CH 2

Chapter 2: Urgent News and a Meeting

The Republic of Turgis.

It was a state situated on the southern edge of the continent Landia.

On that continent, the average temperature dropped the further you went south. The southern edge of the continent, where the Republic of Turgis lay, was a land of ice and snow.

It was a mountainous country, but compared to the Amidonia region, it had more flatlands and a greater amount of arable land. However, because the winters were long and the summers short, the period in which the land could be worked was limited, and crop farming wasn’t very prosperous.

The people of this country were supported by livestock farming. The people lived off of free-range animals that could live in cold regions like yaks, woolly rhinoceroses, and mammoths.

In this land, the majority of the population were beastmen belonging to what were called the Five Races of the Snowy Plains. The five races included the snow monkey, white rabbit, white eagle, snow bear, and walrus races.

In those five races, as with other beastmen, the women looked like humans with animal ears, wings, and tails, but the men had faces that were fairly close to the actual animals. Interracial marriage was allowed, but it seemed the children born from such a union always took after just one of the parents, so there was no mixing of their unique features.

The most common race was the white rabbit race, known for their high birth rate; the least common race was the walrus race, known for having an average height of over two meters.

Those races intermixed to form tribes inside the country, but their distribution across the land reflected the different abilities each race possessed.

The walrus and snow bear races, who could dive into the icy waters to catch fish, made up a large percentage of the population along the coast. The tribes living in the mountains, on the other hand, had a higher percentage of members of the snow monkey and white eagle races, who could easily handle the terrain. Finally, many of those who lived in the flatlands, working the fields in the short summer season, were members of the white rabbit race.

There were human merchants and members of other races present, too, but the harsh winters made it difficult for the other races to live in the country. With the exception of slaves, they generally left the country before the roads were closed off by the snow.

Almost like Snu*kin.

Because the climate was so harsh, this country had never been destroyed by a foreign enemy.

The air currents in the sky were always violent, and the temperatures were chilly even in the summer. Those facts kept air power such as wyverns away, and the icy seas prevented the use of sea power.

Because of that, the only avenue of attack was by land, and if the country put up a strong defense and held out through the summer, General Winter would come and sever the enemy’s supply lines, forcing them to retreat.

In addition, there was also the fact there was little to gain by seizing this country.

They say that, in its heyday, the Gran Chaos Empire could have gone toe-to-toe with the Star Dragon Mountain Range, but even then, the Empire had never once considered an invasion.

The Republic of Turgis was ruled under a primitive system of republic.

First, the chiefs, who were the representatives of each tribe, gathered in a Council of Chiefs. Then, the Council of Chiefs voted to select the nominal representative of the country, their head of state.

Matters of internal affairs were decided by discussion between the head of state and the Council of Chiefs, but foreign affairs (diplomacy, wars, and such) were controlled by the head of state.

This head of state was usually a position that lasted for one generation, but with the approval of the Council of Chiefs, the title could be inherited. The current head of state in the 1,547th year of the Continental Calendar was apparently the second generation.

Now then, having said all this about the Republic of Turgis, if we recall their relations with the Kingdom of Friedonia, they couldn’t really be called cordial.

In search of unfrozen land and warm water ports, the republic was always looking to the north for any opportunity to expand. Even during the recent war between the Elfrieden Kingdom and the Principality of Amidonia, they had moved their troops close to the kingdom’s southern border looking for an opening to intervene.

I had deployed Excel and the navy close to the border, and that intimidation had been just barely enough to keep them from invading. If the war with the principality had bogged down, they surely would have attacked.

There was no letting our guards down with them. Still, I didn’t want to quarrel with this country.

If we attacked them, there was nothing for us to gain. Even if we occupied their territory, the ways people lived in the Kingdom of Friedonia and Republic of Turgis were too different. The kingdom was pretty cold in the south, but the republic’s winter was even more intensely cold. The people of the republic had adjusted their way of life to that climate, and no matter how capable a magistrate I may send, they wouldn’t be able to properly rule a country with a different culture, values, and way of life. And if we needlessly tried forcing our ways on them, it would just end in a rebellion.

A country we didn’t want to be attacked by, but would be too troublesome to attack ourselves—that was the Republic of Turgis.

This was precisely why I, as the King of Friedonia, wanted to build cordial relations with the Republic of Turgis. Fortunately, during the recent war, our forces hadn’t clashed directly with theirs. The sentiment of each of our peoples toward the other shouldn’t be especially bad.

Now, if I could just experience their culture and thought, and find a reasonable way to give them what they wanted, I suspected I could build cordial relations.

I knew this was a naïve hope. Still, a needless war would exhaust the country.

Wars like the one we’d fought against the principality should be a last resort, not something that could be made the norm.

That cube-like thing which had transcended human reckoning at the Star Dragon Mountain Range existed as an element of uncertainty, too. I never knew what might happen or when, so I wanted to avoid needlessly expending the power of my country.

We were coming to the Republic of Turgis to see if that wish could be granted.

We arrived at a town in the eastern part of the Republic of Turgis, Noblebeppu. This place, which was close to the border of the Kingdom of Friedonia, was a quiet inn town surrounded by mountains in the north and the sea to the south.

It was toward the end of May, and the ice and snow blocking the roads had melted at last. The cold had lessened slightly, and it was a period that was, relative to the standards of this country, comfortable to live in. Because of that, there were many merchants from other countries, and the town was bustling.

We walked through that town.

Our group consisted of Aisha, Juna, Roroa, Tomoe, Hal, Kaede, and me, making for a total of seven people. Tomoe’s bodyguard, Inugami, had come with us, too, but he was currently elsewhere patrolling and guarding us, along with the rest of the Black Cats.

To be completely honest, I had wanted Naden and Liscia to come, too, but Naden, as was typical of ryuus and dragons, couldn’t stand the cold, and Liscia had fallen ill after returning from the Star Dragon Mountain Range, so she was resting back in the kingdom.

I was really worried for Liscia, but she herself had told me, “I’ll be fine, so go see the world like a king should.” I couldn’t have stuck around to tend to her after that.

I was worried, but I had arranged for the best doctors in the country, Hilde and Brad, to look after her, so she’d probably be fine. If anything happened, Naden would come notify me. And in order to respond to Liscia’s feelings, I had to make a proper trip around the republic.

“I’d heard it was cold, so I was expectin’ nothing but snow, but it’s not that bad,” Roroa commented.

“It’s late in May, after all,” Juna said. “It still feels plenty cold, though.”

Roroa and Juna were both dressed more heavily than they had been in the kingdom.

Technically, for this trip, I was playing the role of a young merchant’s son looking for prospective trade goods. Tomoe was my little sister, and Aisha, Hal, and Kaede were adventurers we had hired. As for the remaining two, Roroa was an employee who worked for my family’s store, and Juna was my wife.

