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Sara of the Tenion Temple 

Satou here. Destiny is a mysterious thing. An unexpected reunion with someone you’ve met on a journey is more than just a dramatic interlude. The second meeting might be a coincidence, but when they keep piling up…could you call that fate? 

“It is a great pleasure to meet you. I am Sara, the oracle priestess of the Tenion Temple.” 

A mysterious voice like an angelic melody rang through the audience room of Muno Castle. 

She gazed directly at me, her eyes the bright green of newly sprouted leaves. 

In the sunlight that trickled into the audience room, her pale hair shone with a curious luster somewhere between gold and silver. 

Was this what they call “platinum blond” hair? It was especially lovely next to her pale white skin. 

Her nose, situated somewhat lower on her face than the average person in the Shiga Kingdom, drew a splendid line in profile and led the gaze toward her soft lips, neither too thick nor too thin. They were stunningly glossy despite the presumable lack of lipstick, contributing to her charming appearance as a healthy young lady. 

The girl was wearing Western-style priestess garb with a simple embroidered pattern in blue and gold thread—similar in design to what Miss Ohna, the priestess from Parion Temple, had worn when we met her in Seiryuu City. 

Though the garment was designed to be modest, an impressive amount of her bust was asserting its presence nonetheless. 

It wasn’t nearly on the level of Nana or Miss Karina, but they were undoubtedly large for the girl’s age. 

Of course, I had no interest in hitting on a girl barely old enough for middle or high school, but in another five years or so, she’d definitely be one to watch. 

Miss Nina, the magistrate, nudged me pointedly, and I realized everyone was waiting on me to introduce myself. All the others had finished their introductions while I was daydreaming about this girl’s future prospects. 

Every eye in the audience room of Muno Castle was resting on me. 

This included Baron Muno, Miss Nina, Miss Sara and her escort knights, and a handsome civil official. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Sara. I am Satou Pendragon, a hereditary knight and vassal of the Muno Barony. I have only recently received the honor of this title, so I hope you’ll look kindly upon me.” 

I offered her the standard greeting I had learned from my etiquette coach, Yuyurina. 

Miss Sara smiled back at me, but the stern glowers of the two male knights standing behind her were unchanged. 

According to the AR display, Miss Sara was level 30, with the skills “Holy Magic: Tenion Faith,” “Oracle,” “Meditation,” and “Perceive Malice.” 

The knights escorting her were fairly high-level as well: Temple Knight Keon Bobino, the one with short blond hair, was level 31, and Imperial Knight Ipasa Lloyd, the one with a shock of red hair, was level 33. 

The handsome official of the Ougoch Duchy behind them was a much more average level 12. 

As I understood it, Miss Sara and company had come to assist with the restoration of order and revitalization efforts in the Muno Barony after the recent demon attack. 

In the plaza outside the castle, a large force of eight knights, four priests, three hundred soldiers, and forty wagons was waiting on standby. With all that power, they could probably bring down Muno Castle if they wanted to. 

Softhearted baron or no, however, if a shrewd tactician like Miss Nina had let them onto castle grounds, in all likelihood they were perfectly friendly. 

“I’m surprised that the duke permitted his lovely young granddaughter to leave the territory,” Miss Nina commented. 

“Having left my house, I no longer have any connection to the duke, I’m afraid.” 

Miss Sara maintained a sweet smile as she answered. Her family name hadn’t appeared in the AR display, but when I checked the more detailed information, it turned out that she was indeed the grandchild of Duke Ougoch. 

“What of the temple, then, sending their precious oracle into such danger?” 

“The head priestess was kind enough to support me.” 

…Hmm? 

Something about Miss Sara’s words struck me as odd, but before I could figure out what it was, my attention was drawn elsewhere. 

“I see. So the holy woman of Tenion Temple is as graceful yet bold as ever, then.” 

Though Miss Nina and Miss Sara referred to her by different names, the “head priestess” and the “holy woman” of the temple were one and the same. I had assumed that Miss Sara herself was the “holy woman” I’d heard about, but it seemed I was mistaken. 

So this holy woman is even more saintly than Miss Sara? My pitiful imagination couldn’t even begin to picture it. 

When we visited the old capital, I’d have to find a way to see her, even if just from a distance. 

“Besides, I must also exorcise the traces of the Undead King’s curse, which the head priestess was unable to do.” 

“Is she unwell, then?” 

