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Royal Capital 

Satou here. Any bureaucratic work always requires a lot of red tape. On the other hand, they say you can get through all of that easily if you have the support of an influential person, but that might just be an urban legend invented by the jealous masses. 

“So that’s the royal capital…” 

I set a teleportation seal slate in the mountains with a distant view of the royal capital and gazed at the city as it was bathed in morning light. 

Setting up a school for explorers wasn’t the kind of thing that could be done in a day, so I’d decided to first go help Eluterina and the other girls who were currently dispatched to the royal capital. 

I’d sent them there to research popular goods and a possible base for trading in the royal capital, since the girls living in the tenement houses in the downtown area of Labyrinth City needed to make more money. 

Eluterina was also there to check up on her grandfather, Marquis Kelten, who’d been accused of treason. If it was a false charge as she so confidently claimed, I figured I could help with that, too. 

“I guess I’ll bring Tifaleeza, too, before we meet up.” 

I donned the white wig, military uniform, and foreign face that disguised me as Kuro; used the Return spell to head back to Labyrinth City; and went to the Ivy Manor to pick up Tifaleeza. 

“M-my head is spinning… Lord Kuro, is that city what I think it is?” 

Tifaleeza’s short silver hair swayed above her shoulders, a look of surprise replacing the usual clever expression on her lovely face. 

“It’s the royal capital of the Shiga Kingdom.” 

“Th-the royal capital? But that’s quite far away from Labyrinth City, isn’t it…?” 

“You could say that.” 

It’s definitely not as far as Tokyo is from Osaka. 

“I—I see…” 

My point-blank answer seemed to have convinced Tifaleeza. 

“Wear this.” 

I handed her one of the transparency cloaks I’d found in the storage space of the City Core room, and she put it on without hesitation. 

It certainly made her transparent, but I could still see her outline, just like I’d been able to see through the Illusion spell before. 

Clearly, magic and items like this didn’t entirely work on me. 

“Can you see me?” 

“L-Lord Kuro, you’re see-through… Ah, my body is gone, too!” 

“Calm down.” 

I should’ve explained the transparency cloak first. 

After taking a moment to appreciate the rare look of confusion on the normally coolheaded beauty Tifaleeza’s face, I picked her up and used “Skyrunning” to head toward the royal capital. 

The capital had gates facing each of the four cardinal directions. I chose the one that was closest to Labyrinth City and also the largest: the west gate. 

It was wide enough for a six-lane highway, and there was a long line of people waiting to be admitted. 

We landed in a discreet place, took off the transparency cloaks, and followed some people getting off a stagecoach to the end of the line. 

“So we’ll be entering normally through the gate?” 

“Of course.” 

I nodded at Tifaleeza. 

In truth, I’d been planning to keep the cloaks on and cross over the wall, but my AR pointed out a dome-shaped invisible barrier around the city labeled Barrier: Royal Capital <Alarm> , so I decided to call that off. 

Just to be safe, I’d made fake identification papers in advance for getting into the city. They didn’t inspect anyone too closely except merchants and armed men, so it should be easy enough. 

“Wait, you there with the white hair.” 

We were almost through as easily as I’d expected, but then a scowling knight called out to stop me. 

“May I help you, Sir Knight?” 

“I’ll be asking the questions here. Take off the mask and explain your business in the royal capital.” 

I’d forgotten that I was still wearing a mask that covered the top half of my face. 

“I’m delivering this to a client, that’s all.” 

Removing the mask, I took the cloth-wrapped sword that I’d instructed Tifaleeza to carry and held it out to the knight. 

“Wh-what’s this?!” 

As soon as he unwrapped the ancient-looking sword slightly, the knight gasped. 

It was the light-attribute Magic Sword I’d found in the treasure chest of the crazy dendrobium areamaster. 

“You’re delivering a sword this fine on foot?” 

“At the client’s request. If you want to know more, you can ask Count Ritton’s wife directly.” 

Since the knight seemed suspicious, I tried dropping the name of a royal-capital noble. 

She was evidently a friend of the Labyrinth City viceroy’s wife, but we’d never actually met, and of course she hadn’t hired me to deliver a Magic Sword. It was just a white lie. 

“Count Ritton’s wife… I see. You may pass.” 

The knight handed back the Magic Sword, and we headed inside. 

My “Fabrication” skill obviously worked as well as ever. 

> Title Acquired: Courier 

> Title Acquired: Delivery Dealer 

> Title Acquired: Smuggler 

 

“Lord Kuro! And Tifaleeza, too!” 

“It’s been a while, Lady Eluterina.” 

With the help of my map information, we made our way to the inn where Eluterina and the other girls were staying. It seemed like a normal-enough place. 

Eluterina’s smile seemed weak. It might have been my imagination, but she was probably upset about the situation with her grandfather, Viscount Kelten. 

“Everyone doing well?” 

“““Yes, Lord Kuro!””” 

