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Cast of Characters Arc 4: The Young Master’s Awakening, The Girls’ Determination
It was the day after Trill Euphoria’s arrival as the Empire’s ambassador to the kingdom.
A certain individual was in the Jewel Voice Room in Parnam Castle, speaking to someone in another country.
Normally, only Souma or Hakuya used the Jewel Voice Broadcast, but things were different today. This person had stark white hair and a long, thin tail.
“So, there you have it, Old Man,” that person was saying. “I want to do things my way, so can I get your permission as the head of the republic?”
“Hmm...”
The one standing in front of the jewel was Kuu Taisei, the visiting commander from the Republic of Turgis, and the one he was speaking to was his father back in the republic, Gouran Taisei.
Basically, Kuu had gotten permission from Souma to use the jewel to communicate with his motherland.
Gouran thought about it for a while, then eventually nodded. “Yes... It’s not a bad proposal, considering it came from you. You have my permission, so make it happen. I will entrust the negotiations with Souma to you.”
“Ookyakya! Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Kuu said gleefully.
Gouran’s eyes narrowed a little. “Who could have foreseen the day that you, of all people, would offer up such a useful strategy?”
“Ookya? It’s not often I get a compliment from you. You eat something funny?”
“Don’t let it go to your head,” Gouran sighed. “Honestly... Just a little praise, and you act like this. I was thinking your time in the kingdom had helped you to grow, but it seems I was mistaken.”
Kuu let out a jolly laugh. “Ookeekee! The personalities we’re born with don’t change that easily. Well, not that I thought I’d grown to begin with.” Then his smile suddenly faded. “Well... I did have a change of heart, though. Now that I’ve seen that man, I can’t just stay the way I’ve been. We’ve got preparations of our own to make.”
“The young king of Malmkhitan who was in your report?” Gouran asked slowly.
“Yeah. Fuuga Haan. He’s crazy.” Kuu’s arms were crossed, and he had an extremely serious look on his face. “My bro Souma and Empress Maria of the Empire are incredible rulers, too, sure. Bro’s way of delegating tasks to those best suited to them, and the charisma Empress Maria uses to rule over a massive empire, amaze me. But in both cases, they’ll remain friendly toward us for as long as we don’t oppose them. No matter how great the gap in our strength, they’re not going to start wars on their own for no good reason.”
“And you’re saying this Fuuga is different?” Gouran asked doubtfully.
Gouran had received a report on Fuuga Haan, but he couldn’t understand why Kuu, and even Souma, according to Kuu, saw him as such a threat.
Why were they so cautious of the king of a petty state so far from the republic?
Was there something he couldn’t infer from the report, a certain atmosphere around the man that only those who met him in person would know about?
“Yeah, that was my read on him,” Kuu said. “Fuuga’s willing to make not just small sacrifices, but big ones, too, for his dream. If it would further his dream, he might invade the snowy lands of the Republic of Turgis, even knowing they’d cost him more than they’re worth. Bro had the same feeling, too.” Kuu had an earnest look in his eye. “If the worst should happen, we’ll need the power to handle Fuuga ourselves.”
“I see...” As he nodded, Gouran was impressed.
When Kuu had been in the republic, he’d seemed to always be flying by the seat of his pants, but now it looked like he had his eyes on the future.
That was surely because he’d been influenced by seeing how Souma ruled in the kingdom, and the appearance of someone who might become a powerful enemy had encouraged his growth.
“Then you, too, must do your best not to be outdone by the young kings,” Gouran said.
“Ookyakya! I know that. Well, I’m off to where Bro is now.”
As he watched Kuu run off, leaning into the wind, Gouran reflected that his son had become reliable.
— The next day, in the royal capital Parnam’s castle town —
It was a cold, busy day toward the end of the year, and Kuu and Leporina, the Turgish master and servant pair, were racing along the rooftops.
“Good for you, Young Master,” Leporina praised him. “The negotiations have come together.”
Kuu responded with a jolly laugh. “Ookyakya! When I made him match my conditions, Bro frowned pretty hard, though. I was stubborn, pushed him, buttered him up, took advantage of his weaknesses... and somehow got him to give in.”
“I was behind you watching, but Sir Souma, he looked tired, you know?”
Leporina knew.
She knew that Kuu had tied Souma up for a whole hour when his children had just been born and he was swamped with work, being stubborn, pushing him, buttering him up, and taking advantage of his weaknesses until he’d extracted wildly favorable conditions. Of course Souma was going to look exhausted.
This was the sort of thing that risked angering the king and having them thrown out of the kingdom, but Kuu had a good sense for people’s hearts. He’d done a good job of keeping on Souma’s good side as he negotiated.
However, Kuu laughed this off as if it were nothing. “Don’t make it sound like I was being unreasonable. Bro’s not going to be hurt by this. Well, he may not be hurt, but I sure took a chunk out of what he stood to gain. Ookya!”
“Sigh... I really do think it’s incredible the way you can be like this.”
“Hm? Is that a compliment?”