Juna leaned in and asked me a question. “Um, is this okay? Having me play the wife over the primary queens...?”

“It was a choice made with safety in mind,” I answered. “You’re skilled with both pen and sword, Juna, so I want you to keep your fighting abilities hidden in case something happens.”

Even if we were attacked by ruffians, they’d probably have their eyes on Aisha, Hal, and Kaede, who were dressed as adventurers. They’d assume Juna was just a pretty girl. Then Juna would get them from behind because they’d let their guards down.

It’s a bit late to say this now, but my fiancées were a little too combat capable. Now that Naden had joined them, their average power level had massively increased, too.

“And, well, with that in mind, there were a limited number of people we might theoretically take with us on our trip that didn’t have any combat ability,” I said. “You don’t seem like someone we’d employ, Juna, and I’m not sure about forcing you into the maid role like Carla.”

“I wouldn’t mind that,” she said. “Give me any order you wish, Master.”

She brought her hands to her chest, smiled, and tilted her head a little, so my heart skipped a beat.

“When did Lorelei turn into a maid café?!” I exclaimed.

She was going to get me in the mood, so I wished she’d stop.

“Well, Juna, you’re his fiancée, too, so I figure it ain’t a big deal,” Roroa said.

“Is that right?”

“Darn tootin’. And you’re the one playin’ the wife, so why not have him spoil ya rotten?” Roroa wrapped herself around my arm.

“And you’re the employee, aren’t you?” Juna replied. “Is it really okay for you to hug the young master like that?”

“Sure is,” she declared. “I’m an employee, sure, but I’m ‘the employee who’s aimin’ to become the second wife by supportin’ the young master, and maybe knock the first wife out of the picture if things go well.’”

“Don’t go changing our backstory!” I objected. “And come on, that’s a weirdly messy backstory.”

“So Juna’s gonna be callin’ me ‘you vixen.’”

“I-Is that the sort of role I’m playing?”

“Don’t take her so seriously, Juna,” I said. “Besides, in her case, Roroa should be a tanuki instead...”

“Ponpokopon!”

“Yeah, yeah. Real cute.”

When I patted Roroa, who was miming slapping her belly, on the head, she grinned. Did tanuki in this world drum on their bellies...? Well, it wasn’t like the ones in my original world did that in real life.

“Hee hee! When I see Roroa, it seems silly to hold myself back at all.” Juna hooked her arm around my other open arm. “We don’t get the opportunity often enough, so spoil me, too, darling.”

“Erm... Sure. I’ll do my best to escort you.”

While we were talking about that, Kaede, who belonged to a fox beastman race, was watching us from a little ways away with her head tilted to the side. “Vixen? Is that something Ruby will call me, too?”

“In your case, she wouldn’t even be wrong,” Halbert said wearily. “Please, just try to get along.”

“Well, we’ll have to bring a gift back for her, then. But, before you tell me that, try being that considerate yourself, Hal.”

“Yes, ma’am...” Hal’s shoulders slumped.

Ever since he’d taken Ruby as his second wife, he’d completely lost control of the situation. Well, not that I was one to talk.

Next to Hal and Kaede, Tomoe was riding on Aisha’s shoulders. “Look, Aisha! There’s a place selling steamed potatoes over there!”

“Oh, you’re right. They look delicious,” Aisha replied, drooling.

Having been unable to go to the Star Dragon Mountain Range, if you excluded the no doubt difficult time she’d spent as a refugee, this was Tomoe’s first time traveling outside the country. She was eleven now, so she must be as excited as an elementary school student on her first overnight field trip to the forest or sea. She was standing out a little, but it looked like she was enjoying herself, so I let it slide.

“Ah! Hey, darlin’... Er, no, young master. C’mere a minute.” Suddenly, Roroa pulled me over in front of a certain merchant’s stall.

I looked, wondering what it could be about, and it appeared to be a place selling apparel. “Is there something you want? If it’s not that expensive, I could buy it for you...”

“That’s not it. No, if you wanna buy me somethin’, I’m glad, but that’s not it. Take a look at what they’re sellin’ here.” Roroa lifted up one of the items on sale and held it out to me.

When I took it from her, it turned out to be an ornate metal hair pin. It was designed with a tree motif, but... This was incredible. The designs being used were highly intricate. The details of each leaf were carved in, and I could even make out a bird sitting in the branches.

“This fish earring over here has every scale carefully carved in, too,” Juna said.

“This donkey broach, too,” Aisha said, setting down Tomoe. “The reins are done with a chain, but they’re really detailed.”

They continued voicing how impressed they were. It was true; each of the products was finely detailed.

The bunny-eared old lady who was running the shop spoke up. “Why, hello there, young’un. Those’re some fine young ladies ya’ve got with ya there. Why don’tcha buy ’em some of my wares as a present? It’ll show ’em what a man you are, y’know?”

The bunny-eared old lady laughed heartily and spoke in that merchant slang I always heard as Kansai dialect. If she had rabbit ears, did that mean she belonged to the white rabbit race? Hearing about rabbit beastmen, I had imagined bunny girls, but... Yeah, well, there was a whole race of them, so of course there would be people of her age, too.

I picked up one of her products and asked, “I like this one, and want to buy it, but is it a work by a famous craftsman?”

“Nah, they make ’em at workshops everywhere. It’s nothin’ that expensive.”

“Huh? At the workshop over there?”

Could something so intricate be made so easily? I had my doubts.

Roroa puffed up her chest and proudly explained. “The accessories made in the Republic of Turgis are famous for their detailed ornamentation. A whole lotta merchants’ll come here in the summer lookin’ to get their hands on ’em.”

“Turgis ends up gettin’ buried in snow durin’ the winter, after all,” the bunny-eared old lady put in. “We can’t go out very far, so many of us stay in our houses, doin’ work there. We’ve been livin’ that way for a few centuries, so we Turgish people are good at workin’ with our hands.”

I see...so that’s how it is. While I was busy being impressed, Roroa grinned boldly.

“Hey, young master. If Turgish craftsmen can do such detailed work, don’tcha think they’d be able to help with makin’ those things you’ve been thinkin’ about for a while?”

“Those things...? Oh, those!”

It was true, there was a thing I had been thinking of making for a while, but the development project hadn’t made much headway, given the level of the craftsmen in our country. But maybe the craftsmen of this country would be able to make them. If what the old lady said was true, there were highly capable craftsmen everywhere in this country. We might be able to not only develop them, but also push them into mass production.

The Republic of Turgis... I’d thought they had nothing, but they were hiding immense potential. I turned to the old lady who ran the shop.

“Ma’am, I’m going to buy a number of these, so could you introduce me to a craftsperson who lives near here, and is good at their work?”

“Thanks for your business. Well, why don’t ya try goin’ to the Ozumi Workshop? Taru’s young, but capable. The kid’s a little shy, and can be stubborn when it comes to her work, but if I write ya a letter of introduction, you’ll be treated well.”