The other young noblewomen and the three merchant girls I’d sent along with them greeted me warmly. 

They all had a healthy glow about them. Life in the bustling royal capital seemed to be treating them well. 

“Lord Kuro, here are our selections for trading commodities, and we’ve chosen three potential sites for our trading headquarters.” 

“Excellent work.” 

They showed me some sample goods, all of which seemed like they’d be popular with the gaudy explorers in Labyrinth City. 

They’d even made contact with a few companies interested in requesting transport. 

“Now all we need to move forward is…erm…the trade license.” 

Eluterina hesitated, probably because she didn’t want to seem demanding, since I was the one who needed to get the license. 

“Sorry, but I don’t have it quite yet. I’ll ask my master to hurry. Just wait a little longer.” 

I’ll have to dress up as Nanashi the Hero tonight and go bother the king for a license. 

Eventually, I hoped to have the girls sell things like my hand-forged Magic Swords and skypower engines for airships to nobles and the royal family. 

For now, their trading preparation seemed to be going well. 

“And did you find out what’s going on with Viscount Kelten?” 

Once I’d dismissed the other girls, I spoke to Eluterina. 

“Well, you see…by the time I went to visit my grandfather, he had already…” 

From her heavy tone, I was afraid he’d committed suicide or something, but she explained that he’d resigned from his post as military cabinet minister and was confined to his home. 

“Is it a false charge like you thought?” 

“Yes.” 

Eluterina nodded. 

But, she went on, there was no one else who could prove it. 

“Is there anyone who’d stand to benefit from his losing his position?” 

“Plenty of military nobles, defense contractors, and so on, yes…” 

The ever-patriotic Viscount Kelten had apparently rejected any nobles or traders who tried to curry favor with bribes. 

“The person who benefits most is Count Boppan, who was the military vice minister and my grandfather’s aide, but…well, the man is simple and honest almost to a fault, so it’s hard to imagine him plotting anything like this…” 

I see. So the second-in-command is a bit of a meathead. 

“Then perhaps it’s someone who wants to use him as a puppet?” 

“As far as the military-related nobles, the only ones I can think of who might try such a thing are Viscount Nagua or Baron Mos.” 

Eluterina must be quite knowledgeable about the nobles of the royal capital if she could come up with suspects right away. 

It reminded me of Tolma, Viscount Siemmen’s younger brother, who knew everything about the nobles of the old capital and their relationships. 

“Viscount Nagua and Baron Mos, eh?” 

I searched the map and found that both of them were at the home of Viscount Nagua. 

In the same room were three other nobles and a man who seemed to be a merchant. 

This piqued my curiosity, so I used the Space Magic spells Clairvoyance and Clairaudience to see what was happening in the room. 

“It won’t be easy to defeat Kelten.” 

Oh. What a well-timed conversation. 

I activated Picture Recorder and Sound Recorder. These spells recorded anything I saw or heard, including information gained through spells like Clairvoyance and Clairaudience. 

“To think that not only His Majesty but even the prime minister, who so frequently clashes with him, would stop him from resigning…” 

“Whatever is the problem? All we need to do is forge some proof that the Norn Company was committing fraud and drag them down from the position of the government’s munitions purveyor, without Kelten’s allies noticing…” 

“What, and get your Godozo Company in their place?” 

“Of course. I will be sure to make it more than worth the effort for all of you.” 

It all made sense—a munitions dealer was using these ambitious nobles to fan the flames. 

> Title Acquired: Peeping Tom 

> Title Acquired: Knower of the Truth 

“Remember, this is all as His Highness commands. Do not forget where your loyalty lies.” 

“We understand, of course.” 

Geh, so there was royalty involved in this, too? 

“Looks like your guess was right.” 

“What?” 

I summarized my findings for the confused Eluterina. 

“Lord Kuro, could you perhaps share this information with my grandfather?” 

“…No.” 

I was silent for a moment, then rejected Eluterina’s request. 

It would be all well and good to tell Viscount Kelten what was happening, but I shouldn’t barge into the home of someone who was currently under house arrest. Besides, if there was royalty involved in all this, things were going to get complicated. 

“Wait a few days to tell Viscount Kelten. I’ll talk to my master and have him tell the crown what I just saw and heard.” 

It sounded like the king and the prime minster wanted Viscount Kelten to stay on as the military minister, so if I showed them what I’d recorded, they could probably take care of the issue, including the royal family member who had instigated the situation. 

…Honestly. 

I looked at the dots on my radar and heaved a sigh. 

“And those of you who are listening in, not a word of this to anyone. Understood?” 

“““Yes, Lord Kuro,””” came several voices at once. 

I opened the door, and the girls who’d been listening from the other side tumbled into the room. 

No doubt they were worried about Eluterina, not listening out of any ill-advised curiosity. 

I was planning on visiting the king that night, so in the meantime, Eluterina showed me around the potential storefronts. 

