemed she hadn’t harmed anyone. That was a relief, at least. As a bureau member, though, I couldn’t simply ignore the incident.

“They’ll really have to twist the media’s arm to cover this one up,” mused Ms. Futarishizuka.

“I’ll submit a report to the section chief tonight,” I promised.

It was a silver lining that nobody had been living in the house. The bureau had a second set of books to deal with matters like these. If the home had been up for sale and they resolved the matter financially, I doubted there would be much dispute.

This would be far less than they’d had to pay for that crashed military plane, at least.

“Here’s a question,” said Abaddon. “Can you use that thing when you’re not on the Earth’s surface?”

“…I don’t think so,” replied my neighbor. “I guess I took it out on reflex.”

Everyone’s attention went to the girl, then to the phone in her hand. She, too, stared down at it. From what I’d seen, the signal strength icon had four sturdy-looking bars.

“Yesterday, I repositioned all the terminals with which I had planned to destroy humanity across the planet’s surface and in satellite orbit,” explained Type Twelve. “We are connected to Earth’s network via those terminals. In the future, more fine-tuned interventions into Earth’s civilization will be possible.”

“So we’re basically freeloading off someone’s Wi-Fi,” said Ms. Futarishizuka. “Though I’d say if you’re willing to go this far, you’ve earned it.”

The administrators of whatever access point Type Twelve had quietly requisitioned had to be panicking right about now. If all of this made the people of Earth a little more concerned about security, maybe our pretend family was worth something after all. In the meantime, I pretended not to see the lawbreaking happening right in front of me.

“Should you have any questions about these accommodations, I would be happy to answer them,” said Type Twelve, looking at each person around the table in turn.

We all traded looks. I definitely had questions, but after the series of shocks I’d just been through, I found I couldn’t formulate a single one. As we glanced around, Ms. Futarishizuka spoke up first.

“Allow me, then. Doesn’t it seem like my room is a few tatami mats smaller than the others?”

She was right—hers was more cramped than the rest. While the others ranged from six to ten tatami mats in size, hers was four and a half. There was barely any furniture, either. That said, I’d noticed a closet about one tatami mat large, so at the very least, it should be livable.

“The youngest daughter holds her mother in the highest esteem, so she has made her grandmother’s room slightly smaller.”

“But isn’t there a guest room? Couldn’t I use that instead?”

“I determined that my less mobile grandmother would be more comfortable in a smaller room.”

“Hey, your daughter’s being pretty mean to me,” she said, turning to Miss Hoshizaki. “I’m just an old lady.”

“Don’t involve me in this,” replied our senior, looking totally fed up.

As the father, I decided to keep quiet lest I get mixed up in the debate. Was this how dads the world over felt watching their wife and mother interact? Of course, in this family, it was the granddaughter and the mother-in-law who were fighting, but still.

In the end, it was my neighbor who interrupted them. “On the subject of room assignments, may I make a suggestion?”

“Kurosu, I would like to hear your viewpoint.”

Type Twelve shifted on her cushion, turning away from Ms. Futarishizuka toward my neighbor.

The mechanical girl had been sitting in a stiff seiza position this whole time, her back completely straight. My neighbor and Miss Hoshizaki were doing the same. Ms. Futarishizuka had copied them and corrected her posture, as well. Under pressure to conform, my legs were quickly growing numb.

“The father and mother’s marriage is just a made-up setting,” said my neighbor. “I have ethical concerns about letting the two of them room together. The mother here is in her first year of high school, making her a minor—at least, if her words are to be believed.”

“W-wait a second!” exclaimed Miss Hoshizaki.

“Do you disagree?” asked my neighbor.

“No, you’re right. Our familial relationships are just make-believe, but… Well, I mean, why not? Sasaki and I are both working members of society. Colleagues. We already spend a lot of time together for work, so isn’t it a little late for those kinds of concerns?”

“Are you a child or not? Sounds like you just pick whatever’s convenient for you.”

“I can be a minor and a working member of society at the same time, you know. I’m not pretending to be either—both things are true, pure and simple. You’re a little young for that, though, since you’re still in middle school.”

“What are your thoughts, mister?”

I was pretty sure we wouldn’t be staying overnight here anyway. We were just going to visit during working hours to play pretend. Besides, as someone who did most of his eating and sleeping in another world, it really didn’t matter if I had my own room or not.