“I’m afraid so. Recently, she has been unable to even leave the sanctuary of the temple grounds.” 

I wasn’t sure what the “sanctuary” was—maybe like a hospital’s IC unit or something? 

I had always imagined that high-ranking Holy Magic would be able to heal anything, but apparently, there were some things even magic couldn’t do. 

“…And so…in the end, the masked hero and the forest giants did away with the demon army, but the castle would have fallen before reinforcements arrived were it not for Sir Pendragon and his comrades.” 

After relocating to the parlor, Miss Nina was relaying the story of the recent demon attack to Miss Sara and company. 

There were a total of seven people in the room: Baron Muno, the magistrate Miss Nina, Miss Sara, her two knights (courtesy of the duke), the handsome civil official, and me. 

“What a splendid feat of gallantry for one so young to not only survive an encounter with a demon unharmed but to defeat him. We could use someone like yourself in our ranks,” the imperial knight commended. 

I appreciated the compliment, but I could’ve done without the rather hungry smile. 

“Personally, I don’t believe it. This young lad defeated a demon?” 

“Sir Keon, hold your tongue.” 

The imperial knight scolded the temple knight, whose scowl only deepened. 

“It takes a full squadron to stand a chance at defeating even a lesser hell demon, and you still risk losing half. And we are to believe that a group of women and children defeated one? Impossible!” 

“Am I to understand that you do not take me at my word, then, Sir Temple Knight…?” 

The knight’s words must have struck a nerve; Miss Nina’s tone changed harshly. The more polite her words, the more likely she was about to go on the attack. 

“S-Sir Keon!” 

The handsome official had turned pale and quickly stood to mediate the situation. 

“Lady Nina, I am terribly sorry. He means you no ill, I assure you. P-please find it in your heart to hold back your rage.” 

At the moment, I just looked like a slender fifteen-year-old boy. It was no wonder the temple knight didn’t believe I’d defeated a demon. 

Still, this tense mood was less than desirable. 

“I can appreciate your skepticism, Sir Knight. However, it was not my power alone that defeated the demon. I owe that to the help of trustworthy friends, as well as a special artifact that temporarily weakens the power of a demon.” 

“An artifact! I see!” 

At my explanation, the civil official chimed in with a rather melodramatic show of appreciation. 

He’s got a tough job. To keep the ball rolling, I went into more detail about the demon-sealing bell I’d received from the chief of the forest giants, which helped appease the temple knight. 

In a tag-team effort between the official and me, we made it through the crisis unscathed, and the topic shifted to the battle between the demon and the masked hero. 

“H-he assimilated with a hydra?! A lesser demon shouldn’t be able to take over a demi-dragon!” 

“He must have been an intermediate one, then…” 

The imperial knight and Miss Sara mused aloud. 

My map search had labeled him a lesser demon, but I kept that to myself. 

“So what was the demon’s goal in attacking this territory?” the temple knight cut in, blatantly trying to turn this into an interrogation. Evidently, this man was a dependent of a high-ranking aristocrat called Count Bobino from the old capital, so he tended toward the haughty. 

Miss Nina gave him a sharp look for his insolent tone, and Baron Muno answered in her stead: 

“Ahem… The letter from the masked hero suggested that the demon’s goal was the resurrection of the demon lord.” 

That letter had been my effort to convey the demon’s plan after the incident was over. 

“Wh-what did you say?!” 

“This is a serious matter!” 

The two knights leaped to their feet at the shocking revelation from Baron Muno. 

The civil official blanched even paler, unable to speak. 

It seemed like the phrase demon lord carried considerable weight here. 

“Please remain calm, both of you,” Miss Sara chided them gently. 

Despite her outward composure, there was no hiding the way the blood had drained from her previously rosy complexion. 

“B-but my lady…!” 

“This is not the time to be calm!” 

“And yet you call yourselves knights defending the Ougoch Duchy and Tenion Temple? Baron Muno here is perfectly at peace. This can only mean that the resurrection attempt has already been thwarted, does it not?” 

After Miss Sara admonished them in a dignified voice, she looked to Baron Muno for confirmation. 

“Yes, indeed. The masked hero prevented the demon’s plan from succeeding.” 

“What was he attempting, then?” 

The imperial knight composed himself and returned to his seat, but the temple knight seemed unconvinced and pressed with more questions. 

“The demon was oppressing people in the barony and gathering their negative feelings into a cursed vessel called a chaos jar. The hero destroyed the vessel along with the demon.” 