“Have you decided what our company name will be?” 

“A name, eh…?” 

As we were walking, Eluterina brought up an important question. 

I thought about going with something like “Horn River” or “Pen Press,” but I decided I should go with a distinctly Japanese name. 

Looking over the list of fake names I’d had Tifaleeza give me with “Name Order,” I picked an appropriate one. 

“How about Echigoya Company?” 

This was a classic name for merchants in historical dramas, so any Japanese person should recognize it. 

Besides, it seemed like the kind of name that would let me get away with dealing with all sorts of people. Although I intended to run an honest business, of course. 

“That’s the name of a merchant you work with, isn’t it? Will we be using their trading license, then?” 

I furrowed my brow at this question. 

Then I remembered. Right after I rescued them, I’d told them I would send a merchant by that name, then completely forgot about his made-up existence. 

“Oh, sorry. Echigoya is actually one of a few aliases I have.” 

“Ah, I see.” 

Eluterina accepted my excuse immediately. 

I was curious what sort of person she thought Kuro really was. 

At any rate, something else had grabbed my curiosity as I looked around the street, so I decided to ask her about that instead. 

“I see a lot of people wearing foreign garb.” 

“Yes, there are many more weaselfolk, people from the western continent, and other foreign merchants than when I last lived here.” 

There were a lot more foreigners hanging about the downtown and slum areas recently, from what she told me. 

Suddenly, I heard a murmur in the crowd, and the passersby all stared at something across the street. 

Following their gazes, I saw three men and women on horseback in the glittering armor of Holy Knights. 

The two men were equipped with swords and shields, but the woman had a white rifle strapped to her back with a very fantasy-like design. It didn’t appear to use a scope. 

“That’s unusual. A gun user?” 

“You don’t know of her, Lord Kuro? That is Lady Helmina, the fifth of the Eight Swordsmen of Shiga.” 

The woman had a short blond bob, and her almond-shaped eyes looked kind despite her stern expression. 

She was only twenty-seven years old but already near level 50. 

I wondered why her rank was lower than Prince Sharorik, a member of the Eight Swordsmen of Shiga and the third prince, even though her level was higher. 

Maybe because of the name, using anything other than a sword affected your rank? 

My “Keen Hearing” skill picked up on the armored trio’s conversation. 

“Did you hear about the dragon that appeared in the mountains of Zetts County, ma’am?” 

“I certainly did. It seems Sir Torel has been sent to deal with it.” 

“Of course. They can’t use an airship against a dragon, so it makes sense to send Sir Torel, the Flying Dragon Knight.” 

So there were other living dragons besides the black dragon Hei Long. 

“I envy him, frankly. I would’ve liked to fight a dragon, too.” 

“You’re amazing, Lady Helmina!” 

At the Shiga Swordsman’s bold claim, one of the other Holy Knights looked at her with admiration. 

I guess Holy Knights are battle junkies, too. 

They didn’t all seem to be so battle-hungry, though. The other Holy Knight smiled wanly and changed the subject. 

“Lady Helmina, I’m told you’re being dispatched to Labyrinth City?” 

“Oh, yes. The Karion Temple there received a prophecy about some sort of ‘king of the desert’ being revived, so they’re sending me there to investigate.” 

“A king of the desert… Is it a demon lord?” 

“That’s what I’m going to be investigating. Ugh… Surely Heim or Ryuona would’ve been better-suited to a desert than I would…” She heaved a sigh, then grumbled about someone who was presumably her boss. “Sir Juleburg is so cruel.” 

Sorry. This is probably all because I made a contract with that City Core. 

By the time the Holy Knights were out of earshot even with my “Keen Hearing” skill, we had finally reached our destination. 

“Lord Kuro, it’s that building with the red roof.” 

Eluterina pointed at the first candidate for our storefront. 

It was bigger than I expected. The plot of land it occupied was smaller than that of our mansion in Labyrinth City, but it was a four-floor building and probably had several times more floor space. 

It was partway between the downtown district and the neighborhood where more affluent commoners lived—the perfect spot for a store. 

We could make the first floor the storefront, the second floor for offices and storage, and living quarters on the third and fourth floors. 

“There are stables and carriage-parking space in back. There’s not a lot of space for storage, though, so once the company gets larger, we may need to rent a cheap warehouse in the industrial area.” 

“Good thinking.” 

I nodded, and Eluterina showed me the other two candidates. 

In the end, we decided to reserve the first one, since it was the ideal location and size. It was more expensive than Labyrinth City but nothing I hadn’t expected. 

I gave Eluterina the money to draw up a contract for the store and buy initial stock. 

Next, it was time to visit the real king at his castle. 

 

“Good evening, Your Majesty.” 

Disguised for the first time in a while as the purple-haired Nanashi the Hero, I went to visit the private room of the king of the Shiga Kingdom. 

I’d left a letter in his office that afternoon to give advance notice of my visit. 

