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Chapter 244 – A Story About the Visitor
When I am staying at the Merinesburg royal castle, I quite often take my meals in the main dining hall of the royal castle. This is especially true for breakfast and lunch. This is because breakfast and lunch are convenient because, like in school cafeterias, they can be eaten freely within a certain time frame. In my case, I’m often late in the morning, so it’s not that I oversleep… It’s complicated. So many things. I’m also often late when I’m out working during the day.
I had to chase around Poizo yesterday, make her reflect on what she did, and deal with Seraphita-san, who is not in a normal state.
“You seem to be looking tired…”
“Hahaha.”
Kirilovich, who had just come in to eat breakfast, was worried about me… You eat a lot in the morning, don’t you? Kirilovich is apparently quite a healthy eater despite his thin body. I sat down next to him because it would be awkward to sit so far away from him when he called out to me.
“Kosuke-dono is a visitor, isn’t he?”
“Yes, well, that’s right.”
“Oh, please don’t worry about my language, just as you normally do… Such a way of speaking has already become ingrained in me.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll just do what you say. You may address me as such as well.”
“Thank you very much. So, I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“What kind of place is the world of the visitors?”
“It’s surprisingly difficult to explain what my world is like… Well, I could list a lot of differences from this world.”
“I see… For example?”
“When I first came to this world, the one thing that immediately convinced me that this world was definitely a different place than the one I was in was the view of the sky.”
“What do you mean?”
“In my world―Omicle, right? There was no planet that big in the sky. There was only a tiny moon―like the Runicle. So I was stunned when I looked at the sky.”
“I see…? It doesn’t really ring a bell for most of us because we take it for granted that it’s there.”
“I guess. Also, in the world I lived in, there were only humans, and there was no race that was equivalent to subhumans, and――”
And I tell Kirilovich the same story that I have been telling Sylphy and the others.
“Speaking of which, what kind of place did the visitors other than me come from?”
After we had talked about all of that, I asked Kirilovich about the visitor of the past.
“There were those who came from a world where monsters and magic did not exist, just like Kosuke-dono, and there were those who came from a world where monsters and magic existed, just like this world―Reese. The most famous of them is Kuro, the founder of the Varyag empire, the best friend of the first emperor Varyag, and a hero who is revered as the god of war in the empire.”
“Kuro?”
“Yes. According to legend, he was a visitor who wandered into this world with his wife and young daughter, and in his former world, he was a general who commanded an army. Many believe that the Varyag Empire would not have existed without him.”
“Kuro-san, who came from a world where magic and monsters did not exist like mine, excelled in military prowess and had experience as a general.”
Maybe that’s that one who had been trained by a tengu and was called Ushiwakamaru when he was young? Hahaha, it must be my imagination. Yeah, definitely just my imagination.
“Uh, is there anyone else?”
“If I were to mention other famous visitors, it would be Saint General Jeanne, who played a leading role in the rapid progress of the Holy Kingdoms. She is also a visitor who used her exceptional tactical eye and powerful miracle of inspiration to turn the Holy Kingdoms into a country that rivals the Empire.”
“Oh… Geez!”
I unconsciously covered my face with my hands. Honestly speaking. In all likelihood, it was that person from France. Why is she here… someone who should have been burned by the Inquisitor? Could it be that there are Nobunaga-san, Goemon-san, Napoleon-san, Muhammad-san, Vlad-san, and others? Compared to them, I’m quite inferior, aren’t I? I’m just a regular guy who’s been playing games for a while, you know?
“What’s wrong?”
“I have a little bit of an idea about those two… They might be from the same world as me. Especially Kuro-san, he may be so famous in my country in my former world that he appears in a legend or a fairy tale or something like that.”
“…Kosuke is from the same country as Kuro-sama?”
“I think the possibility is high… He was a great man hundreds of years ago, but only because he was from the same country. Minamoto Yoshitsune or Kuro Hougan Yoshitsune. One of the legendary warlords of my country, I guess… I don’t think he went as far as a thousand years, but he might be the same person as a hero from a long time ago. He was someone who had quarreled with his own brother and died an untimely death at the end of a plot.”
“Kuro Hougan Yoshitsune… whose name is the true name of Kuro-sama, whom few people in the empire know… I see.”
Kirilovich nodded with a mystified look on his face. Somehow, the way he looks at me seems to have changed.