At the same time, I wasn’t very into the idea of sharing a room—especially not with a coworker. That was the main reason I had Peeps stay in his Java sparrow form. The longer you live alone, the more attached you become to your personal space.

“I hear there are more and more married couples who stay in separate rooms these days,” I pointed out.

“I knew you’d agree,” said my neighbor.

“Understood,” replied Type Twelve. “In that case, I will assign the guest room to the father, Sasaki.”

“Wait,” interrupted Miss Hoshizaki. “If Sasaki is hypothetically using the guest room, what happens when we have an actual guest? We even have one today—Elsa.” She glanced at Lady Elsa. Not comprehending her words, the girl tilted her head questioningly.

Type Twelve immediately handed down her decision. “In that case, I shall make the grandmother’s room the guest room.”

“Hey now,” objected Ms. Futarishizuka. “What’ll I do then?”

“I will lay down a prefabricated shed in the yard tomorrow. You may move into it.”

“I can’t believe my own family would treat an old woman so coldly…”

Room assignments had continued to shift until Ms. Futarishizuka’s bedroom got completely eliminated. I guess something like that was bound to happen eventually.

“That’s all well and good, but don’t you think we should set down some ground rules for family members? My partner’s pretty shy, so I suggest we decide on chores and stuff sooner rather than later.”

“Abaddon, your viewpoint is absolutely correct. Creating rules for the family is extremely important.”

“What should we do about finances then?” asked Miss Hoshizaki. “This house is almost completely empty. We’ll need to make a big shopping trip. We have to figure out who’s going to pay for it all.”

She’d plunged right into the nitty-gritty—as expected from our number one miser.

“If we require human currency, I am able to provide as much as we need,” said Type Twelve.

“Uh, what do you mean by that exactly?”

I wanted to stay away from any actions that might land our boss in hot water, however. And whatever methods the alien planned to use to acquire funds, I doubted they were above board. Though I suppose I’m not one to talk.

“If possible,” I interrupted, “could you make sure the money is earned legally?”

“Are credit transactions on the stock market not legal among humans?”

“In your case, I assume you’d be opening an account illegally.”

“…Sasaki, your viewpoint is correct.”

Though her expression didn’t change, Type Twelve seemed a bit frustrated. The implication that she could get us as much money as we needed so long as she had access to the stock market was terrifying. Just how advanced was her people’s technology? I had to assume making money off our markets would be like child’s play to her.

A moment later, Ms. Futarishizuka exclaimed, “It’s the parents’ responsibility to sweat it out at their jobs and bring home the bread, obviously. That’s what keeps a family together. Children watch their parents and come to understand the value of hard work. It’s very important for their education.”

“H-huh…?” stammered Miss Hoshizaki, shocked that her workplace junior would suddenly demand a share of her paycheck. Her eyes were as wide as saucers.

I wanted to tell her that the section chief would surely front the cash if we explained. Still, the clerical paperwork we’d have to do back at the office would be a huge pain. Maybe it was best to take it all on myself. Compared to what I’d earned trading with the otherworld, this would be like a drop in the bucket. I could even pay for the house Type Twelve requisitioned. I wouldn’t even feel it. I thought back to all the receipts I’d failed to turn in at my old job because I didn’t want to do the paperwork.

“As the father, I’ll handle the expenses,” I told her. “You don’t need to worry.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I got promoted, so I could contribute a little…”

“I’d rather you use that money for your sister.”

“Oh. Um, thanks, Sasaki…,” she said, sincerely grateful.

Miss Hoshizaki was so earnest and pure—so pure that even discussing finances with her worried me somewhat. I wondered how she’d react if she found out how much money Peeps and I were making in our deals with Ms. Futarishizuka. The shock would probably destroy the family instantly. I felt a cold sweat run down my skin.

Under no circumstances can I allow her to find out.

Turning away from her, I asked the sparrow on my shoulder a question to change the subject. “You’ve been quiet, Peeps. Any requests?”

“I have been charged with the role of family pet. I had best play the sparrow and not interject.”

After that, we discussed things a while longer around the table.

As we decided room assignments and house rules, our allotted family time soon ran out. Some had been lost while we waited for Type Twelve to return to the villa, too, so it looked like we’d be starting our pretend family in earnest the following morning.