And yet, for some reason, there was no one else in the room but the king. 

I thought he’d send in the body double I met in the old capital and watch from a separate area, or maybe have his guards on standby around the room, but I guess I was wrong. 

Sure, the prime minister and the leader of the Eight Swordsmen of Shiga were in the room next door, but this still seemed a little too lax. 

“It’s been a while, Nanashi the Hero.” 

When I appeared at his window, he invited me inside without reproach. 

Even his voice was the same as the body double I’d met. He must have been thoroughly informed of my meeting with his body double in the old capital. 

“Yes, well, I had some business high in the sky and across the southern seas.” 

“So you have been invited even to the heavens? You are indeed a true hero of the Shiga Kingdom.” 

No, not the heavens, in space—Oh, never mind. That would be a tough one to explain anyway. 

He had casually acknowledged me as a hero of the Shiga Kingdom, but I ignored that. 

“Sir Nanashi, your tone is somewhat different than it was before, is it not?” 

Oops. 

Come to think of it, when I spoke to the duke and the king’s body double in the old capital, I’d used only short sentences like Mia. 

Since then, I’d changed Nanashi’s tone to that of an impolite child under Arisa’s guidance to avoid being associated with Satou, but of course that was different from what the king must have heard from his double. 

“Oh yeah. I was tired from fighting the demon lord and monster fish back then, so I didn’t feel like talking much.” 

With the help of my trusty “Fabrication” skill, I gave a vague excuse. 

“I see… Pardon me, but would you mind showing me the true power of the Holy Sword Claidheamh Soluis once more?” 

Oh? Is he doubting me? 

“Yeah, no problem.” 

I produced the Holy Sword in question from my Item Box, gave it the appropriate amount of magic power, and invoked the scripture. 

“<Dance.>” 

The sword split into thirteen blades and hovered around my body. 

“Oooohhh…” 

The king looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head. 

I hoped he wouldn’t touch the activated blades, since it’d be bad news if I let a king get hurt. 

After he’d watched for a few moments, I spoke up. 

“Will that do?” 

“Yes, thank you.” 

But the king still looked like he wanted to say something. 

“What is it?” 

“Sir Nanashi, would you mind showing me the face under your mask just once?” 

Taking me up on my inquiry, the king made a cautious request. 

“Sure. But only for a second. I’m shy, you know.” 

Because I had figured he might ask this, I was already wearing a disguise mask underneath. 

I’d even upgraded the technology in the mask specifically for this visit: I’d used the techniques I learned in Bolenan Forest to add recognition-inhibiting magic circuits to it. 

I carved similar circuits into my outer mask, too, so I could block most clairvoyance- and X-ray-vision-type skills. 

“How’s this?” 

Not wanting to put on airs, I took off the mask to show him my false face. 

Like the first disguise mask I’d made for Nanashi, this one was designed after my childhood friend as she would have looked around high school age. 

“Oh, good gods!” 

Huh? The king looked so shocked, I thought he might faint. Was my friend’s face that unappealing to him? 

Even so, praying to the gods seemed a bit excessive. 

“Lord Ya… I mean, Lord Nanashi, could I perchance ask you to show your esteemed face to the prime minister as well?” 

…Lord? 

Why was he talking to me like he was addressing a superior all of a sudden? 

“No need to call me ‘Lord,’ Your Majesty. I don’t like to show my face to people, but I guess if it’s just the prime minster, that’s fine.” 

The prime minister didn’t have “Analyze” or any perception-type skills, after all. 

“Your generosity is deeply appreciated. Please allow me to go and summon him.” 

The king called the prime minister in from the next room. 

According to my Tolma Memos, the information on nobles that I’d gotten in the old capital, the prime minister was from one of the three great noble families in the Shiga Kingdom, the former Duke Dux. 

He had passed leadership of his family down to his son and now served as the king’s right-hand man in administration. 

Still, though… 

Nothing about the man gave off any of the pomp you’d expect from that noble lineage. 

He looked like the sort of person who’d make you call him General, a large-framed man with huge muscles. The Zhuge Liang–style fan clutched in one meaty hand didn’t suit him at all. 

His only combat-related skill was “Self-Defense,” so I had no idea how he’d gotten so macho. 

“You called, Your Majesty?” 

The prime minister appeared to have been informed about Nanashi already, since he didn’t look particularly surprised when he glanced at my mask. 

The king briefly introduced us before moving on to business. 

“Lord Nanashi, if you would be so kind.” 

The prime minister raised his eyebrows at the polite way the king was addressing me. 

“Mm’kaaay.” 

I shrugged and pulled my mask aside to show them my face. 

“Oorghhhhh!” 

After a moment of shocked silence, the prime minister uttered an even more alarmed noise than the king had, and tears started pouring down his cheeks. 

Why in the world were they both overreacting like this? 

My childhood friend had a kind of plain face, but she wasn’t particularly bad-looking or anything as far as I was concerned, so I didn’t think there was anything about her face that should be so shocking to these people. 