“Please do. Oh! Roroa, Juna, Aisha, Tomoe, if there’s something here you’d like, you can buy it.”

Roroa reacted immediately. “That’s my dar... Er, no, my young master! Whew, so generous!”

“Thank you, darling,” Juna added. “Tomoe, would you like to choose ours together?”

“Huh...? Oh, sure!”

Juna, who knew it made a man look better if she didn’t hesitate at times like this, bowed once, then invited Tomoe, who tended to hold back at times like this, to look at the lady’s wares with her.

These were women with complicated backgrounds, but when you saw them in front of an accessories shop, giggling this way, it was reassuring how like any other young girl the two of them were.

“This is perfect, Hal,” Kaede said. “You should buy your gift for Ruby here.”

“Sure. Oh! But can you help me pick one out? I’ll buy one for you, too, of course, Kaede.”

“I guess I’ll have to. But I expect you to choose mine yourself, you know?”

“Uh, right.”

It looked like Kaede and Hal were planning to buy something here, too.

“I think gold will go nicely with Ruby’s red hair, you know,” Kaede suggested.

“Yeah, you could be right. I feel like silver’d be a match for your golden hair.”

“Hee hee, I think you have good taste, Hal.”

The two of them had that sort of sweet conversation while looking at the shop’s wares.

Wait, huh...? Where did Aisha go?

Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen Aisha for a while now.

I looked around the area and spotted Aisha a little ways away with two messenger kuis perched on her shoulders. It looked like she’d received a letter.

For some reason, I recalled the day when she’d received word of a natural disaster striking the God-Protected Forest. Try as I might to forget the look of anguish on Aisha’s face that time, I couldn’t.

I waited tensely, wondering what sort of news had come, but there was no change in Aisha’s expression. Then, having finished the letter, Aisha came over my way.

“Was there a message for us?” I asked.

“Yes. Two letters from Lady Liscia.”

“From Liscia?”

“Yes. The first was addressed to me, and the second to you, sire.”

With that, Aisha passed a single unsealed letter to me. While accepting it, I tilted my head questioningly. She’d sent separate letters to Aisha and me?

“Did something happen in the capital?” I asked.

“Well...in my letter, she asked me to do something specific.”

“Something specific?”

“I’m sorry. She wrote not to tell you what the letter said, sire.” Aisha bowed her head apologetically.

I had even less of an idea what was going on now. I’d have to look at what my own letter said.

Let’s see...

“Dear Souma,

I think this letter will arrive together with another for Aisha, so have Aisha read hers first. Make sure you read this letter after that.”

That was how the letter started.

I didn’t really get it, but she seemed insistent. Aisha seemed to have read hers already, so I could probably continue. I kept reading, and...

“Huh...?”

When I spotted a certain passage, I suddenly felt like I’d been hit in the head.

Whuh...? Was this for real? Was she serious? No... She had to be. There was no point in telling a lie like this. Which meant... Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!

“Wh-What’s wrong?!”

I must have had quite the look on my face, because Aisha started shaking my shoulder. That snapped me back to my senses, but there was still a cold sweat running down my back and my knees were shaking.

Seriously? I mean, seriously?

I turned my head toward Aisha like a broken tin robot. “I’m going home.”

“Huh?”

“I’m going back to the kingdom right now!” I declared to everyone with bloodshot eyes.

Thinking back later, I don’t think I was quite sane at the time. Every plan I’d had in my head up until that point slipped away. After all, my entire mind was now completely occupied by a certain thing written in Liscia’s letter.

That one sentence sent me into a confused state of shock and delight. It said...

I’m pregnant.

“I called Dr. Hilde to come and look at me, so I’m certain of it. Oh! Dr. Hilde was pregnant, too. I felt bad for calling her in. She says it’s Dr. Brad’s. They didn’t seem to get along that well, so it’s kind of surprising, huh?”

It was true, I was surprised, but I didn’t care about that now!

While reading the letter, I wanted to poke fun at Liscia. The letter continued, “But anyhow...”

It was an awfully roundabout way of writing things. Maybe Liscia had been feeling tense herself while writing it.

“This is our child. Are you happy? You’re happy, right?”

Damn straight I was! No, it wasn’t like my mind had fully processed that fact yet, but I was just as happy as I was surprised. If Liscia were here now, I would have hugged her, without a doubt. The hands I was holding the letter with were shaking.

“By the way, the one most ecstatic about the news was our chamberlain, Marx, who’s been constantly pressuring us to produce an heir. He shed a flood of tears, then stood up and declared, ‘I must prepare a room and clothing for the young prince at once!’ and went straight to work. Even though we don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet.”

What’re you doing, Marx? I thought. I was glad he was happy, though.

“I’m very happy,” the letter said. “To be able to bear your child. I can say this now that I’m pregnant, but I was a little worried. You know, because you’re from another world, right? Lady Tiamat was saying that while we were both human, our origins were different, so I wondered if we could have kids, and what I was going to do if we couldn’t. It looks like I was worried in vain, though.”

Liscia...

I couldn’t bear to sit still any longer. I wanted to fly to Liscia’s side right away. I was dominated by that feeling, and tried to one-sidedly declare to everyone that we would be turning back to the Kingdom before taking off running.

However...

“F-Forgive me!” Aisha suddenly jumped on me from behind, forcing me to the ground.

“Gwah!”

With her arms wrapped around my back, I was like a fugitive being restrained by the authorities.

Underneath Aisha, I struggled to break free from her hold.

“L-Let go, Aisha! I have to go to Liscia...”

“I don’t know why, but Lady Liscia asked me to do this!”

Huh? Liscia did?

When I stopped resisting, Aisha thrust her own letter in my face.

“Dear Aisha,” it said, “If Souma says he’s going home after reading my letter to him, restrain him. Then tell him to read his letter carefully, and do as it says. Also, until you’ve restrained him, keep what this letter says a secret.”

It looked like Liscia had predicted my response to reading the letter. I gave up and, standing up, I continued reading.

“You can be overprotective when it comes to family, so I’m sure you’ll want to come home when you read this, but...you can’t, okay? You won’t have many chances to look around another country freely, so make sure you do it this time.

“You don’t need to worry about me. I have Serina and Carla, who both rushed here when they heard, waiting on me hand and foot, and I’m thinking of going to stay with my parents until the baby is born. My father’s old domain is quieter than the capital, and it’s in the rustic countryside. I’ll go ask them all sorts of questions about how to raise a child. So, Souma, you do what you need to be doing now, too.”

It seemed Liscia had carefully planned out things on her own end. It didn’t seem like I had anything to worry about, but... Even with that said, it was in my nature as a man to worry anyway, you know?

Still, with Liscia telling me all that, I guessed I couldn’t abandon what I was doing and turn back now.

When my shoulders slumped, the last line of the letter caught my eye.