“A chaos jar, eh? I see. So it was destroyed.” 

The temple knight heaved an apparent sigh of relief. 

To me, it felt more like the disappointed lament of the demon lord whose resurrection I’d prevented. 

Once the discussion in the parlor was over, Miss Nina and the handsome official headed toward the office to take care of clerical work or something. 

In the meantime, Miss Sara requested a tour of the castle and the city. 

The two knights left Miss Sara’s side to complete duties of their own, leaving two new temple knights to guard her in their place. This pair, a man and a woman, were each only level 13. 

The man’s name was Heath, and the woman’s name was Ina. Since it didn’t seem like we’d be spending time together for very long, I decided to just remember them as “Guy Knight” and “Lady Knight.” Both were from the lower aristocracy of the old capital. 

“Now then, where would you like to go?” 

“Could I ask you to guide me to the Tenion Temple of Muno City first? After that, I should very much like to pay a visit to the city’s orphanage, if it’s all right with you.” 

I understood the first request well enough, but it was unusual for a high-ranking aristocratic young lady to want to visit an orphanage. 

Unlike modern Japan, orphanages in the Shiga Kingdom were hardly sanitary places, due to their low budget and generally poor grasp of hygiene. Besides, there was no orphanage in Muno City. 

“My apologies. I can certainly take you to the Tenion Temple, but I’m afraid it won’t be possible to visit the orphanage.” 

“Whyever not? I shan’t be repulsed or offended, no matter what the conditions might be.” 

“No, that isn’t the issue. You see…” 

I explained to Miss Sara that the former magistrate, who was actually the demon in disguise, had shut down the city’s orphanage two years ago. 

“Then the children…” 

Oops, I guess I should have given her the good news first. Miss Sara’s face was clouded with concern. 

“Please, do not worry. The children are being cared for in the castle.” 

The castle had taken in the children only recently after the demon attack, but there was probably no need to dive into the details. 

The two thousand people who had lost their homes along the wall of the city in the process of rezoning had been living in the spare barracks of the castle, but they’d recently been moved into the newly completed temporary housing. The only people remaining in the barracks were mostly children and the elderly. 

Those in temporary housing had been given jobs creating gabo-fruit fields to combat the famine on the land that was now dedicated to agriculture. 

If possible, I would’ve liked to suggest a better-tasting crop, but the difference in productivity between gabo fruits and other crops was simply too large to justify that until the overall food situation improved. 

“In…the castle?” 

“That’s right. I can show you, if you’d like. Or would you prefer to start with the Tenion Temple, as originally planned?” 

“No, I will visit them first. Please show me the way.” Miss Sara responded with remarkable warmth. 

I would have expected her to be tired from such a long journey, but she seemed energetic, if anything—even impatient. 

She acted almost like she’d been told she had only a little time left to live and was desperate not to waste a single minute. 

It wasn’t far enough for a carriage, and we walked toward where the children were staying, chatting along the way. 

As we passed through the inner wall to the area around the barracks, we heard soldiers’ voices rumbling and lively music in the air. 

“Oh? What an unusual sound…” 

“It certainly is a merry tune, though I cannot say I’ve heard it before.” 

Miss Sara tilted her head curiously with refined grace, and Guy Knight agreed. 

As we listened to the music and followed it toward its source, we soon found the small maestro responsible in a corner of the training field. 

“Satou.” 

Mia the elf looked up at us from her lute. Her full name was Misanaria Bolenan. 

Though her actual age was more than a hundred and thirty years, she was still a child in elf years and had the appearance of an elementary school student to match. 

Her slightly pointed ears, characteristic of her race, peeped out through the shadows of her neat, light-turquoise pigtails. She must have been a little chilly, because she had a pale-yellow cardigan over her periwinkle-blue dress. 

“A-an elf? What is Cyriltoa the Songstress doing here?” 

“No, if it was her, she’d only be moving one hand.” 

“Quiet down, please, you two. I cannot hear her song.” 

Miss Sara scolded the murmuring pair of knights. 

In the old capital, there was an elf known as Cyriltoa the Songstress who had the use of only one arm, it seemed. 

“Hi, Mia.” 

“…Mrrrr?” 

Mia answered my greeting with a short nod, then squinted rather unpleasantly at Miss Sara behind me. 

Must be in a bad mood. 

“It’s nice to meet you. I am Sara of Tenion Temple.” 

