Tensei Shoujo no Rirekisho - Volume 3 - Chapter 70

70. Freshman 21 – Life in Rubyfallen, Part 1

I broke off my engagement the first day I came to Rainforest, and after that I spent some time with Alan and Cain. Since Alan wanted to learn horseback riding, we went along with him to practice, going to market, to visit nearby waterfalls, etc… I never played around with friends like this in my previous life, so it was a lot of fun.

Garigari village was in the Rainforest territory. I wanted to go see the situation there, but it was a long way off so I couldn’t go. But I heard from an elementalist working in Rainforest that they seemed to be doing well, so that had to suffice.

I also talked to Claude about all the details of our future endeavors. While I was there, I asked him what had happened to the mysterious masked man who had been asking about me when I was a maid, but he said he hadn’t appeared since then. I thought it might have been Jiro, who had left the village, trying to find out about me… But ultimately I had no idea.

The few days passed with such activities in the blink of an eye, and Mama Kou came to pick me up. She came dashing over during a break in her work in the capital.

After Irene and Mama Kou had finished their official introductions, we set out. Just as we were about to go, Alan pulled an anxious face and tried to stop me from leaving. I told Alan that recently bandits hadn’t been appearing frequently, and we weren’t packing anything valuable, so even if there were bandits they wouldn’t target us. That calmed him enough to let us depart. Sorry, Alan. The way he stared after us with a pale face was painful to see. Apparently my kidnapping by bandits had been traumatic for Alan. Sorry.

After a few days of travel, we arrived at the Rubyfallen mansion. Though not as big as Rainforest’s, the Rubyfallen mansion was also splendid. Though it had grown a little mossy due to poor maintenance. It’s not shabby… Some patina lends the building a rustic, dignified air.

“Welcome back!”

With a loud cry, the people who came to welcome me at the front door for some reason all got on their hands and knees and pressed their foreheads to ground. What? That’s funny, I’m pretty sure the “Dogeza” greeting didn’t exist in this world. What’s wrong with everyone? For now, I turned my eyes to a prostrate Mr. Tagosaku.

“M-Mr. Tagosaku, what’s this greeting? What in the world are you doing?”

For an instant I had considered letting it go, but I ventured the question anyway.

“You noticed.” Mr. Tagosaku said, laughing at my question.

Noticed! ‘As expected, Ryou was able to notice,’ was the feeling he was giving off, but who wouldn’t notice that?!

“This is an exclusive greeting for my lady alone. The light of my lady’s renown is so dazzling that people cannot look straight at it.”

Oh, no! You can’t do that! I’m not dazzling at all!

“Ooh, I think greeting me on your knees will be hard for everyone. Please just do it the ordinary way.”

“But my lady, don’t you think people will be blinded by your radiance?”

I don’t! Do I look like I’m shining to Mr. Tagosaku? Eh, am I glowing without knowing it? Do I have a tendency to do that?! What wattage am I? Hey, what wattage? When I looked at Mama Kou for help, she shook her head with a sympathetic look.

“It’s fine, Ryou. You’re not glowing.”

Oh, good. It was just Mr. Tagosaku’s usual delusions. That gave me goosebumps. I had imagined myself switching on like a flourescent lamp.

After that magnificent greeting, I was shown to a guest room. Mr. Bash was there to meet me.

“Ryou, it’s good you’ve returned. Ms. Kou seems better than ever. Did you have any trouble with life in the capital?”

“I’m doing well, Bash. I’m having a great time at school. I’ve even made some friends.

Yes, thanks to you, I’m having a good time.”

“Well, good. Alex will be pleased.”

Oh, I was surprised to hear the boss’s name come up so naturally. After all, I’d gotten the impression before that talking about Boss Alex in front of Mr. Bash was taboo, so I’d been avoiding it until now, you know? …Maybe he’d had some contact with the boss. I decided it was a good time to ask about it.

“Oh, did the boss contact you?”

“No, he didn’t contact me.”

Hmm, there was no contact? However, Mr. Bash is the type who’s naturally great at lying. He may be hiding it…

“However, since it’s Alex, I’m sure he’s secretly observing the situation.” Mr. Bash gave a bitter smile as I stared at him.