“P.S. You can start putting your hands on your other fiancées now.”

Liscia... At the very end, that was what she’d decided to write? Maybe it was her way of masking her embarrassment.

Whatever the case, I decided to show everyone else the letter. The old lady minding the shop looked at us dubiously when we all moved away for a minute to whisper about it, but right now our family issues took priority.

When they saw the letter, everyone was surprised for a moment, but they all congratulated me.

“My word!” Aisha exclaimed. “This is a happy occasion indeed!”

“How wonderful,” Juna smiled. “Congratulations, sire.”

“I’d say the succession’s secure for now, huh?” Roroa smirked. “Geh heh heh! Ya think it’ll be one of our turns next?”

“Congratulations, Big Brother!” Tomoe cried.

“Congratulations,” Kaede agreed. “Now your house is secure. If this weren’t a foreign country, I’d want to cry out, ‘Glory to Friedonia,’ you know.”

“Congrats,” said Halbert. “Souma a father, huh... It’s kind of moving, as a guy from the same generation.”

“Does this get you in the mood to finally make an heir for the House of Magna?” Kaede asked him.

“My old man’s still the current head of the house. But...it makes me think it might be good to, yeah.”

Hal and Kaede seemed to have a good mood going. They were going to use another house’s good news to start flirting, huh? Well, not that I minded.

I stuffed the letter in my pocket and beckoned to Roroa.

“Roroa, come here a minute.”

“Hm? What’s up... Wait, whoa?!”

I stuck my hands under Roroa’s armpits, and lifted her up high like a child.

Roroa was petite, so even with my weak arms, I was easily able to lift her. If I’d chosen the tall Aisha, or the shapely Juna, I doubt I could have done it.

With Roroa held up in the air, I spun around in place.

“What what what what?!” Roroa sounded uncharacteristically flustered.

After spinning around a good bit, I released my hands and caught her in my arms as she fell. Roroa’s eyes were spinning.

“Wh-What are you doin’ to me...out of nowhere?!”

“Sorry,” I said. “I got kind of excited. Really, I wanted to do that to Liscia, but she’s not here. I did it with you because you’ve got the closest figure to hers.”

“Murgh... I’m not so keen on bein’ Big Sister Cia’s substitute, but, well, it was fun for me, so I’ll let ya get away with it. But, y’know, isn’t it kinda rare for you to let loose like that, darlin’?”

“Yeah... Well, it’s just for today, so let it go.”

I mean, I’d made a baby. A new member of the family. With Grandpa and Grandma’s deaths, I’d lost the last people I could call family. That was why, feeling that Liscia and Tomoe were something like family, I wanted to protect them.

Now, with Liscia and me having conceived a child, we’d gone from being something like family to an actual family. There was nothing that could make me happier.

“If we were at the castle now, I’d probably be proposing a system of childcare support!” I declared, gripping my fists and speaking passionately.

“Well, I can’t see that bein’ anythin’ less than excessive,” said Roroa, looking taken aback. “Maybe it’s a good thing we’ve gotten you away from the castle for a while to cool down.”

Yeah, I had to agree.

Hal exasperatedly asked, “So? In the end, what are we doing now?”

“Hrm...” I said. “I want to fly back now, but Liscia said not to yet...”

“You’re the king, so you should prioritize looking around this country, like Lady Liscia was saying,” Juna advised.

“That’s right,” chided Roroa. “Ya need to keep the kingdom developin’. For the people in it now, and for the kid who’s gonna be born, too.”

For the kid who was going to be born, huh... If she put it that way, I couldn’t say anything back.

“Fine,” I said. “There’s no change in plans. We’ll start by going to that workshop we’ve got an introduction to.”

Having settled that, we went back to the woman and her shop.

“What is it, young man?” the shopkeeper asked. “You’re all done talkin’ now?”

“Yeah. Now, where is this Ozumi Workshop you mentioned?”

Ya can see it from this town. Look, it’s up on that there hill,” the woman said, pointing to the hill at the back end of the town.

It was a grassy hill with a gentle slope. There were woods on both sides, and it looked like a skiing hill during the summer. There was still snow left here and there in the woods; even if we watched it all year, it probably wouldn’t fully melt.

There was a red brick building halfway up that hill. I could see it adjacent to the woods. Was that the Ozumi Workshop?

We settled the bill for the things we were buying, had the old lady write us a letter of introduction, and headed for that building at once.

Leaving the town of Noblebeppu, we spent the next thirty minutes traveling aboard a rocky carriage. Then we wound up standing outside a building made of brick: the Ozumi Workshop.

That workshop, which stood in the middle of a field of tall grass with a forest behind it, had a chimney. It looked like, in addition to producing accessories here, they also handled blacksmithing. Convenient.

Having been told Taru was shy, it seemed likely I would surprise her if I dragged a bunch of folks decked out as adventurers in with me, so we left Aisha and the others by the carriage while Juna, Roroa, Tomoe, and I went inside.

From the looks of it, they didn’t have a sales counter. The building was a ways out, so they probably sold their wares wholesale in town. I could hear the sound of something being pounded inside.

I knocked on the door, but no one came to answer. Had no one heard me? There seemed to be someone inside, so I tried knocking again, and after a little while, the door slowly opened.

A girl with a bandana wrapped around her head came out. “Who is it...?”

The girl was petite and had a baby face. I put her at around fifteen to sixteen years old. Even though it was so cold out, she wore a short-sleeved shirt, long pants, and a blacksmith’s apron. In her gloved hands, she held a hammer that seemed incongruous with her petite form. Could this be the craftsperson the old lady had been talking about?

“Erm, excuse me... Would you happen to be Madam Taru?” I asked, standing up straight.

The girl cocked her head to the side and looked at me with sleepy eyes. “Yes, I am. What is it?”

Dealing with you is tiring. If you have no business here, go home. That was what her general demeanor seemed to say.

Some people may have gotten offended at this point, but I was used to dealing with people like Genia, so I didn’t think much of it.

I bowed politely, then introduced myself. “I’ve come here with an introduction from a lady in Noblebeppu. My name is Kazuma Souya.”

Naturally, I used a fake name. Because if my name got out, not to mention all the other members of our group, it was bound to turn into a hassle.

I then introduced the rest of us. “This is my wife, Juna, my younger sister, Tomoe, and my employee, Roroa.”

“I’m Juna. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I-I-I’m Tomoe.”

“Roroa. Nice to meet ya.”

“Taru Ozumi. Nice to meet you.”

I felt like Taru relaxed her guard a little after the girls introduced themselves. Well, hearing Tomoe’s stuttering introduction would warm anyone’s heart.

When Taru took off her bandanna and introduced herself, I noticed two bear ears on top of her head. She was a bear beastman? I guessed that would make her a member of the snow bear race, one of the Five Races of the Snowy Plains. The atmosphere had lightened a little, so I immediately got to the point of our visit.