“Mm. Mia.” 

Mia barely acknowledged Miss Sara’s polite greeting and brusquely offered nothing but her name, without pausing her playing. 

“Is that a traditional song of the village of Bolenan?” 

“Wagner.” 

Mia shook her head at Miss Sara’s question and answered with a word. 

The song Mia strummed on her lute was Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries.” 

After I had played my ringtone for her once, she had copied it perfectly by ear. The instrumentation was different, of course, but Mia had made up an arrangement of her own. 

“Are you entertaining the soldiers while they train?” 

“Requested.” 

Mia looked past us toward Sir Zotol, a knight who had been appointed to reorganize the barony’s armed forces. He appeared to be refereeing for the soldiers’ bouts and hadn’t noticed us. 

“Next! Miss Nana and Miss Karina versus Miss Liza!” he shouted, and three girls appeared from among the soldiers. 

The first to enter the field was Liza of the orange Scalefolk tribe, shaking out her long scarlet locks. She would have looked like an ordinary human were it not for her lizard-like tail and patches of orange scales on her arms and neck. 

At level 14, she was the highest level of my companions. 

The black armor she was wearing was handmade by yours truly. 

It was made from hydra leather and ironshell fruit, with defense stronger than steel. It was only slightly heavier than normal leather armor, too, so it wouldn’t slow down her agility. 

I was very proud of my work. The only problem was that the black color of hydra leather and ironshells made the wearer look very intimidating. 

“Hey, get a load of that demi-human’s spear.” 

“A weapon made from monster parts…? That’s a rare sight.” 

“She must be a former labyrinth explorer or monster hunter.” 

The temple knights murmured among themselves as they eyed Liza’s spear. 

I’d heard of labyrinth explorers already, but “monster hunter” sounded like a cool title, too. I’d have to get them to tell me about it over dinner or something. 

“Master!” 

Nana came onto the field after Liza, then noticed us and called out to me with a big wave. The exaggerated movement shook her golden hair as well as her ample breasts. 

Nana was wearing the same armor as Liza. Unlike the slender Liza, Nana had a rather large bust, so making her chest piece from the ironshells took some time. 

“Liza, master is watching us from over there, I report.” 

On hearing this, Liza looked to us with a dignified expression and bowed in our direction. 

Nana looked like an ordinary human girl of around high school age, but she was actually a homunculus who had been artificially created less than a year ago. It was no surprise that her face was generally a mask and she spoke in a strangely stilted way. 

Fortunately, she was wearing a hidden item called an Amulet of Humanity, so there was no danger of her true nature being discovered even if someone analyzed her. 

As our shield maiden since we’d entered the Muno Barony, she was up to level 10 now. 

The last contender in the ring was Baron Muno’s second daughter, Karina. 

She made a big entrance, leaping over the soldiers and somersaulting in midair. 

The reason she could pull off such superhuman moves was her Intelligent Item, a necklace called Raka that granted her Body Strengthening. 

Her blond curls fell perfectly into place as she lined up next to Nana. 

Miss Karina was only level 8, but that was a huge improvement from when we first found her collapsed in the forest. 

“Whoa…” 

“Oh, grow up.” 

Guy Knight’s whistle of admiration met a resentful grumble from Lady Knight. 

The reaction was probably to Miss Karina’s incredibly bountiful bosom. Even Nana’s E cups looked small in comparison. 

“Begin!” 

On Sir Zotol’s signal, Liza readied her spear and charged toward Nana, whose shield was already raised. 

Before the weapons could meet, though, a transparent magic shield blocked their path. 

“Hmm, so that shield girl’s a Practical Magic user? If she’s not equipped with a staff, she must have a ring or something as the catalyst.” 

Guy Knight evaluated Nana. 

Sorry, but Nana’s not actually using Practical Magic—it’s a special ability homunculi have called Foundation. 

Unlike Practical Magic, it didn’t require an incantation to cast, but the disadvantage was that she could use only preset techniques. Installing new spells would require a special facility. 

Plus, a magic rune appeared on her forehead when she used it, so it’d draw attention if she wasn’t wearing a helmet. 

“That girl with the curly hair… Was that a blue light?!” 

“Is she wearing some kind of Holy Armor?!” 

The knights exclaimed with surprise at Miss Karina, who was hiding behind Nana. 

“Lady Karina!!” 

“Yes, Mr. Raka!” 