“It is. Half out of exasperation, though.”
While the two of them were talking, they jumped down in front of a certain workshop on the craftsmen’s street.
This was the workshop their childhood friend, Taru, who was here to provide technical guidance in this country.
Kuu knocked and then immediately flung the door wide open. “Hey, Taru, you in?”
A cool girl of the snow bear race, who had white bear ears on her head, was in the process of carrying a bucket of water. “It’s the Dumb Master... and Leporina?”
“Hello, Taru,” Leporina greeted.
The snow bear girl blinked, cocking her head to the side. “You were able to make it back already?”
“Yeah,” said Kuu confidently. “We got back with the rest of the reinforcements days ago. Had some work to do, so I couldn’t get over here, though.”
“Days ago...”
Seeing the ponderous look on Taru’s face, Kuu got a question over his head as he asked, “Ookya? What’s wrong, Taru?”
“...Nothing,” Taru said with a sour look and then turned away.
Kuu cocked his head to the side in bewilderment, but Leporina felt like she could understand why Taru acted like that.
Not “you’re back already,” but “you were able to make it back already”... huh, Leporina reflected. I’m sure she was worried about Master Kuu while he was up in the Union of Eastern Nations slaying monsters. Yet, even though Master Kuu has been back for days, he hasn’t come to see Taru until now. That’s why she’s sulking... or at least, I’d say that’s it.
Leporina could only smile wryly at the way her awkward childhood friend felt.
With no idea how either of them were feeling, Kuu went on, “Anyway, Taru, I’ve got a favor to ask.”
“What? If you’re going to ask me out on a date again, like always, I’m busy now...”
“That’s not it. I mean, I do want to go on a date, but that’s not what I’m here about today.” Kuu had a more serious expression on his face than usual.
Seeming to notice this, Taru made a point of hearing him out properly. “...What’s going on?”
“For now, let’s just sit and talk,” Kuu said, and the three of them relocated to the living room.
While Taru served them tea from an iron kettle, Kuu finally got to the point.
“It’s been decided the kingdom and Empire will do a joint research project on a certain technology.” Kuu took a sip of his tea, and then went on in a serious tone. “They call it a ‘drill,’ I hear. From what Bro’s told me, it can be used to bore holes in hard objects.”
“A drill... Is it like the hand-turned cutting tool that carpenters use?” Taru asked.
“The one for putting holes in lumber? Well, I guess you can think of it as the bigger and more powerful version of that. For one thing, it puts holes in iron, not wood. He was saying with an even bigger model, they could punch holes through the mountains.”
“They’re... trying to make something incredible,” Taru said, awed. Being a craftsperson, she understood how amazing that technology would be.
Because this world had magic, if you had a technology that would allow you to put holes in rock and metal, “Can’t you just do it with magic?” might seem like the likely response. However, magical abilities and their power varied wildly, and only a select few could open holes of an ideal size. And once the technology was established, anyone would be able to make use of it.
Even without an appropriate mage, it would be possible to put a hole in anything. The effect that would have, not just in this country but across the world, was immeasurable.
Kuu nodded, saying, “Exactly. This technology, I want it for us, no matter what it costs. No, if anything, our country is the one that needs this technology more than any others. Our country is locked in snow and ice.”
In the frigid Republic of Turgis, in winter, the land was covered by snow and the sea in ice, making it impossible to move around. Ships couldn’t enter the frozen waters, and moving through the snow was impossible without using a large, woolly creature like a numoth.
Recently, with the introduction of the large Roroa Maru hovercraft from the kingdom, it had become easier to engage in trade, but the situation was still difficult.
So, what if they had a drill that could punch through rock?
“If we can open holes through the mountains, we’ll have roads that don’t need to worry about snow,” Kuu said. “If we put them on ships, we might be able to create vessels that can break the ice as we move forward. When I was saying that to Bro, he said, ‘With a rotation mechanism, you might be able to build a ski lift, too.’”
“A lift?” Taru repeated.
“He said it was for something called... leisure skiing? If we had that, we could bring tourists into the republic... he was saying. I didn’t get it, but I intend to hear about it again in more detail next time.”
If that was one of Bro’s ideas, it was bound to be fun, Kuu reflected with a grin.
“I understand that the technology is important,” Taru said slowly. “So what is it you want to ask of me?”
Kuu slapped his knee like he’d been waiting to hear those words. “The drill is a tech our country needs. But if we try to introduce it after the kingdom and Empire have perfected it, it will cost us big time. We can’t handle that. That’s why I’ve negotiated with Bro to bring us in on the joint research project. With my old man’s permission, of course.”
Kuu was as quick to act as ever. If an idea occurred to him, he ran with it immediately.
“So, Taru, I want you to join the joint research team,” he continued.
“...Me?”
“Yeah. A knowledge of blades is going to be indispensable for this drill thing. Blacksmithing techniques are your bag, right? We’ll provide your expertise and some funding, and in return, we’ll get to join the project. Then the drill technology will be shared between the three countries.”