“I saw the accessories made by this country’s craftspeople in Noblebeppu, and oh, my, was I ever impressed. Looking at the detailed and fine ornamentation on them, I could tell you must all be very skilled with your hands. It made me think that, if we used this country’s craftspeople, we might be able to make a certain thing that I’ve been planning to have made. I asked if there were any good craftspeople around, and the lady I was speaking to gave me an introduction to this place. Are you willing to listen to the rest of what I have to say?”

“Come in...” Taru gestured for us to come inside the workshop.

I was thinking, Phew... I managed to speak smoothly, like the young son of a businessman, but...

“Also, talk normally. I’m sure you’re older than me. Besides, I doubt you’re used to talking that way.”

It looked like Taru saw through me completely.

Seeing me awkwardly scratch the back of my head, Roroa bit back a laugh.

Hey, no laughing! I’m embarrassed here!

When we were brought into the workshop, the roaring flame of the furnace made the place fairly warm. No wonder Taru could dress so lightly. We took off our coats, too, but when Tomoe removed my handmade white mage hood, Taru’s eyes narrowed.

“You’re a dog... No. A wolf beastman?”

“Oh, yes!” Tomoe beamed. “From the mystic wolf race.”

Taru looked to me as if she wanted to ask something. “Wasn’t she supposed to be your sister?”

Oh... That was what was bothering her, huh. Fair enough, since Tomoe and I weren’t the same race, and our faces didn’t look alike at all. We must not have looked like siblings.

“From another mother,” I said. “It’s a family matter, so I’d appreciate if you didn’t pry too deeply.”

“I see...”

I made it sound like there was a difficult story involved, and Taru didn’t ask any more. When it came to topics like this, even if she was interested, it was best to let them slide, after all.

With that, Taru led the way, and just as we were about to take a seat at a table, I noticed something odd leaning against the wall in the corner of the room.

It was pole-shaped, but both ends bulged slightly. If this were an RPG, I’d probably call it a cudgel. It had a distinctive design with a long, thick centipede wrapped around it that continued down to where the wielder would hold it. I thought it looked cool, but I wasn’t so sure about it as a weapon.

While I was looking at it dubiously, Taru asked, “Do you like it?”

“Oh, I mean, it’s an impressive design, that’s for sure, but...”

I didn’t want to say anything weird about her products, so I avoided answering the question, but Taru just shrugged as if to say, I know what you want to say.

“It’s fine. Your view is perfectly normal. What’s abnormal is the taste of the idiot who ordered it.”

“Idiot? Really? Um, this is your customer you’re talking about, isn’t it?”

“I know him well, and I call him that to his face.”

Someone she’d call an “idiot with no taste” to his face? What was this person like, and what was Taru’s relationship with him?

Well, setting aside the weird cudgel, it was time to get our business taken care of. Taru waited for everyone to be seated then asked, “So, what is it you want me to make?”

“Could you make something like this?” I used a feather pen to draw on a pad of paper I had prepared in advance to explain exactly what sort of thing I wanted.

When she saw my drawing, Taru tilted her head to the side. “The shape itself is simple. But I think it would be incredibly difficult.”

“I thought so,” I sighed.

“The fact that you want it ‘as thin as possible’ but also ‘sturdy’ is especially hard. If it was one or the other, I could manage it, but balancing both is pretty difficult. Around how many will you want?”

“The more the better. I want them in the thousands or tens of thousands. I’m not saying I want to make them all here, of course. I’ll be having this same conversation with other craftspeople, too.”

“Tens of thousands?” Taru said in surprise, staring closely at me with her sleepy-looking eyes.

“Wh-What?” I asked. “So, can you make them?”

“Before I answer, I want you to tell me one thing,” Taru said in a serious tone. “How exactly will they be used?”

I was silent.

How they’d be used, huh. I was making a strange request, so it was only natural she’d be curious.

But was it okay for me to say why here? It would be one thing inside my own country, but this was a foreign land. They were something I needed, but I honestly didn’t want to reveal too much about the revolutionary new information my country had.

“Do I really have to say?” I asked.

“You do. Or I won’t make them, and I won’t refer you elsewhere.”

She was being blunt about it, so I whispered to Roroa, “What do you think?”

“I know you don’t wanna say why, darlin’, but lookin’ at what she’s made, I’m thinkin’ this girl here can make what you’re after.”

“Then, do you think it’s okay to reveal how they’ll be used?”

“I dunno. If we’re gonna procure a whole load of ’em, that’s more than this workshop’s gonna be able to handle alone, so we’ve gotta hope whoever’s in charge of this country ain’t too hard-headed...”

“It all comes down to that, in the end...” I murmured.

While we were whispering back and forth, Taru slowly pulled out the neck portion of her apron, pulling something out from between her apron and shirt. What she held out toward us was an obsidian arrowhead. It looked like she’d been wearing it as a necklace. The arrowhead was polished, and had a dull shine to it.

While holding it, Taru said, “This arrowhead was a lesson from my grandfather, the blacksmith.”

“It’s from your grandpa?” I asked.

“‘A bow and arrow can be used to hunt animals and fill people’s stomachs, but it can also be used as a weapon to kill people. The arrowhead is a part of the bow and arrow. Even if it’s just one part of a product we craftspeople are making, we must know how the things we make will be used.’”

Taru looked straight into my eyes as she spoke.

“For a craftsperson, it is their duty to know how what they make will be used. If something I made were used for evil, that would make me very sad. That’s why I don’t make things when I don’t know how they’ll be used. I can’t.”

“What happened to your grandpa?” I asked.

“He passed away last year.”

“I see...”

This was a girl who took her grandpa’s words to heart as she ran her workshop. I had lost my own grandfather just last year (though that year had switched to this world’s calendar for me partway through), so I felt a strange kinship with her. I always had a weakness for hearing stories like this. The human part inside me said, “Can’t you just tell her?” while the part of me that was a ruler said, “Be cautious in all things.”

While I was seriously agonizing over what to do, I suddenly felt something cold in my hand. When I looked, Juna, who was sitting next to me, had placed her left hand on top of my right. I looked at her in surprise, but Juna didn’t say anything, just smiled quietly.

Please, do what you want.

I felt like she was telling me that. In that instant, my heart felt a lot lighter, to the point that Juna’s cold hand felt good to me.

Well...okay then. Taru seemed to have thought hard on the matter, so it was probably safe to tell her.

Having decided that, I asked Taru a question.

“Can I trust this will remain confidential?”

“Are these dangerous?” she asked.

“No, that’s not it. Well, if they were misused, they could be, but the same could be said of a knife, right? This is one part of a tool that will save lives.”

“A tool that will save lives?” Taru tilted her head to the side questioningly, and I firmly nodded in response.

“What I’m thinking of making is a hypodermic needle.”