At the urging of her necklace’s low, masculine voice, Miss Karina jumped out from behind Nana for a surprise attack on Liza. 

The blue light from Raka’s core left a faint afterimage, making her movements clearer. 

“So fast! How can she do that?!” 

To intercept Miss Karina’s inhumanly swift surprise attack, Liza swung up her spear with one hand and fended her off. 

Then Nana fired off a Magic Arrow. 

Hey, I told her not to use attack magic in a practice match. I’ll have to scold Nana later. 

“Whoa, that must’ve been one fast chant!” 

“No way, how’s she gonna dodge?” 

Liza avoided the Magic Arrow by quickly dropping to the ground. 

With Liza’s stance compromised, Nana swept in to strike with her large shield. 

But the shield was a bit too high. Plus… 

With a heavy thud, the shield sent someone rolling across the practice field. 

“Oh dear, some friendly fire there…” 

Miss Karina had jumped into the fray without thinking, and Nana’s shield clocked her instead. 

Raka’s scalelike white shields flashed in and out around her, easing the impact. 

“Is she all right?” 

“Don’t worry; she’s fine. See? She’s already standing up.” I smiled back at Miss Sara to assuage her concern for Miss Karina. 

Raka’s defense power was pretty high, so even an attack from a level-20 lesser demon wouldn’t leave a scratch on her equipment. So far, I was the only person who’d managed to break through Raka’s defense. 

The three-person battle continued in Liza’s favor. This was not due to the difference in their levels but poor communication between Nana and Miss Karina. 

Between Nana’s Foundation techniques and Miss Karina’s Strength Enhancement from Raka, the level gap would have been a poor excuse. 

Eventually, Nana was deemed unable to battle, and it became a showdown between Liza and Miss Karina. 

Liza’s magic spear cut a red streak through the air as she barreled toward Karina with all her might. 

“…‘Spellblade’?” 

“No, it’s incomplete…” 

The knights’ words caught my attention, so I turned toward them inquisitively. 

“Incomplete, you say?” 

“Yeah, that girl hasn’t mastered ‘Spellblade’ yet. About half a year before one of my superiors learned ‘Spellblade,’ her weapon left magic traces like that while she was fighting.” 

I see. That’s good to know. 

Most likely, Liza didn’t have enough skill points to acquire the “Spellblade” skill. 

Once we set out on the next leg of our journey, I’d have to pit Liza against some more monsters. 

As I was thinking about these things, the trio’s fight ended, and Sir Zotol began reviewing key points from the match. 

I waved to them and left the area, resuming Miss Sara’s tour. 

“So that young lady with the curls was Baron Muno’s daughter?!” 

“That’s right. She was even on the front lines in the defense of Muno City a few days ago.” 

When I told the temple knights and Miss Sara about Miss Karina’s identity, the latter was especially shocked. 

“Mistress, she sounds just like your elder sister, Lady Linegrande.” 

“Please refrain from calling me ‘mistress.’ You are not wrong, though… My sister, though the daughter of a duke, always did enjoy training for battle.” 

“And magic, too! Why, she revived the lost magic of two family lines at the royal academy, defeated a floormaster in the labyrinth of Celivera, and a hero even personally requested her to become an attendant!” 

Lady Knight’s eyes sparkled as she gushed about the accomplishments of Miss Sara’s sister. 

If these stories were true, then this Lady Linegrande must be an exceptionally talented person. 

Miss Sara appeared to have some reservations about her sister, though, as she gave no response to the praise. 

In fact, upon closer inspection, I saw that her hands were clenched so tightly that her fingers were turning white. 

She seemed to be suppressing some powerful emotions. Perhaps a well of passion lurked beneath that perpetually calm exterior. 

As I speculated about her inner conflict, an excited voice rang out from the second floor of the barracks in front of us. 

“Ah! It’s master, sir!” 

Tail whipping back and forth, the dog-eared Pochi leaned out the window and waved. 

She was in charge of cleaning the barracks with the children in the castle’s custody, so she was wearing loose, comfortable clothes: a white shirt and yellow shorts. The ribbon tied in a bow beneath her collar was a charming touch. 

The maids had kindly cut her tawny-brown hair into a neat bob, and now she was more adorable than ever. 

“It’s truuue?” 

Tama, with her feline ears and tail, popped up eagerly behind Pochi. Her pure-white hair was short and fluffy as usual. Despite her sporty appearance, Tama had a penchant for cute, girlie clothing and was wearing a pink culotte skirt. Her top was the same white shirt as Pochi’s. 