If anything, maybe she looked strange by the beauty standards in this world, like Lulu. 

“Satisfied?” 

I held the mask up questioningly. 

“Your generosity is greatly appreciated.” 

“No need to be so formal,” I reminded the king, who was starting to get tearful as well. 

“Perhaps you do not remember, but the house of Dux has served Lord Yamato since before the kingdom was founded.” 

Hmm? 

Was I supposed to know that? 

I tilted my head in confusion as I put the mask back on. 

“The image of Lord Yamato that was recorded with the Treasure of Facsimile at the time of the kingdom’s founding is still kept in the portrait room of the house of Dux.” 

I was even more confused by the king’s sudden statement. 

Sure, the mention of a camera-like magic tool caught my interest, but I wasn’t sure where this photo of the ancestral king Yamato came into play here. Was he just bragging? 

“L-Lord Yamatooooo!” 

After wiping away the tears with one massive arm, the prime minister suddenly came over as if to embrace me, so I nimbly slipped out of his reach. 

“Calm down, Dux.” 

Fortunately, the king stopped him when he tried a second time. 

Did he call me “Lord Yamato”? 

Maybe my childhood friend’s face bore a resemblance to the ancestral king Yamato? 

If so, that was a hell of a coincidence. 

“My name’s Nanashi. I’ve got nothing to do with the ancestral king.” 

“Yes, I understand.” 

Judging by the looks on your faces, you definitely don’t. 

It looked to me like they were convinced that Nanashi was a reincarnation of the ancestral king Yamato. 

But why would…? Ohhhh, the hair. 

As the Undead King Zen and Hayato the Hero had both mentioned, reincarnations were often born with purple hair. 

So it wouldn’t be too strange if the king assumed I was a reincarnation because of my wig color. 

But surely, a reincarnation wouldn’t have the same face, and jumping to conclusions based solely on my appearance didn’t seem befitting of a king and a prime minister… 

Well, whatever. It’d be a pain in the neck to try to prove it when they were so thoroughly convinced, so I decided to let them think whatever they wanted. 

Although I did ask them not to treat me like the ancestral king Yamato. 

“So do you mind if we get down to business now?” 

“My sincere apologies, O great anc—erm, Lord Nanashi.” 

The king started to call me “ancestral king” but corrected himself. 

Should I start with the business about Marquis Kelten or the trade license? Probably the former. 

“Firstly, a retainer of mine asked that I clear the name of a relative who’s been falsely accused.” 

“Falsely accused? You mean…” 

The king stopped himself, but it sounded like he knew what I was talking about. 

“Yeah, Marquis Kelten’s being framed for treason.” 

“So it is indeed a false accusation.” 

The prime minister nodded. 

Should you really trust me so easily just because I look like the ancestral king? 

“Here’s the proof…” 

I used the Illusion and Speaker spells, linked to the sounds and images I’d captured with Sound Recorder and Picture Recorder via Data Output, to play the recordings back for them. 

Since the data transfer rate was too slow for video, I used still images instead. 

“I-is this the legendary ancient treasure, the Time-Stopping Crystal?” 

“No, it’s just a spell.” 

There must be some kind of video-related magic tool, too. 

“Dux, I trust you can take care of them.” 

“Of course, Your Majesty. They will be dealt with strictly, in accordance with the law.” 

I got the feeling this would mean some kind of violence, but it wasn’t my place to take issue with this place’s legal system, so I decided I’d leave it to them. 

Although I still didn’t know which royal had incited these nobles, I figured the government could investigate the rest. 

There was no point in me meddling any further. 

“Thank you very much, Lord Nanashi. Now I need not lose a treasured vassal.” 

“Will you require that magic for the trial?” 

“No, not so long as the prime minister and I saw it for ourselves. I do not wish to trouble you any further, Lord Nanashi.” 

So they didn’t need to show any proof to the suspects or other nobles? 

I was glad I didn’t have to do any extra work, but still. 

“I am sure Kelten would be weak in the knees should he hear that it was the anc—er, Lord Nanashi who cleared his name.” 

“Yes, he is a fervent believer in the ancestral king.” 

“But that’s not me, remember? The ancestral king is sleeping in the Dreamcrystal Mausoleum.” 

“Ah, but of course.” 

“I had nearly forgotten.” 

The pair of them nodded exaggeratedly. 

Clearly, whatever they might say, they still firmly believed that I was the ancestral king. 

I decided there was no point in continuing to correct them, since it was obviously a lost cause. 

“As for my other order of business, I want to start selling magic goods in the Shiga Kingdom, but I need a trade license and stuff. Could you hook me up?” 

“I shall take care of it right away.” 

The king agreed immediately. 

He wrote a few lines on an official form and stamped it with the royal seal. 

At least it was easy to get stuff like this done in a monarchy. 