In persuading Brad and Hilde to become the two pillars of my medical reforms, I’d made two promises:

The first was to make a national health care system which would allow any citizen of the kingdom to receive medical treatment. The second was to have the top smiths in the country make scalpels, needles for suturing, and other medical equipment.

To secure the funding fulfilling the first of these, I had prioritized raising taxes. There was still a long way to go, but things were making steady progress.

As for the latter, the development of medical equipment, it was going well in some parts, and not so well in others.

The medicine in this world was mainly light elemental magic (recovery magic), and herbs brewed by a medicine man or woman (medicinal baths), and surgery was only practiced in a truly limited number of places. The tools made by one extremely rare example of a surgeon, Brad, were needed to specially order for himself. While he had developed scalpels, stitches, and syringes on his own, there were limits to how functional they were. He had been unable to make his scalpels small, and his syringes were considerably larger than what I had been used to seeing.

His funds for research were probably limited, so it was hard to blame him, but it was still putting a lot of strain on the patients. That being the case, I wanted to set out on a national project to improve our medical equipment. I had been able to produce tools that satisfied Brad and Hilde for now, but I couldn’t bring them into mass production yet.

Even if I had one craftsperson who could make thin hypodermic needles, there were limits to how many that one person could make. They weren’t being produced in a factory, so that was a given, and there weren’t many craftspeople capable of manufacturing a thin needle. In the current situation where we were trying to increase the number of doctors, we were obviously short on equipment. Because the medical equipment couldn’t be immediately reused, and it had to be boiled again for each patient, the number required increased.

So, we were having difficulty producing medical equipment, but it seemed there were many talented craftspeople in this country who could do detailed ornamental work, so I thought it might be possible to set up mass production in this country.

Our country was currently studying many fields, and we were short of hands everywhere, so I thought it might be best, while protecting our existing smiths, to leave what could be left to other countries to those other countries.

While thinking about that, I explained the use of a hypodermic needle to Taru. Because surgery itself was unknown in the Republic of Turgis, I had to start with that, so it took a rather long time.

Once I had given her the rundown, Taru’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “In the kingdom, you can heal people without mages that use light elemental magic? I think that’s incredible.”

“Y-You do?” I asked.

“In this country, the ground is covered with snow from October to March. Those with weak legs can’t even go outside properly. If we had at least one doctor in every village, I think it would be a lot easier to live here.”

“Well, it’s a real considerate policy the king’s puttin’ forward.” Roroa grinned at me as she said that.

It was a compliment, so I didn’t mind that much, but still.

Taru crossed her arms and frowned. “I understand these hypodermic needles are important. I think that, with our country’s craftspeople, you should be able to mass-produce them, too. I want to take on the challenge. It’s a job that’ll set my heart dancing, I think.”

“Oh! Then you’ll...”

...take the job, I was about to say, but Taru held up two fingers.

“Still, even if I make them, there are two major problems with bringing them to the kingdom. First, exporting weapons to another country requires clearance from the state. If it’s just adventurers buying weapons for personal use and carrying them out, they won’t be accused of anything, but if we’re exporting a product in large quantities, we need government clearance. It’s the same in the Kingdom of Friedonia, too, right?”

“Well...yes, it is...”

It was true, our country also managed the import and export of weapons.

Not quite on the level of Edo Era prohibitions on guns coming into the city and women going out, but...excessive amounts of weapons being brought into the country from elsewhere could be a threat to peace. If the weapons were brought out of the country, that lowered our ability to defend ourselves, and if they were brought in, that could foreshadow a rebellion. That was why, in any country, arbitrary importation and exportation of weapons was clamped down on.

“But needles aren’t weapons, are they?” I said.

“If that’s the case, you will need to prove that to the authorities. No country has had needles before this, so it will be difficult to tell at a glance whether they’re weapons or not. If we try dealing them without a guarantee they aren’t weapons, there’s the risk of problems.”

“If it’s just needles, surely no one will think they’re weapons, right?”

“Even if they aren’t weapons themselves, it’ll all be over if they’re suspected of being weapon parts.”

“I see your point...”

Unfortunately, Taru was right.

It was true, if someone unfamiliar with syringes saw a hypodermic needle on its own, they wouldn’t be fully confident it wasn’t a weapon. If we had to explain their usage every time we were stopped at the entrance of a city or at the border, that would be a hassle, and there was no guarantee they’d believe us. It looked like I’d need to seek permission from this country to import and export them, after all.

But this country was a republic, right? They did, technically, have a head of state. But until I saw the balance of power between their head of state and the Council of Chiefs, I couldn’t be sure who to persuade. It was a total drag.

I needed to think about this more carefully.

“So, what’s the other problem?” I asked.

“It’s about shipping. The winters in this country are long. The land is closed off by snow, and the sea is coated with ice. You said you wanted tens of thousands, so that means there’s a continuous need for them, right? That’s one thing in the summer, but how do you mean to transport them in winter, when the land and sea routes are unusable?”

“I wonder...” I could only hold my head. It was true, shipping would be a problem.

Even in the Kingdom of Friedonia, the south was locked in snow and ice in the winter. It seemed like it would be really difficult to secure shipments from the Republic of Turgis, where the winters were longer and harsher. This being a foreign country, I couldn’t roll out a transportation network.

I asked Roroa in a whisper, “Can we only trade with them in the summer for now? Well, even for that, we’d need to get official clearance, I’m sure. What do you think?”

Roroa brought a hand to her mouth and thought about it before quietly responding. “Yeah... But if you’ve decided on doin’ it, darlin’, I think ya should negotiate directly with their top officials. If ya try to keep pushin’ things forward as a merchant, it’ll take time for reports of what’s goin’ on to filter upward.”

“Don’t negotiate under a fake name, but as Souma Kazuya, you’re saying?”

“Ya can’t very well meet the people in charge while wearin’ a mask, now can ya?”

“Fair enough,” I said. “Well, I guess we need to take this matter back home with us then. Just when it looked like we could mass-produce them, too...”

While my shoulders slumped in resignation, Taru looked at us funny. “I thought you were the young master and his employee? You look like you’re acting as equals to me.”

Urkh... That had been unnatural just now, hadn’t it? Roroa always felt like my partner when it came to business like this.

“Mwahaha, ya think so?” Roroa snickered. “Well, I’m not just any ol’ employee, I’m his mistress with his wife Juna’s approval, after all!”

With that, Roroa hugged my arm tight. Wait, a mistress my wife approved of?!

What kind of ridiculous backstory is that?! Now I have to play along with it?!

I wanted to complain, but we were in front of Taru, so I held back.

Roroa was smiling happily as she looked at me. Why that little... She knew I couldn’t correct her here, so she’d laid it on even thicker.

The air seemed to have frozen over. While Juna was smiling, there was a strange intensity to it, and Tomoe panicked when she saw her face.

Sensing the unease in the air, Taru backed away a little.

