After greeting Sylphy and the others, I immediately went to the larger guest room assigned to Byaku and the othersâa suite-like room for receiving delegations and the like.
The subtle pause and the slightly hard voice are because they smell the scent of Sylphy and the others. Beastmen have good noses, donât they?
âIâm sorry. I canât ignore SylphyâHer Majesty, emotionally or from a position of authority.â
When I said that and laughed bitterly, Byakuâs eyes widened, and she was so dismayed that I felt sorry for her, and she shook her head, her pointed fox ears flattened.
ââŚ! N-no! Itâs fine to put us second or third! There is nothing to apologize for! We are sorry too!â
Byaku bowed her head, and the others nodded their heads and also bowed their heads together with her.
âWe hope youâll use us in whatever way you like, and when you have nothing else to do and are in the mood for something else, you can just think of those people who were there.â
âNo, but since they allowed me to treat you as my direct subordinate, I wonât leave you to that extent.â
Olivia, the goat-type beastman who says terrific things with a straight face, makes me smile bitterly again. Maybe she really means it. Her loyalty is so high that Iâm slightly taken aback.
âWell, thatâs the thing. Anyway, you girls are in a state where you donât know how to be attendants at all. Thatâs why I brought you teachers.â
As I opened the door, a woman dressed in a maidâs uniform entered through the door. She had bluish-gray skin, bat-like black wings, and a devilish arrowhead tail. The white brim that sits between the magnificent twisted horns on her head is dazzling.
âThis is Leviera-san, a member of the royal guard that protects the royal family.â
âMy name is Leviera. Please make your acquaintance.â
Leviera-san bowed to the beastmen girls with a graceful bow. The girls bowed back in a hurry.
âAnd this is your senior, Gerda-san.â
âH-helloâŚâ
Gerda, a large maid with some kind of breastplate, enters quietly through the open door. As her round brown ears indicate, she is also a beastman. It is hard to tell just by looking at her ears, but according to her, she is a bear-type beastman.
âThey will take care of your education. Yes, clap your hands.â
The girls clapped their hands when I said that. After staring at them, Leviera-san turned her crimson eyes toward me. They are a little different from Ellenâs eyes, but they are somewhat brighter, and they glow in a bewitching way.
âKosuke-sama, we have our regular business to attend to, donât we?â
âPlease let them accompany you on your normal duties to train them. Please.â
âIf Your Highness Prince Consort Kosuke-sama asks me to do so, of course, I will obey, but if I do so, there is a strong possibility that it will interfere with my duties as a member of the royal guard. If I do so, I will cause trouble for the royal family.â
âIâll take responsibility for that. Also, I will give you a special bonus.â
âIf none other than Kosuke-sama says so, I have nothing to say against it. I will do my best to fulfill my duties.â
âI-I will do my best, too.â
Leviera-san said so decisively, and Gerda also smiled wryly and undertook to take care of the beastmen girls I had rescued. Is this a relief for now?
âThey will act as my direct subordinates in dealing with the Merchantsâ Guild and the Adventurersâ Guild in Merinesburg. They will also take care of my personal needs and serve the guests I invite. As for escorts, Shumel and the others will be in charge, so they need only be able to protect themselves with martial arts and the like. Please arrange a suitable room and procure personal belongings for them. Leave the bill to me.â
âUnderstood. I will make them into attendants who will not embarrass you in any way.â
âIâm counting on you. Everyone, first of all, please learn a lot from Leviera-san and Gerda and get used to the work little by little.â
âââYes.âââ
The beastmen girls nodded with mysterious faces. Letâs just leave them alone for the time being, shall we?
ââ â
âWelcome back, Kosuke.â
âWelcome back. You look healthy.â
âIâm back.â
After leaving the beastmen girls to Leviera-san, I headed to the Research and Development Department to meet Isla. I found Iphrita there, too, but that was okay.
âDid you pick something up?â
âSomething like that, like a puppy or a kitten⌠Well, I was a little stingy at the end.â
âHmm. Tell me about it. Iâll make you some tea.â
The three of us, Isla, Iphrita and I, are seated at the tea table in Islaâs lab in the Research and Development Department, sipping tea and talking about the beastmen girls Iâve brought along.
âThatâs horrible. How could they do such a thing to another human race?â
âWell, Iâm like them in the sense that Iâm killing them unilaterally.â
âNot at all. It is one thing to use force to subdue an opponent who is willing to fight in a war and quite another to kill a helpless civilian who is not willing to fight by slashing them from behind. Besides, it is an act of scum to capture and trample on the dignity of others.â
âI agree. Well, if thatâs how it happened, I guess it canât be helped if you bring them back. There are more women than men in this castle now, so they must feel a little safer. And youâre here, too.â
âHmm, Kosuke has done a good thing. I guarantee it.â
âI seeâŚâ
Isla always affirms me in this way. She may be small, but she is full of motherly love and compassion, and she is also a combatant who can turn back assassins. Isnât Isla amazing? Is she a goddess?
âMore importantly, Iâve succeeded in imitating to some extent the magic power gathering and enhancement functions of the Adolian cathedrals.â
âOh, really? Whatâs it like?â
âItâs not a perfect replica, but itâs a magic metal line that runs through all the places where people come and go and converges in the center of the building. Then, in the center of the building, there is a mass of magic metal with a high magical power capacityâin the case of the Adolian cathedral, it is the symbol of a glowing cross made of mithril. The magic metal wire is used to concentrate the magic power.â
âIn the path of the magic metal wire, there are circuits that are connected in places to amplify the effects of miracles or to enhance the effect of recovery, and they are interacting with each other. Furthermore, by supplying and circulating the overflowing magic power to these circuits, the efficiency of collecting magic power is further amplified.â
âI donât really understand⌠In other words, the cathedral itself is an advanced magic power accumulation and miracle amplification device, and weâve been able to understand and imitate its mechanism to some extent.â
âHmm. But it will inevitably be on a much larger scale. Frankly, the cost wonât be that much different from finding and developing a vein defect, but the magic efficiency is going to feel a lot less.â
âHmm, that doesnât sound quite right then.â
The purpose of the mana trap is to obtain a large amount of magic power at a low cost and improve the quality of life. If the cost is too high, it will be meaningless.
âIâm stuck on the magic integration function, but itâs worthwhile to study the unknown magic circuits themselves. A circuit that improves the effect of recovery may revolutionize the treatment with recovery magic.â
âIf the effect of recovery can be improved even with weak recovery magic, it will lead to the ability to heal more injured people at a lower magic cost. It could reduce the number of people dying from illness and injury.â
âThat would be very meaningful.â
If we can give a boost to recovery magic, that would certainly be very useful. The recovery magic in this world is real recovery magic that can quickly stop the blood even in a state of heavy bleeding and heal even deep cuts without leaving any scars. If it were enhanced, it would certainly greatly reduce the number of deaths.
âI wish there was some way to make it work⌠hmm.â
I wonder if it would be possible to collect magic power by stringing a magic metal wire to a windmill or something? Is it too difficult? Anyway, weâll have to try various mana traps. Letâs ask them a little more about imitating a magic power collection mechanism.