Her shirt had a similar ribbon, too, but this one had a lace border. 

“…Animal-eared folk?!” 

I heard an exclamation of surprise from Miss Sara. 

Guess the likes of cat-eared folk and dog-eared folk are rare even in the Ougoch Duchy. 

Tama and Pochi disappeared from the window and before long came dashing out the entrance of the barracks. 

They seemed to be carrying something in their arms. 

“Did you finish cleaning up?” 

“Aaaye!” 

“We were all exploring the attic together, sir.” 

The two of them were puffed up with pride and hoping for some praise. 

“Great job,” I told them, petting their heads; both of them scrunched up their faces and giggled. “By the way, what are you two carrying?” 

In response, they both held their objects out toward me. 

“Preeey!” 

“Look at this, master!” 

Next to me, Miss Sara couldn’t seem to resist taking a peek herself. 

“Waah!” 

She let out a cute little scream and grabbed my right arm against her chest. 

Just as I thought, she was probably a C cup. Might even be coming up on a D cup. 

Evidently, the dead rats in the girls’ hands had startled her. 

“How dare you expose Lady Sara to such things!” Lady Knight gave an angry shout behind me, and I heard her starting to draw her sword. 

“Just a moment, please.” 

I turned around to protect the kids, reaching out my free hand to stop her. 

It was a total coincidence that I ended up almost hugging Miss Sara, who was still attached to my arm. 

Maybe it was a divine gift from the lucky lecher god. 

“You insolent cur! Get away from Lady Sara!” 

The indignant Lady Knight swung her sword at my head. 

Her intention seemed to be only to strike me with the flat, but a hit from a steel object at that speed would probably still be a serious injury for most people. 

I bent down in the nick of time to avoid the sword. 

“Oh my!” 

I swear on my life that I was not planning to face-plant into Miss Sara’s chest on my way down. 

Shaking off the momentary happiness that swathed my face, I quickly pulled away from Miss Sara and apologized sincerely. 

“I’m terribly sorry, Lady Sara.” 

“N-not to worry… I know it wasn’t intentional.” 

Miss Sara forgave me with only a slight flush of embarrassment on her cheeks, but her attendants didn’t seem so generous. 

“Stand behind me, Lady Sara.” 

Lady Knight stepped in front of Sara, pointing her sword at me. 

“Please put the sword away, Ina.” 

“But…” 

“Ina. Put it down.” 

“…Very well.” 

After Miss Sara and Guy Knight insisted, Lady Knight reluctantly returned the sword to its sheath. 

“Master, did me and Tama do something wrong, sir?” 

“Well, some people don’t like rats, so it’s best not to show them to others without warning, okay?” I gently explained to the teary-eyed children. 

“I understand, sir. I’m sorry for scaring you, ma’am.” 

“We’re sorry.” 

The girls bowed regretfully, and Miss Sara accepted their apologies with a kind smile. 

At the entrance of the barracks, the children who had been cleaning with Pochi and Tama were peeking this way. 

“That was quite a surprise. But everything is fine now.” 

Miss Sara noticed them and called out gently, and one by one the children ventured toward us. 

“Mister Viscount, we cleaned it all up.” 

“It’s good an’ clean now.” 

“We worked real hard.” 

One after another, the elementary school–aged children joined the crowd around me. 

“Great job, everyone,” I told them. I reached into Storage by way of my pocket and handed each one a sweet pastry as a reward for their hard work. 

We walked along with the children toward the barracks where they were currently living and that they had just cleaned. This was where the soldiers from the Ougoch Duchy would be staying. 

“Is it fun living here?” 

“Yup! We get to have breakfast and supper every day!” 

“There’s even dried meat once in a while!” 

The older children enthusiastically answered Miss Sara’s question. 

I wanted to give them better food to eat, but I kept that impulse down to avoid raising their expectations too much for their lives once we left Muno Barony. 

Yeah, I know I just gave them treats for finishing their work, but cut me some slack. 

As we approached the children’s barracks, the scents of steamed fish and fresh herbs wafted through the air. 

“Smells gooood?” 

“Smells like sasakama, sir!” 

“And what might sasakama be?” Unable to follow, Miss Sara looked to me to help. 

“It’s thinly diced fish steamed with herbs and grilled in the shape of a small board.” 