“Is this...your family situation, too?”

“I’d appreciate if you didn’t pry...” That was all I could manage to say.

Suddenly, Juna stood up. “Darling, we will be excusing ourselves for a moment.”

“Huh, Juna?”

She had the same plastered-on smile as before. Then she stood behind Roroa and planted her hands on her shoulders.

Roroa’s expression instantly stiffened. This was a cool country, but she was obviously sweating buckets.

“U-Um, Ju... Madam, is somethin’ the matter?” Roroa turned just her neck to look at Juna.

She smiled as she said, “Why don’t the two of us go get a breath of fresh air together?”

“No... I wanna stay here...y’know...”

“Don’t be like that. Come with me. Miss Roroa, the mistress I personally approve of.”

There was a weight to those words that would brook no argument.

It was said “the quieter the person, the scarier they were once mad,” and it looked like Juna was that type.

Roroa shot a look in my direction. Her eyes cried, H-Help me!

But I simply shook my head in silence. You joked around too much, Roroa. Deal with it.

I-I just got a li’l carried away!

Make your excuses to Juna...

Noooooo...

“Hee hee! Shall we be on our... Hm?”

Just as Juna was preparing to drag Roroa off, it happened.

Thump... Thump... There was an earthshaking sound off in the distance. At the same time, the room shook. It was a low magnitude quake.

The tools hanging on the walls were rattling. The sound and shaking were getting louder and louder.

“What’s goin’ on? Is this an earthquake?” Roroa asked.

“It seems...a little strange for that to be the case,” Juna said.

“Tomoe, if the shaking gets any stronger, you take shelter under the table,” I ordered.

“R-Right!”

While we were panicking, Taru’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. Not only that, it seemed a little cold, and she sighed as she said, “This isn’t an earthquake. It’s just an idiot coming.”

“An idiot?” I asked.

Then the shaking subsided, and Hal rushed into the workshop. “Hey! There’s this huge thing outside!”

Huge thing?

When we all went outside, there was this huge, hairy thing just standing there. It was there right when we opened the door, so I let out a “Whoa,” despite myself, and my head went back in shock. Then, in that moment, I saw the hairy thing’s face.

Its long, fat nose.

Its four big, tough tusks.

The surprisingly beady eyes that peeked out from beneath its bushy hair. If I were to describe the creature looming in front of me...

A four-tusked mammoth?!

Its body hair was long enough to touch the ground, and its legs were pretty short, but that seemed like an apt description of the creature. I knew the people of this country kept long-haired creatures as free-range cattle. However, it was too much for me to instantly recognize this thing in front of me as a mammoth.

One time, when Grandpa had taken me to an event at the science museum, I’d seen a reproduction of a mammoth’s skeleton. Its height from the ground to its shoulder blades had been four, maybe five meters.

The one in front of me looked to be about ten meters.

I was used to seeing massive creatures like the rhinoceroses and dragons, but that felt a little different from seeing an upsized version of a creature from my old world.

Then the four-tusked mammoth bent its front legs and sat down. In that instant, its hair touched the ground and spread out. Even seated, it was still huge. It was probably only two, three meters lower.

While I was thinking that, a voice that sounded like it belonged to a young man came down from above. “Hm? That’s unusual. Don’t usually see so many people at this workshop.”

The mammoth spoke!

Yeah...no. That couldn’t be right.

It sounded like a young man’s voice, so he was probably riding on top of this mammoth.

“Sire, get behind me.” Aisha rushed over to stand in front of me.

Hal and Kaede were tensed and ready for action, too, while Juna was subtly waiting by my side.

Maybe because such a massive animal had shown up all of a sudden, everyone had gone into battle mode.

Roroa, being a non-combatant, had taken Tomoe and evacuated to a spot a little further away. Probably sensing our unease, the voice up top turned threatening.

“Who’re you guys? You’re not planning to attack this workshop are you?”

“Huh?! No, we’re not! We’re...”

“Oookyakya!” Before I could explain, someone jumped down from the mammoth.

The one who flipped in midair before landing was a white monkey beastman. A white monkey... Did he belong to the snow monkey race, one of the Five Races of the Snowy Plains, maybe?

He stood around one hundred and sixty centimeters high, and appeared to be fifteen, maybe sixteen, at a glance. Rather than having a full monkey face, he had large ears and long sideburns, and what you’d call monkey-like features.

Even in this cool climate, he wore a short-sleeved shirt and half-length pants, and the arms and legs sprouting from them had thick hair the same color as the hair on his head. He had a long tail like a lemur’s growing out of his half-length pants, and if I were to quickly describe him, he looked like a live-action version of Sun Wukong (white monkey version) from Journey to the West. That (white) Sun Wukong thrust his hand out as if striking a pose.

“Oookyakya! You’ve got real nerve, trying to force your way into Taru’s workshop! I, the great Kuu Taisei, show no mercy in the face of such insolence! I hope you’re ready to...”

“Master Kuu!” a weak voice called from on top of his mammoth. A girl with rabbit ears poked her head out and shouted, “Please, don’t suddenly pick fights with people!”

This girl of about seventeen was apparently a member of the white rabbit race, like the lady running the shop in town. Now this one felt more like a bunny girl, although she was wearing a thick duffel coat that didn’t show much skin.

The girl hopped down to stand beside Kuu. “If you cause a scene, your father will get mad again, you know?”

“Oookyah? But, Leporina, these guys are armed, so they’re bandits, right? You think I can stand by when Taru’s workshop’s about to be attacked?”

Bandits...? It looked like we’d been badly misunderstood.

The girl called Leporina put a hand on her hip and said, “Come on, that’s clearly not the case. Look over there. You see the little girl, right? What bandit brings a child with them on a raid? They’re just ordinary adventurers who were startled by your numoth, right?”

Having said that, Leporina stroked the...numoth’s (?) trunk with one hand while pointing to Roroa and Tomoe with the other.

Kuu’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “Oookyah? You’re right, there is a cute girl.”

Before I could stop him, Kuu headed toward Roroa. Hiding Tomoe behind her, Roroa put her hands on her hips and glared at Kuu.

“Ah! Hey...” I began.

“What? I can’t have ya fallin’ for my pretty face,” Roroa said. “I’ve already got a man I’ve set my heart on.”

“Huh? I don’t have any business with someone like you who doesn’t have any.”

“Doesn’t have any...?” Roroa’s gaze drifted down to her own chest, then her eyes went wide.

While Roroa was letting out a silent exclamation of surprise, Kuu peeked around behind her.

He was after Tomoe?!

“You’re a cutie! What’s your name?”

“T-Tomoe...”

“Tomoe, huh! That’s a good name! Hey, Tomoe...”

“Y-Yes...?”

“Will you be my bride?”

With those words, the atmosphere froze over. The climate was already cold to begin with, but now it felt even more frigid.