“The official paperwork for the trade license will take a few more days, but this paper will allow you to conduct business without a problem in the meantime.” 

With that, he handed me the signed paper. 

“Thanks.” 

For some reason, the two of them smiled widely when I thanked them. 

I wasn’t sure what about saying “thanks” struck a chord with them, but probably no point in worrying about it. 

“Lord Nanashi, what sort of products are you hoping to sell?” 

“Oh, mostly magic tools and armor and some medicinal goods. I’ve got a few airships for our featured product, too.” 

“Airships, you say?!” 

I gave a broad answer to the prime minister’s inquiry, but the king exclaimed in surprise at the word airships. 

“Um, yes. I thought I’d sell large airships for transport and small ones for personal use. Although aside from one sample transport airship, all I’ve got are some skypower engines, so it’ll be a while before we can fill orders for them.” 

I’d made the transport airships about on par with the ones that traveled between Labyrinth City and the royal capital. Their cruising speed and max velocity were about the same, although mine were about 40 percent larger. I figured it’d be good to have a high loading capacity. 

As for the personal-use airships, I mostly wanted to popularize them among nobles so it wouldn’t be unusual for me to be seen traveling around cities freely as Satou. 

“Personal?! But airships are far too valuable to be used for individual merrymaking!” 

That seems like an exaggeration. 

“It’d be convenient if the lords of other regions could travel to and from the royal capital easily, wouldn’t it?” 

“Certainly, but do you really have skypower engines in such great supply?” 

“Yeah, pretty much.” 

I didn’t want to use up my giant monster fish fins, but I had gathered a considerable amount of supplies for making skypower engines during our travels on the sugar route. 

I had plenty more fins from bullet tuna and narwhals than the sharklike monster fish. I was practically swimming in materials, no pun intended. 

The only drawback was that skypower engines made from the thin fins of the bullet tuna and narwhals didn’t have quite as much output as the ones made with the thick monster fish fins. 

Most likely, it’d be impossible to make skypower engines out of the former without my high “Magic-Tool Crafting” skill level. 

Besides, only the monster fish attacked coastal towns, so the tuna and narwhals probably weren’t widely known as reliable skypower engine material suppliers. 

“May I ask how many you are able to produce, approximately?” the prime minister asked, sounding a little frantic. 

“I’d say about five of the big ones and twenty of the small ones.” 

Incidentally, it’d take about thirty of the small airships to match the power of one of the large ones. 

More importantly, I was worried about whether or not they’d give me permission. The king and the prime minister both looked deep in thought. 

I wouldn’t want to be selling contraband. 

“Lord Nanashi, I am terribly sorry to say this, but it may not be in the best interest of our kingdom’s national defense for you to go about selling that many airships so easily…” 

“I was only planning to sell them to Shiga Kingdom nobles for now. Pretty please?” 

Putting on this cutesy voice was starting to pain me a little… 

“Hmm. W-well, I suppose…” 

“I’d prefer that you give priority to the royal family.” 

The king sounded like he was about to grant me permission, but the prime minister interrupted with a condition. 

He’d been acting like an ancestral-king fanboy mere moments ago, but now he wore the face of a real politician. 

“If you’re going to be selling airships, please negotiate with the royal family or the royal army first.” 

“Okey-dokey.” 

“‘Okey-dokey’? I’m ashamed to confess I do not recognize this phrase. Is that a refusal?” 

“Oh, sorry. It means I agree.” 

With that, I’d acquired permission to sell airships within the kingdom. 

I agreed to present them with one of the five large airships as a gift and would receive my trade license and a medallion in return. 

This was the official story, anyway, since it was the Echigoya Company that would be selling the airships, not Nanashi the Hero. 

The medallion they planned to award me was the badge of a royal-family-approved merchant, so it could be used in dealings with nobles. 

This was a proposal from the prime minister, who was worried that I shouldn’t go flaunting paperwork signed by the king himself too readily. 

Incidentally, they said that they couldn’t determine the value of the large airship without seeing it for themselves. They would go the following day to see the sample that was docked in the royal-capital airport. 

“Oh, that’s right.” 

At this rate, Satou still wouldn’t be able to use an airship. 

“Wh-what might be the problem?” 

“Oh, um, it’s just… I already sold a few small airships in the southern islands.” 

I took as light a tone as possible with the nervous prime minister. 

“A-as long as it’s only a few…” 

The prime minister and the king looked dismayed for a moment, but they didn’t reprimand me or anything. 

This way, if I was seen flying an airship as Satou, I could always claim I’d bought it on the sugar route. 

“You said you’d be selling magic tools as well. What sort of tools might they be?” 

“Oh yeah. I’ll give you some samples of those, too.” 

I presented them with five Magic Swords and Spears, then a few varieties of magic potions. 

The weapons were of the first generation of my hand-forged creations, the kind that were easy to mass-produce. The swords were the same model as the Magic Sword Akatsuki, which had sold at the dark auction in the old capital and which Viscount Siemmen had showed off to General Erthal. 