“True~, Alex is indeed good at looking after people. Since I’m coming back after such a long absence, he might be closer than I expect, he he.”

“Oh, you think so?”

Oh, how bashful.

“Don’t you think the boss is the kind to make such a move?”

I swear I’ll go see the boss when I graduate, but the problem is I’m waiting until I properly graduate. Because he might say something like, “When was I angry? How about now!” Yeesh, that’s a scary thought.

“No, he doesn’t seem to be making a move yet. Perhaps right now, he’s running around gathering swords. Actually, I was originally expected to start producing swords to help Alex.” Mr. Bash said, smiling helplessly.

It seems like they were old friends who ended up quarrelling or something complicated like that.

“Speaking of swords, is the boss still wanting to go to war against magicians?”

I thought I was reckless, but if boss is really going to fight the magicians… Going to school, I’ve learned a little about magicians, and honestly a war against them would be truly reckless.

If it’s a one-on-one duel like with me and Alan, I could use various hand strikes or something, but in a war with groups of people going against one another, people without magic would be at an overwhelming disadvantage. First, they couldn’t mass-produce swords or armor with magic. They might be able to use bows and arrows with stone arrowheads, but it seems like wind magic can defend against projectile weapons. Furthermore, magicians have large-scale means of attack like flood or inferno.

Yeah, I think there’s no way they’d win.

“No, I don’t believe he’s planning a war… rather, if a magician picks a fight, he wants to be able to resist. He wants to be prepared for that, but Alex’s primary reason for getting weapons is to use against demons. One of the problems caused by the loss of magicians is the weakening of the barrier that seals the demons. Some of the demons can’t be injured by magically-created weapons. So we no longer have a means to oppose the demons, and we need to find a weapon that can harm them. Also, I’ve heard that those stationed at the demon barrier seal use hand-made weapons.”

The only barrier I’ve seen was the one around the mana drain*, an encircling cordon.

When that boundary disappeared, the monkey-like demon came out. That was really dreadful. When the monkey demon appeared, Cain easily lopped off its arm, so a magically-created weapon worked well there, but if it hadn’t… I mean, what does it even mean for a weapon to be ineffective? Would it just bounce off? Either way, I don’t think an unarmed human could win fighting against such a monster.

“If so, won’t it be quite a while until Boss does anything?”

“Yes. Rudil, Kwamaru and I learned something about sword-making at school. In a minting class, we watched metal being melted. You can make a sword that way, but it’s quite difficult… I think Alex will have a hard time.”

If so, the boss won’t be doing anything for a while.

–Knock, knock.

When he heard the knock at the door, Mr. Bash called out and Mr. Tagosaku came in. He came in and sat next to Mr. Bash, as though he hadn’t been prostrating himself a few seconds ago. Hey, what was the meaning of that prostration a few seconds ago? Did it even have a meaning? He’s just sitting and looking right at me as usual, isn’t he blinded by my brilliance?

“Actually, Ryou, I had something to discuss so I called in Mr. Tagosaku.”

Bash told me casually, ignoring Mr. Tagosaku’s eccentricities. He’s totally doing it. I’ll just follow Mr. Bash’s example.

“Is it about agriculture?”

Mr. Tagosaku nodded deeply at my question.

“Yes, a pioneer village has asked for help. Apparently they’re suffering damage from birds and beasts. When the crops ripen, wild boars and birds and other beasts come down from the hills and lay waste to them. We respectfully beg my lady’s advice!”

As he said it, Tagosaku’s eyes overflowed with expectation. He’s begging my advice…

First I need to find out why the requesting village is in this situation. Perhaps because the crops hadn’t been grown properly until now, they hadn’t had a problem with animals until they came and saw the fields starting to ripen.

What about a hedge of chili peppers… That’s usually pretty effective. If there are a lot of beasts, they should make something like a hunter’s guild to hunt them regularly. Hmm, would scarecrows work for the bird damage? It’s primitive, but it’s so effective even modern-day Japan uses them.