Tomoe...his bride? They’d only just met, and this man was already trying to lay his hands on our cute little sister? Before I knew it, I could feel the anger emanating from Aisha beside me, too.

This was...a challenge to us, right?

We had to put him in his place.

“Aisha,” I said heatedly.

“What is it, sire? I feel like cutting up a monkey right now, you know.”

“I’ll allow it.”

The blood had risen to my head because he’d mocked Roroa, a member of my family, and tried to make a move on my little sister, Tomoe. Like, there was a story in my old world, wasn’t there? Slaying a demon monkey was a job for the dog, Shippeitarou. When I was about to sic the fierce dog Aisha on that insolent monkey...

“Both of you, calm down,” Juna ordered.

““Gwuh!””

Juna grabbed both of us by the back of our necks. Unable to breathe, I turned back to look at her, and Juna rebuked me, anger seeping into her smile.

“You two, this is another country, you realize? You both have your positions to consider, so please refrain from doing anything to cause trouble.”

“Uh, right...”

“S-Sorry.”

“Honestly... Now listen, sire, Madam Aisha.” Juna pressed a finger into my chest, then, with a powerful smile, she put her face between Aisha’s and mine and whispered in our ears, “In times like this, you have to dispose of him in a way that won’t be discovered.”

““Wha?!””

Aisha and I ended up staring at Juna despite ourselves.

Then Juna said, “Hee hee, just joking,” and gave us a charming smile.

While I was relieved it was a joke...having just witnessed how scary she was when she was angry, I doubted whether it really was a joke.

Maybe the anger I had seen seeping into her smile before hadn’t been directed at the two of us, and Juna was angry at Kuu’s behavior, too? When I looked at Juna, considering that...

“If I say it’s a joke, it’s a joke,” she insisted with a smile.

Yeah. Best not to think too much about it.

No matter how I thought about it, it would be provoking trouble I didn’t need to. Thanks to her, I had managed to mostly cool my head. For now, I was more worried about Tomoe and Roroa.

Looking over, Roroa was picking a fight with Kuu. “Hey, you! Ya said I ‘don’t have any,’ so what are ya doin’ tryin’ to seduce a little girl like her for, huh?!”

“Huh? Are you misunderstanding me? What I was saying you don’t have is fur, okay?”

“Huh? Fur?”

Seeing Roroa so taken aback, Kuu snickered. “I like girls like her who have furry ears and tails. That, and this girl looks like she’ll be a total knockout in ten years. I figured I’d make her an offer now. So, how about it? Will you be my wife?”

Whup, whup, whup, whup! Tomoe silently but vigorously shook her head back and forth.

From behind me, I felt an intense stare. When I turned back, Inugami, her bodyguard, was staring hard in this direction. He seemed to be hiding his bloodlust so his target wouldn’t notice, but the glint in his eyes said, Please, allow me to take out this trash.

Yeah... When there’s someone madder than you, don’t you find you suddenly calm down?

Having settled down, I approached Kuu. If nothing else, I had to acknowledge he had a keen eye to have recognized Tomoe’s cuteness. However, as her older brother, I wasn’t giving my little sister to a man she’d just met.

“You’re bothering my sister, so could I ask you to stop?” I asked coldly.

Kuu’s eyes went wide. “Huh? You’re this girl’s big brother? You don’t look like it.”

“We have a complicated family situation.”

“Hmm... Well, it looks like she’s shot me down anyway, so I don’t have much choice. Oookyakya.” With that said, Kuu intertwined his fingers behind his head and grinned.

Seeing how he didn’t seem all that disappointed, the proposal just now must have been almost entirely a joke. Well, of course it had been. He’d only just met her, and Tomoe was still just a child. Unless he had that sort of predilection, there was no way he would propose to her seriously. It looked like we’d been the ones who needed to calm down.

Thinking about it, I realized we hadn’t exchanged greetings yet, and, after taking a breath, I extended my hand to him.

“I’m Kazuma Souya, a merchant here from the Kingdom of Friedonia to investigate possible trade goods. These people here are my family and employees.”

“Oh, that’s all. Tell me that in the first place.” Kuu accepted my hand and shook it vigorously. It kind of hurt. “I’m Kuu Taisei. Taru and I are childhood friends. I came because I figured the thing I ordered ought to be about finished, but then I saw there were these tough-looking guys with weapons surrounding the workshop. I figured you were getting ready to attack the place, so that put me on guard.”

“We could say the same,” I said. “When you rode in on this huge creature, it was only natural we’d be on our guard until we figured out what was up.”

“Oookyakya. No kidding. But my numoth is more docile than he looks.”

As if responding to Kuu, the numoth trumpeted loudly.

Hearing its voice, Tomoe came over to me and whispered in my ear, “Um, Mr. Numoth said, ‘I’m sorry for startling you, young lady.’”

“He’s surprisingly gentlemanly?!”

Maybe this numoth was a better person than his master...? Uh, no, he wasn’t a person, he was a pseudo-mammoth thing, but still.

Then Kuu asked a question. “So, why did you people come to this workshop? It’s outside town, isn’t it?”

“We came to visit because we heard there was a talented craftsperson here,” I said. “I thought maybe the person here could create the item I was thinking of as a trade good.”

“Oh! If you discovered Taru’s talent, you’ve got good taste. Taru may have no curves, but she’s got skills like no other black— Ow, that hurt!”

Kuu suddenly grabbed his head and squatted down. Standing behind him was Taru, brandishing the cudgel with the golden centipede design that had been leaning against the wall inside her workshop. It had made a good sound, so she must have hit Kuu upside the head with it.

Taru looked irritated. “Don’t say I have no curves. And don’t hit on girls in front of my business.”

“Oh-ho? You jealous?”

“Do you want me to hit you again?”

“Heh heh, I’ll pass... Wait, is that the thing I ordered?”

Kuu jumped up, snatched the cudgel from Taru’s hands, then spun it around like a windmill. He looked just like Sun Wukong swinging the Ruyi Bang around. After swinging the cudgel vertically and horizontally, and jumping around himself, Kuu suddenly stopped.

Ohhh, it was kind of like Chinese martial arts.

“It feels good. That’s my Taru. You do good work. I love you.”

“I don’t need your love,” Taru said. “I just want to be paid for my work.”

“I’ll pay. Jeez... You always play so hard to get,” Kuu said, pouting a little.

Huh? He had been just fine when Tomoe rejected him before, but he made this sort of face when Taru was cold to him?

Oh, I get it... So that’s how it is.

He was a really easy guy to figure out.

“Ah...” Taru said, seeming to have realized something. “This may be a good opportunity. Can we tell the dumb master about what we were talking about before? It might resolve one of our problems.”

“Erm... What were we talking about again?” I asked.

“The part about needing permission from this country to make a deal. The dumb master has connections to the higher ups in this country. After all...for all his shortcomings, he’s the current head of state’s son.”