In the end, we decided on the following eight rules:

1. The whole family must eat one meal per day together at the table.

2. Chores must be done in accordance with the chore sheet.

3. All issues must be resolved peacefully, such as by discussion or majority vote.

4. The father will earn the income for the household.

5. Always greet others, even if you’re having a fight.

6. When a family member is in trouble, everyone must work together to help.

7. Respect participants’ privacy outside of pretend family hours.

8. Breaking family rules without prior permission is grounds for punishment.*

* * *

*For rule eight, the first offense will result in a verbal warning. The second offense will result in a penalty. Penalties should be decided on a case-by-case basis through family discussion.

Type Twelve requested that we have supper together starting that day. Unfortunately, there was no food in the house at all. In addition, working hours were over, and Miss Hoshizaki’s little sister was expecting her back home. So we talked things over in accordance with our eight rules and decided to call it quits for the day.

The alien seemed very frustrated by this development. But she still followed the rules, demonstrating her respect for our pretend family.

Aside from food, we were also lacking daily necessities and sundries of all kinds, so we decided to go together to get them the following day. It looked like our first pseudo-family event would be going down to Earth for some shopping.

All in all, it was an eventful day. I expected the next would be at least as exciting, if not even more so.

We had just spent the evening setting up our pretend family life with Type Twelve, but I still had my daily trip to the otherworld to take care of.

Now that my position in modern Japan depended on my position in the otherworld—and vice versa—I was essentially living a dual life across world borders.

Once we were ready to leave the UFO, we boarded the terminal Type Twelve had provided and returned to Ms. Futarishizuka’s Karuizawa villa. From there, Peeps used his magic to send Miss Hoshizaki home, and then Peeps, Elsa, and I traveled back to my Tokyo business hotel and hopped over to the otherworld.

Our first port of call was Allestos, the royal capital of the Kingdom of Herz. The three of us paid a visit to Count Müller, who was hard at work in the castle. He told us that King Adonis was still busy purging the Imperialist nobles, as he’d been doing during our previous visit. His marriage to the princess from a neighboring country had been put on hold until he finished his current mission.

Peeps and I then visited Newsonia, capital of the Republic of Lunge, where we provided the Kepler Trading Company with diesel fuel and an additional radio setup. There, we were notified that construction on the routes connecting the republic with the Ohgen Empire and the Kingdom of Herz had begun in earnest—and that on our next visit, we’d be able to see some of the progress.

With our job in the republic done, we headed to Baytrium in Herz. There, we said hello to Mr. French, who reported that his first campaign—the one we’d spoken about at our last meeting—had been a great success; they’d defeated the Imperialist noble with minimal casualties, earning praise from both Count Müller and the king himself. It was very reassuring to see our friend growing into his aristocratic position.

He also informed us there were no issues along the border with Margrave Bertrand’s domain in the empire. The dragons roosting in the big hole in the Rectan Plains were doing well, as were operations at the nearby fortress.

As it turned out, Mr. French had and additional request to discuss with me.

“A job for your father?” I asked.

“I know it’s out of line to trouble you with something like this, sir. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t mind at all. But could you tell me the circumstances?”

“Yes, sir. The thing is…”

According to Mr. French, his father had been a knight until his injury; in fact, he’d worked his way up from a common foot soldier, eventually receiving command of an entire platoon. Being used to hard work, now that he was back in perfect health thanks to my healing magic, he was restless without anything to do.

Mr. French wanted to know if there was any place that needed his father’s sword.

The man had been retired for several years, and Mr. French hadn’t been sure his father should take on such work so soon. But he’d been helping with fieldwork at home and teaching his daughter swordsmanship, which had done wonders to rehabilitate him.

Hearing that made me certain the man was brimming with vitality. With a son like Mr. French and a solid reputation as a knight in service of the kingdom, I felt I could trust his character, too.

“In that case,” I offered, “I could see how he feels about a certain project I’ve been working on.”

“Could you? It would mean the world to him.”

“He would be dealing with bandits and monsters in a remote area currently under development,” I explained. “I’m footing the bill, and the Marc Trading Company is the prime contractor, so everything is being done with an eye toward safety—but it still comes with significant risk.”