Unlike the fish we’d eaten upstream, our catches in the river in front of Muno City were rather dirty, so we steamed them with herbs before shaping them into an oval and cooking them. Their only similarity to the Japanese dish sasa kamaboko was the oval shape, but Arisa had mentioned the name. It stuck, hence sasakama. 

With the creation of sasakama, we were aiming to improve the food in Muno City while also creating a new local specialty. 

As I explained all this to Miss Sara, we arrived at the area next to the barracks where a group of young women was preparing the aforementioned dish. 

At the center of the group was a young girl in a maid outfit teaching the others. 

“Master!” 

The cheerful call came from Lulu, with her black hair, dark eyes, and Japanese features. If there were, say, three of her, I’d be willing to bet that her simple beauty could conquer a castle, maybe even the whole solar system. 

She pattered up to me, the indigo skirt of her maid outfit fluttering in the breeze. I’d designed this prototype with Arisa to look like something you’d see in Akihabara. 

She was smiling so widely that if she had a tail like Pochi’s, I was sure it would be wagging away. 

“Yikes, she’s a homely one.” 

“Cut it out. It’s unseemly for a temple knight to poke fun at someone’s appearance.” 

“Yeah, but…” 

Behind me, the temple knights muttered about Lulu as she rushed toward us. 

I’d come to learn that beauty standards in the Shiga Kingdom were very different from Japan; to them, Lulu’s incredible loveliness was repulsive. 

It really was a terrible thing that no one else appreciated her looks. If they had spoken loudly enough for Lulu to hear, I would’ve demanded an apology. 

“Master, we’ve finished a test dish with burdock and carrots. Could I ask you to taste it for us, please?” 

“Yeah, of course. Lulu, this is Lady Sara of the Tenion Temple.” 

“I-it’s nice to meet you!” Flustered, Lulu bowed hurriedly to Miss Sara. 

Seeing these two together was like a heavenly combination of Western- and Eastern-style beauty. If the pair formed an idol unit, I swear they could take over the world. 

“Taaaste?” 

“Pochi would be premist not to taste it, sir.” 

You mean “remiss,” Pochi. 

Tama and Pochi grabbed Lulu’s hands and dragged her back toward the spot where the sasakama was cooking. 

I beckoned to Miss Sara and followed toward the other women. 

“Sir Knight.” As we approached, one of the sasakama cooks came to meet us. 

“How’s it going?” 

“Thanks to you, sir, everyone is healthy, without a hungry or freezing soul in sight.” 

This person was the former director of the orphanage, an old woman with surprisingly good manners for someone from the poorer parts of town. 

“How might I be of service today?” 

Somewhat perplexed, the former director eyed Miss Sara and the temple knights behind me. 

“No need to be alarmed. These kind people came from the Tenion Temple to visit.” 

I gave a simple explanation, then left the rest to Miss Sara. 

“A sympathy call, is it? We are certainly most grateful to have you.” 

“Please, no need to be so formal. I’ve only come in the hopes of healing anyone who might be sick or injured. Could I ask you to show me around?” Miss Sara smiled warmly at the former director. 

“Well, you see…” Faltering, the former director looked back toward me. 

“What’s wrong?” Sara watched us a bit doubtfully. 

“You see, there are no sick or injured here.” 

“Whyever not…? Have they been quarantined elsewhere?” 

Misunderstanding, Sara drew closer to the former director with a grave expression. 

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that Sir Pendragon has…” 

“He what?” 

Sara’s intensity was clearly overwhelming the director. 

“He used magic potions to cure ’em all!” 

“Miss Mia used magic to heal ’em, too!” 

A group of children hiding in my shadow chimed in in the former director’s place. 

“Magic potions?!” 

“He gave out something that expensive?!” 

The two temple knights exclaimed behind me. 

“Is this true?” 

“It is indeed. From the mortally wounded to those rendered immobile by broken bones, dozens of people were healed thanks to the hereditary knight Pendragon’s generous gift of his potions.” 

To hear the former director tell it, I sounded like a real saint. 

I had wanted to heal them, of course, but I also wanted to test out the effectiveness of my various magic concoctions. 

The treatment for such diverse ailments varied depending on the symptoms, so the information I’d gleaned was promising for the future. In particular, I found that just about any venereal disease (which were quite common) could be cured as long as it wasn’t in the very late stages. 

“On top of that, he is even training apprentices so that we might be self-sufficient in the future.” 

“Goodness, how very wonderful!” 