The spears were virtually the same as the swords, except that their handles were made from Mountain-Tree branches. 

“Th-these are the swords with high magic power efficiency that have been circulating recently in the Ougoch Duchy!” 

“I see. So you made these swords as well, Lord Nanashi.” 

The designs were the same—the king and the prime minister figured it out right away. 

“Yeah, there’ve been a lot of demons lately, so I figured they’d be good for protecting the kingdom and stuff, right?” 

“Y-yes! If we could equip our skilled knights with such fine Magic Swords as these…” The prime minister paused. “…W-wait, were you planning on selling a lot of these, as well?” 

“Yep.” 

If you consider a hundred or so each “a lot” anyway. 

“Want me to prioritize Your Majesty and the royal army for these, too?” 

“Y-yes, please, if you would be so kind…!” 

The prime minister bowed his head in supplication. 

“Yeah, sure. When I sell ’em wholesale, I’ll go to you guys first. But I did want to make ’em one of my company’s featured products, so is it okay if we sell just a few per month there?” 

“V-very well. As you wish, anc—er, Lord Nanashi.” 

Once again, the prime minister almost called me “ancestral king.” 

“I have no intention of becoming a merchant of death, though. I won’t be selling Magic Guns or big golems or anything like that, ’kay?” 

“But of course. We shan’t go against your desires, O great ancestral king.” 

I threw in that disclaimer to be safe, but from the looks of the two of them, it was probably fine. 

They’d full-on called me “ancestral king” that time, but I let it slide. 

“How much should I sell these for?” 

“You will likely need about three hundred gold coins apiece for the mithril swords—no, perhaps five hundred.” 

“No way.” 

That would be highway robbery. 

“But, Lord Nanashi—” 

“The mithril alloy is only a coating; they’re bronze on the inside. I’d say they should be two hundred gold coins at the very most.” 

“But, Lord Nanashi, the Magic Sword Akatsuki that the Ougoch Duchy possesses…” 

The big noble families had been searching for more of that sword so frantically that they’d even put out a reward, offering anywhere from three hundred to five hundred gold coins. 

Magic Swords found in the labyrinth started at around two hundred gold coins, so by those standards, three hundred gold coins was apparently a good price. 

“All right, then I’ll sell them for that at the company, but I’ll only charge two hundred apiece when I sell them to you.” 

They cost only about five coins apiece to produce, and I could make around a hundred per hour. I didn’t feel right selling them for so much. 

“How many d’you want? I’ve got about a hundred Magic Swords and two hundred Magic Spears…” 

I was trying to imply with my tone that they surely didn’t need that many, but the king promptly bought them all. That was a huge sale of sixty thousand gold coins in total. 

My goal here wasn’t to get rich quick, so maybe I could use these profits for the industrial betterment of the Shiga Kingdom? 

Next, we discussed the magic potions I’d offered. 

“These potions are strange—I mean, quite unique.” 

The prime minister looked at the lineup of potions curiously. 

Instead of health- and magic-recovery potions for combat, I’d brought energy potions, nutrient tonics, nutritional supplement potions, hair-growth tonics, and other such things that I thought would be in high demand in the royal capital. 

I offered a good amount of the nutrient tonics to the king and the prime minister as samples. 

“Yeah, they’re pretty practical, right?” 

“It truly demonstrates the depth of your compassion, O great ancestral king.” 

“I keep telling you, I’m Nanashi the Hero…” 

“Yes, of course.” The king nodded. 

I decided to wrap things up without denying it any further. 

I planned to deliver the goods via one of the large airships, so they paid me on the spot. 

“All right, I’ll be going, then. If anyone from my company comes to you for help, I’m counting on you to take care of ’em. Thanks…” 

The two rulers immediately agreed to my request. 

“Lord Nanashi…” 

When the king looked like he wanted to say something else, I replied “Yesss?” in a Tama-like tone. 

“If a demon lord should appear in our kingdom—” 

“Don’t worry—I’ll take ’em down if I see any.” 

I didn’t want to go straight to fighting if the other party was willing to talk, but judging by my interactions with the Golden Boar Lord in the old capital and the other greater demons I’d met so far, I was guessing it’d end with a fight. 

“Why, is that supposed to happen somewhere?” 

“It was predicted a few months ago in Labyrinth City Celivera and more recently in the great desert to the west.” 

I’d already crushed the green greater demon’s plot for the former, and I was pretty sure the latter was just a misunderstanding stemming from my contract with the City Cores. 

“All right, I’ll keep an eye out. If you get any new info, relay it to me through the folks from my company, ’kay?” 

With that, I excused myself from the king’s room. 

Now I had a way of getting information regularly from the king and the prime minister, but I was going to have to find a means of communication between the royal capital and Labyrinth City, or there wouldn’t be much point. 

 

“Eluterina, my master gave me this.” 