According to Peeps, the area in question was rife with bandits and monsters. We had a healthy budget, so I was sure Mr. Marc would be fully prepared, but there was no harm in having more people on board—especially someone with management-level experience. I assumed such talent was as valuable here as it was back in my own world.

“I believe that’s exactly the kind of job he was looking for,” replied Mr. French.

“But it would be in Alterian, quite far from here. In my opinion, it would be a pity for him to leave now that you all finally have a chance to live together as a family. Won’t he consider taking it easy for a while?”

“Apparently, he feels guilty about that, sir. My sister and I have been taking care of him for such a long time. It seems he’s eager to start bringing in money for the family again.”

“I see.”

That was admirably stoic of him. As someone who never stopped pining for a life of leisure, his attitude pricked at my conscience. Still, if all that was true, then there was something in it for both of us.

“In that case, tell your father to visit the Baytrium branch of the Marc Trading Company. He can give them my name and let them know he wants to help with the Alterian project. We’ll arrange for him to head there with a few people from the company.”

“Sir, I really can’t thank you enough for everything you do for us.”

“Please, there’s no need. You’ve helped me more times than I can count.”

I was sure Mr. Marc would pull some strings for one of Mr. French’s family members. And if the man’s desire to work was genuine, I felt confident he would be treated well. If things didn’t work out, they could just send him back to Baytrium.

I shot a glance at the bird on my shoulder; Peeps seemed to have no objections.

After parting ways with Mr. French, we went straight to the Baytrium branch of the Marc Trading Company, explained the circumstances surrounding Mr. French’s father, and finished the required paperwork. Mr. Marc would be notified via radio by the following day.

From that point on, our time was our own.

Normally, we would either spend this segment of our stay eating and sleeping in our lodgings—our base of operations—or focus on magic practice at the outskirts of town. If we felt like it, we might even visit Lunge or Ohgen to sample some local cuisine.

But this time, I decided to tackle a slightly different challenge.

The next day, we left the inn first thing in the morning and went to a stable in town. There, we rented a horse and a set of riding gear.

“Peeps, are you sure we don’t need anyone else with us?”

“Are you unhappy with my supervision?”

“W-well, no, that’s not what I meant. It’s more like, hmm…”

Back during the war with the Ohgen Empire, I’d been unable to ride a horse and had to walk behind everyone else as they strode ahead atop their mounts. Chances were good I’d find myself in a similar situation in the future, so I’d decided to use this opportunity to learn how to ride.

Peeps had also told me that it was a skill I ought to have as a noble. Perhaps it was similar to a working adult learning how to drive a car back in my own world—not that I could do that, either.

And so, I spent the next several hours practicing horseback riding.

“I just think at first, maybe someone else should hold the reins since I’m a beginner?”

“If the horse gets out of hand, I can simply put it to sleep with my magic.”

There was a big area next to the stable where the horses could walk around.

The Starsage’s first lesson required me to stay in this area while I learned how to mount the horse and make it walk. A few other horses were roaming around nearby.

“Should you or the horse sustain an injury, I will heal it immediately. You need not concern yourself—simply focus on riding.”

“…All right, then.” I nodded to the Java sparrow, who had left my shoulder and now hovered next to me.

Now that I thought about it, this was par for the course for the Starsage. To put it nicely, he was sincere and focused. To put it rudely, he was a real taskmaster.

“Slide your left foot into the stirrup, then pull yourself over the horse all at once. Don’t worry if the horse staggers; just concentrate on settling yourself into the saddle. If you don’t think you can get your leg all the way over, you may use flight magic to lift your lower body.”

“In that case, I’d rather just use flight magic for the whole thing.”

I could lower myself from above like with a chamber pot. That would be easier on the horse, too.

“But it wouldn’t look very noble, would it?”

“Maybe not, but is it really that important?”

“It would be like an adult riding a bike with training wheels in your world. If you’re fine with that, then I certainly won’t stop you. I just want you to be aware.”

An adult riding a bike with training wheels would definitely stand out.

It occurred to me that, since King Adonis had made me court minister, acting beneath my position might reflect poorly on him. Depending on the situation, it could even affect troop morale. In that light, learning to properly ride a horse seemed just as important as my magic studies.

“Um. All right, then, I’ll try.”

“Yes, that would be best.”

And with that, I attempted to mount the horse.