“What about the saint general?”
“She was from a faraway country in the same world. After all, she is also a person who died a violent death. She was a woman who heard the voice of God and fought hard to reclaim her homeland. In the end, she fell into the hands of the enemy, and her country abandoned her, and she was burned to death.”
“I see… and you, Kosuke-dono…?”
“I am just an ordinary person. In my world, I’m just an ordinary guy who worked as a lowly member of one of the many business associations in the city. I’m not a great man who would go down in history. When compared to these people, it’s like comparing a dragon to an insect. You don’t have to put “dono” on me. You can put it back on.”
I shook my hands and head with a straight face, denying Kirilovich’s expectant look from the very beginning. I don’t want to be compared to Minamoto Yoshitsune or Jeanne d’Arc.
“I see… but I never thought you and Kuro-sama were from the same country…”
“It is just that we are from the same country, you know? As I recall, he was born in Kyoto, but I was born much further north. We are also far apart in age. We’re from the same country, but only in the broadest sense of the word.”
“But in this world, there is no one who is from the same place, even in the broad sense of the word.”
“That may be true, but… Yes, stop, stop, this conversation is over!”
After saying that, I start to put my hands on my nearly cold breakfast. Today’s menu is something like an omelette with meat on soft bread. And some fruit, like an orange, and some cabbage or Chinese cabbage or something pickled in vinegar. And a soup with vegetables and bits of meat.
“Please tell me the story about Kuro-sama again. What kind of activities he had in his original world, he himself hardly told us, so there is nothing left in the lore, you know. Kuro-sama’s followers are numerous in the empire, and I am sure they will all be eager to hear it.”
Kirilovich tries to persuade me eagerly without touching his own breakfast. He’s desperate, oi.
“From my perspective, he’s a great man from nearly a thousand years ago… I’m not that familiar with history.”
“Still, it’s been handed down how Kuro-sama is said to have played his part, how he lived and how he died, isn’t it? Everyone would like to know. I want to know, too.”
“I don’t know if it’s really the same person… If you still want, I’ll tell you as far as I can remember.”
“Thank you!”
Kirilovich smiled broadly at my words.
“However, you will have to make a solid compromise to the kingdom of Merinard for that. If you want to hear what I have to say, you’ll have to do your best to flatter Sylphy and make some compromises to the kingdom of Merinard. The story of Kuro Hougan Yoshitsune in that world that only I, a visitor from the same country as Kuro-sama, can know… is not cheap information, is it?
Kirilovich froze at my words with a big smile on his face. Hahaha, the world is not that sweet, you know. I don’t mind getting along with Kirilovich personally, but that’s that, and this is that. Before we were personal friends, Kirilovich was a diplomat of the empire, and I was Sylphy’s spouse and future royal consort.
“Kosuke, that’s a bit nasty, don’t you think?”
Kirilovich’s tone became a little more casual. Is that the real him?
“I think the words “nasty” and “dirty” are compliments. You’ve told me a little bit about this world in return for what I’ve told you about Kuro and Jeanne, right? You know, the kind of thing where you have to pay for more.”
“You’re surprisingly shrewd…”
“No, I’m not. In fact, I’m a little sweet, you know. I’m known as a gentle Kosuke-chan who can’t say no when asked to do something.”
“That sounds so fake.”
“But limited to pretty girls.”
“I’m a man, but don’t you think I have a beautiful face?”
“Homo is NG. Reborn as a pretty girl and try again.”
“Hmm, maybe I should procure a gender change potion.”
“I don’t care what you think you’re doing… I mean, is there such a thing?”
“There is. I’ve heard that a skilled alchemist can make it if they have the right ingredients.”
“Don’t say that with a straight face; it’s scary. Or rather, don’t, because it’s too late for that sort of thing.”
It would be terrifying to be approached by the gender-changed Kirilovich who really used such a thing.
“Hahaha, you said it yourself, Kosuke. You have to take responsibility for what you say.”
“I see. I understand. I’ll take responsibility. But that would only be if you can break through Sylphy, Isla, the Harpies, Melty, and Grande, Kirilovich.”
“…That seems impossible.”
“Right? So don’t do it.”
Thus the danger of being approached by Kirilovich in female form was averted in advance. The story of the alchemy was more shocking to me than the story of Kuro and Jeanne. Maybe I should ask Isla about such a dangerous potion next time.