“Why don’t you try using chili plants to make a hedge around the field? The spicy taste of chilis is effective on animals as well. Also, I think you should make scarecrows. You can make a simple humanoid figure of sticks and straw, and dress it up to look like a person. Then put them up here and there in your fields. Birds will think there are people there and be afraid to enter the fields. If there are still too many beasts causing damage, routine hunting may be necessary. Perhaps the only people who have chili plants are knights. Since only they have those plants, it might be better to teach the village youths how to hunt.”

Yeah, that’s good. I’d like some knights to settle in the village if possible. The weird thing about pioneer villages is that they’re just a random collection of people poorly thrown together without any knowledge.

In this region, farmers can easily teach people how to grow crops and give them the tools, Fishermen can teach how to fish and give them tools, miners can dig and provide their tools, with each person performing their specialty. Therefore, just telling everybody to do what they’re told isn’t a good way to deal with unforeseen circumstances. If just one person is good, we won’t be able to have people with a variety of skills and leadership styles, and won’t be able to deal with occasional problems. That’s why my village was so impoverished when I was born and I was so thin I could barely do anything. If Boss Alex hadn’t come to Garigari village, I think we would have just wasted away and died.

The knights working for Mr. Bash don’t have a Knighthood, but some had graduated from the Knight’s college at school, and even those that didn’t go to school mostly came from aristocratic or semi-aristocratic households where they received some training. They understood critical thinking, and were able to read and write. They should have the ability to deal with any problems that come up.

Besides, I can secretly teach the villagers reading, writing, and arithmetic. The king had originally told me I shouldn’t start up an academic institution, but that’s not actually an academic institution, is it? It’s just a bit of teaching; a bit of teaching is fine, uh huh. You can rest assured it will only be one person in the village. Well, if they don’t want the knights.

Speaking of which, Tagosaku has quite a few knights. If he loses his followers, Tagosaku might calm down… In fact, he might fade away entirely! Yeah, that’s a good idea!

I decided to set up a bird and beast damage control task force immediately with Mr. Tagosaku and Mr. Bash to discuss further issues.

Character List

Kouki

Male, but with the heart of a maiden.

Nicknames: Kou, Mama Kou

Good looking, seen as a sexy woman while a student because she hid the part about being in drag.

She was the bandit clan’s healer when the protagonist was kidnapped, but has now settled down as the protagonist’s guardian. She’s been friends with Alex since they were students. Acts as the protagonist’s mother. If the protagonists brings home a boyfriend, she’d probably sample them. Says she likes muscular men. Alan seems outside her range, but she says she’s looking forward to Cain’s future prospects.

Alex (real name: Alexander)

Male

Nicknames: Boss, Alex, Skinhead

Boss of the bandits who kidnapped the protagonist. A magician-hating noble who sometimes teaches farmers how to hunt, he gives the impression of a gentleman thief. He looks like a scary skinhead, but is good at taking care of people, and many of his neighbors love him. His being so adored made the protagonist worry, “Is that what this world thinks is a good-looking face?”

Kouki’s sweetheart. Fond of children. A decisive person who can take immediate action. Trying to do something to reform the magician-supremacist country.

Bash Rubyfallen

Male

Nicknames: Bash (Mr.)

Head of the Rubyfallen Countdom.

Since he can’t do magic, he manages the territory with his magician wife. He also has children. Friends with Alex since their student days, and had partly cooperated with Alex’s plan. But since the agricultural reform was going well, they’re no longer working together. He has a fundamentally calm nature, but when the people of his territory were groaning in hunger, he worked passionately on things like cooperating with Alex and implementing agricultural reform on his own.

Tagosaku

Male

Eldest son of the mayor in the impoverished village where the protagonist was born. Has thinning hair.

He was scouted by Mr. Bash when he heard rumors of the remarkable agricultural development in the poor village, and taken to Rubyfallen. He is the master of agricultural reform at Rubyfallen, and very good at it, for which Mr. Bash is quite grateful. He has become dangerously infatuated with the protagonist since her childhood, when she took action to avoid starvation. He believes the protagonist is an angel sent from heaven, and does everything he can to spread her teachings. He’s studying his letters to better spread her teachings.