I’d be lying if I said I had no interest in learning. I mean, horses are so cute. It seemed like great fun to be able to ride around on one whenever I wished. I’d only be with this particular horse for the next few days, but in the future, I might buy one for personal use. In fact, if I was going to be riding one, I might as well start building trust with one of my own.

With my thoughts optimistic and my spirits high, I took on the challenge. I put my left foot into the stirrup and kicked off the ground with my right.

However, as a man nearing forty who didn’t exercise much, I wasn’t very flexible. As the sparrow had anticipated, I couldn’t get my right foot over the horse’s back. It was like executing a difficult skill in a poorly designed video game. In the end, I had to use flight magic.

As I did, the horse buckled. The way my body weight was pulling it caused its knees to bend. But I followed Peeps’s advice: I kept using my flight magic and reaching out with my foot, trying to get myself seated. My weight evened out and the horse managed to pick itself back up.

A moment later, my butt landed firmly in the saddle.

“Ah…!”

But no sooner had I breathed a sigh of relief, than I felt a cramp in my right foot. Trying to force it upward had made it start to sting. I could have just used healing magic, but the pain made me reflexively move—my foot recoiled inward to escape it.

I’d driven my heel into the horse’s side.

With a neigh, the animal jerked.

“Whoaaaa!”

It was like a motorcycle doing a wheelie. The horse’s front legs lifted high into the air, flinging me backward. I’d only been on the horse for a few moments when my vision whirled and I tumbled back onto the ground. The unexpected feeling of weightlessness threw my mind into confusion.

Immediately, the horse’s back legs approached my face. Those hooves were about to crush my skull in.

“Ack…!”

As I lay there, my head spinning, I thought, This is it, I’m a goner.

But a few centimeters from my nose, the hooves struck something invisible.

A barrier spell.

Peeps must have saved me.

Kicking off the invisible wall, the horse sped away. As I watched its wild charge, I got the feeling I’d never learn to ride—that it just wasn’t for me. I quickly concluded it’d be easier to drive Ms. Futarishizuka’s car.

After running around the pasture, the horse eventually settled down.

“Thanks for that, Peeps. You saved me.”

“Unlike your sense for magic, your sense for riding is terrible.”

“My mind is ready, but my body just can’t keep up. Do you know that feeling?”

“In your case, I believe it’s because of your complete lack of exercise.”

“Well, I suppose you’re right about that…”

I spent the rest of our stay working on my riding skills. Perhaps Mr. French’s father’s vitality had infected me. For the first few days, I stayed on the stable grounds, learning the basics; once I had those down, we would leave town and get in some practical training. Even when I wasn’t on the back of a horse, my days were filled with the Starsage’s lectures and flexibility exercises.

Driven by a feeling of responsibility, I did the stretches every day—and, lo and behold, I managed to touch my toes where before, I could only barely reach my shins. I’d always thought it would be impossible, so I was rather moved. Guess everything’s worth a shot.

Ultimately, I learned the basics of horseback riding: how to mount up, how to walk, how to run, and how to stop. I still couldn’t reliably make a turn; my success largely depended on the horse’s mood.

According to Peeps, nobles like Count Müller and King Adonis could get their horses to jump over obstacles, back up through tight spaces, and do even more impressive feats like it was nothing. I realized, once again, how amazing they were.

A few days passed. Then one morning during breakfast, Peeps said, “We need to return from the otherworld soon.”

“Huh?” I replied. “Already? I don’t think it’s been ten days yet.”

“I believe dawn has already broken back in your world.”

“Oh. The time difference has shrunk that much?”

“It has indeed.”

At first, one day on Earth was about a month in the otherworld. That had been steadily decreasing, dropping from a month to around half a month, and now we couldn’t even stay for ten days. The relative passage of time had sped up significantly.

“I wonder if there’s a reason for it.”

“I have several theories, but I can’t be sure of any of them.”

“Sorry for making you do all that tough math and stuff. Anything I can help with?”

“No. And I do it because I like to. You needn’t worry.”

I’d have to continue my horseback riding efforts another time.

After that, we said good-bye to the horse I’d been working with and headed for Allestos. We visited Count Müller and picked up Lady Elsa, then we were on our way.

Feeling refreshed for the first time in a while, I arrived back in Japan.