“The young master was amazing, you know,” Leporina put in. “The kingdom and Empire had been splitting the costs half and half between them, so he was told it would make sense for us to need to put up third, but by negotiating on the premise our country was weaker, he was able to reduce that to a fifth.”
The result was that the ratio of investment between the kingdom, Empire, and republic would be 4:4:2.
Incidentally, Kuu’s opening request had been ten percent, while Souma had wanted him to put in thirty percent, and after their long back and forth negotiations, they had finally settled on twenty percent.
“Ookeekee!” Kuu giggled. “If I’d been willing to oppose Bro, I could’ve brought him down to fifteen, though.”
“Don’t get a big head,” Leporina scolded. “Letting us only contribute twenty percent was a show of goodwill from Souma.”
“I know that. So, there you have it, Taru. Would you lend us a hand for the sake of our country?”
Kuu extended his hand to her. His eyes lacked their usual vapidness, and were full of something like the determination of one who bore responsibility for the next generation of his country.
Taru got lost in his eyes for a moment, but eventually she took his hand.
“...Okay. I’ll cooperate.”
“Thanks. Well, I’m taking off to report in to Bro right now!”
Kuu hopped up from his seat, dashing out of the workshop as fast as he had come in.
For a moment, Taru went, “Ah,” and reached out her arm after him, but Kuu was gone before her arm could stretch. With nowhere left for it to go, Taru wrapped that arm around her chest.
“If you’re like that, the young master will go far away, you know?” Leporina put in.
As if having a sudden realization, Taru looked over at her. “Master Kuu... he’s changed a little. Did something happen in the Union of Eastern Nations?”
“Yes. He saw a young king who was incredibly strong, with an immense power to draw people to him, and an ambition grand enough to cover the world. He was like the embodiment of the young master’s ideal ruler.”
Taru was silent.
“Because that was the young king of another country, it lit a fire in the young master’s belly. He doesn’t want to lose. That’s helped him to see things that are bigger than he could have before.” With a serious expression on her face, Leporina clenched her fist in front of her chest, as if in pain. “Don’t assume he’ll keep looking at you forever.”
“Huh?!”
“The young master is trying to move forward,” Leporina went on. “This relationship won’t stay the same forever. If you stand still, I’m sure you’ll be left behind.”
“I... I...” Taru tried to say something, but she couldn’t find the words.
Don’t assume he’ll keep looking at you forever.
Their relationship was fine as it was. A part of Taru believed that.
However, those feelings would be in Kuu’s way when he wanted to move forward. And Taru didn’t want that.
In the closed-off republic, covered in snow and ice, Kuu had smiled brighter than anyone as he drove onward. He’d done stupid things, too, but Taru had been drawn to him for that. That was why she didn’t want to do something like make Kuu stop.
While Taru hung her head, Leporina walked toward the entrance to the workshop and said, “I’ll follow the young master anywhere. Even if I’m not at the top of his attention now, I’ll get there someday. Taru... it’s about time you thought about what it is you want to do.”
Then, chasing after Kuu, she left the workshop.
Left behind, Taru continued to clench her fist for a while, but eventually raised her face.
In her eyes there was a powerful light that refused to let the other two outdo her.
Later...
Taru was in the laboratory of the overscientist Genia Maxwell.
“You want to change the shape of the tip?” Trill, the third princess of the Empire, tilted her head to the side, causing her hair, which was tied into a single drill, to shake. “The best swords, the best spears, and the best arrows all of these have sharp, pointed tips. Is it not a cone, where the tip is at a more acute angle, which provides the most penetrative power?”
“For a normal weapon, sure,” Taru said, boldly expressing her opinion to the one who had proposed the project in the first place. “It only needs penetrative power when it hits the enemy. But a drill functions differently. It has to be designed to work for a long time.”
Trill crossed her arms and looked at her dubiously. “...Yes, and?”
“Though a sharp tip has penetrative power, the fact that the force is concentrated on that point means it’s brittle and easily breaks. Once it’s broken, it loses that penetrative power.”
“I see... you’re certainly right about that,” Genia, who was beside them, agreed.
Trill’s doubtful look disappeared. If those were the words of Genia, the head of the House of Maxwell, whom she so respected, Trill couldn’t possibly doubt her.
“If Young Miss Genia says so, she must be right,” Trill said. “But what is it you want to do, in that case?”
Taru used chalk to draw the shape she had thought of on the blackboard. “I propose that in order to disperse the force across the contact surface, we’ll actually make the tip flat, and by covering it in countless blades, we’ll chip away things as the drill spins.”
“Well... That’s an unexpected shape.” Merula said, letting out a sigh of admiration.
Taru looked straight at her and said, “Blades are my area of expertise. I won’t let anyone beat me at it.”
Taru was there, holding her own in arguments with geniuses like Genia, Merula, and Trill about the drill.
While she explained her idea to the other three, Taru made a commitment in her heart.
I have to do my best, too... so that those two don’t leave me behind.
So that Kuu would keep looking at her forever.