I handed the blond noblewoman the medallion and the trade license from the king. 

“It’s handwritten?” 

“Apparently, it’s straight from His Majesty himself. The official paperwork will be sent to the storefront we rented in the next few days.” 

“““I-it’s signed by His Majesty!””” 

The noblewomen all let out a cry as they peered at it. 

According to them, just having a handwritten license from the king was enough to earn value and prestige for your company. 

“And this medallion?” 

“I-it can’t be!” 

One of the merchant girls stared up at me with her eyes practically popping out. 

“It means we’re approved to sell to the government. Just bring it with you to the royal castle.” 

“I—I knew it!” 

The merchant girl shielded her face with her arm, as if the medallion were emitting a powerful light. 

She’s so dramatic. 

While I was at it, I decided to appoint my proxy for the newly christened Echigoya Company. 

“Eluterina, I want you to be in charge of Echigoya.” 

“M-me, in charge?” 

“That’s right.” 

We would likely be selling to the kingdom and countless nobles, so I thought her connections and in-depth knowledge about the nobles would make her perfect for the job. 

“Will you do it?” 

“Yes, I swear on my life that I will make Echigoya Company the greatest trading company in all of the Shiga Kingdom!” 

She certainly seemed motivated. 

There was no need to go that far, but I appreciated her enthusiasm. I patted her on the shoulder and said, “I’m looking forward to it.” 

People are molded by their circumstances, so maybe I should call her Miss Manager instead of Eluterina or “the blond noblewoman” from now on. 

“Tifaleeza, you’ll be in charge of paperwork and accounting. Support Miss Manager here, please.” 

I decided to make the girls here into management candidates for Echigoya Company, as well as Polina and “Miss Elder Sister” Sumina, who were holding down the fort in Labyrinth City. 

“Yes, Lord Kuro!” 

I gave the coolheaded Tifaleeza some notes from my meeting with the king and the prime minister. 

“What’s this, Lord Kuro?” 

“Your first job. My master made some sales to His Majesty and the prime minister. I’ll deliver the goods myself, but I’d like you to take care of the formalities.” 

Tifaleeza’s face grew even paler as she skimmed the documents. 

“Erm, Lord Kuro? It says here that we’re selling five large airships, twenty small airships, a hundred Magic Swords, and two hundred Magic Spears…?” 

She turned her head toward me so stiffly, I could almost imagine a creaking noise. 

“Oh, sorry. That’s not right.” 

“…I knew it.” 

Tifaleeza breathed a little sigh of relief. 

“We’re giving them one of the large airships as a sample, so take that off the list. They’ll be figuring out the prices for the rest of the airships once they’ve seen the sample.” 

At that, Tifaleeza and the other girls all froze. 

Maybe this was too big for their first order? 

“That’s impossible!” 

There was a rare note of emotion in Tifaleeza’s voice. 

“Don’t worry—I won’t be using this to set a quota or anything.” 

“A quota? No, that’s not the problem.” Miss Manager stepped forward. “We simply do not have the power to sell such things as airships and Magic Swords.” 

“What do you mean?” 

We had permission and the goods to match. What could be the problem? 

“We cannot protect such goods from influential nobles or spies from other kingdoms.” 

…I see. 

That hadn’t occurred to me. 

Even with the kingdom’s backing, there might be ill-intentioned nobles skirting the law or even forces beyond the kingdom’s reach trying to interfere. 

“All right. I’ll take care of sales like this myself for now.” 

Maybe once my group was able to defeat a floormaster, I could bring the Echigoya Company management to the labyrinth and get them to level 30 or so with some special training. 

For now, until I could provide them with proper guards, I would use Create Earth Servant to set up some stone golems and horses to protect the place. 

“Sorry, Miss Manager, but could you find a place in the royal capital where we can build large airships?” 

It’d be a pain to go all the way to Bolenan Forest every day to build them, so making them directly in the city would make life a lot easier. 

Besides, it was probably better to hire shipbuilding specialists to create the hull, rigging, and so on, instead of doing it all myself. That would create more jobs anyway. 

“V-very well. What sort of shipbuilding equipment will we need?” 

“As long as it’s big enough, that won’t be a problem.” 

I could easily create what we needed with Earth Magic. 

“All right, I’ll leave the rest in your hands.” 

I shifted away from the girls and opened the magic menu. 

“Oh, one more thing…” 

As I turned around to tell them something I’d forgotten, they all froze again. 

“About a month from now, we’ll be getting a big mansion in the noble district from the king. Use the storefront we reserved for now. If we start selling to nobles, we can use the new mansion for that, too.” 

“Understood.” 

Miss Manager nodded, looking relieved. 

I guess the news of the mansion wasn’t enough to surprise them. 

Feeling mildly disappointed by the lack of reaction, I used the Return spell to head back to Labyrinth City. 

> Title Acquired: Arms Dealer 

> Title Acquired: Purveyor to the Government 





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