The admiring gazes from the former director and Miss Sara made me a little uncomfortable. 

I hadn’t really been thinking so far ahead. I just wanted some help making special potions. 

Fortunately, a loud voice resounding off the walls of the barracks rescued me from this awkward situation. 

“There you aaare! Masterrr!” 

Arisa came barreling toward me, her lilac hair loose and disheveled. 

She was wearing a pink dress and a wine-red cardigan, and she had something white clasped in her hands. 

The sparkle in her violet eyes was even more brilliant than usual. 

“Violet hair?” 

“I hope she doesn’t curse us…” 

Again, the temple knights muttered behind me upon seeing her. 

While Arisa normally wore a blond wig while traveling, she could go out and about with her natural color in Muno Castle, where fewer people held such prejudices. 

“You mustn’t look down on others based on superstition.” Sara reprimanded the knights again. 

“Look, look! It’s onigiri! Here, I’ll give you one, master!” 

Arisa gleefully handed me a ball of white rice. 

“Where did you get white rice?” 

I raised my eyebrows at Arisa as I accepted the food. 

“In the relief supplies from the duke’s army! So obviously I had the head chef Miss Gert cook some up, and I ran off to find you so you could have one!” 

Arisa was wheezing, her face flushed from excitement. 

She must have sprinted here from the castle, despite being terrible at exercising. I was surprised she could track me down like that. 

“Thank you, Arisa.” 

“Hee-hee! They do say that happiness is meant to be shared!” 

My thanks brought a satisfied grin to Arisa’s face, and without further ado, she bit into the other rice ball in her hand. 

“Yummyyy?” 

“Pochi wants a bite, too, sir!” 

Tama and Pochi gazed at Arisa pitifully. 

“I’m sorry. I only brought two. There are more in the kitchen, so we’ll go get them later, all right?” 

“Aye!” 

“Yes, sir!” 

As I listened to the trio’s exchange, I discreetly slipped the rice ball into my fluttering sleeve and deposited it in Storage. 

I was excited about having onigiri for the first time in so long, but not so much that I would forget myself and chow down in the middle of Miss Sara’s tour. 

Still, I wasn’t a jerk who would tell Arisa and rain on her parade. There wouldn’t be time tonight, but maybe the next morning I could make some Japanese food to complement the rice and give it to her. 

After that, we paid a visit to the Tenion Temple in the city, then toured around to inspect the in-progress gabo fields in the slum quarters and the tenement construction sites. 

That evening, dinner was served in the nobles’ dining room in Muno Castle. 

The participants from Muno Barony were the baron; his daughters, Lady Soluna and Lady Karina; Magistrate Nina; and myself, which made five. The Ougoch Duchy participants were Miss Sara, a priest, the handsome civil official, and eight temple knights: eleven in total. 

I was sitting at the far end of the Muno Barony side, next to Miss Karina. 

Because there were more people from the Ougoch Duchy than would fit on one side, the young temple knights were seated near me. 

“Now then, let us toast to the peace and prosperity of the Ougoch Duchy and the Tenion Temple.” 

Baron Muno raised his glass, and a rare feast for the barony began. 

In the Shiga Kingdom, this generally took the form of courses that were presented one at a time, as in French dining. 

The difference, though, was that the Shiga Kingdom’s traditional order of courses was soup, appetizers, salad, seafood, bread, a meat dish, and dessert. 

I had helped out with the recipes and preparation, but I left the rest to the skillful hands of Gert and her chefs. 

No doubt they had prepared an exquisite feast for us. 

First, deep soup bowls arrived in front of each person. 

“Hey, Heath. Is it just me, or is salt soup for a lord’s supper rather…?” 

“Quiet, Ina. It’s inevitable in a barony with a food shortage.” 

“I suppose. And I do smell something good back there, so I’m sure the later dishes will be more impressive.” 

My “Keen Hearing” skill picked up on Lady Knight whispering with Guy Knight next to me. 

Rather reluctantly, the two of them dipped their spoons into the transparent broth. 

The moment they put the spoons to their mouths, they froze completely. 

“…Delicious! What is this?” 

“Don’t talk to me. Let me enjoy my soup.” 

In contrast with Lady Knight’s surprised cry, Guy Knight maintained a stoic expression as he reverently brought the next spoonful to his mouth. 

Similar reactions were occurring elsewhere. 

The maids were hiding smiles at the feedback from the dinner guests, and I stealthily gave them a thumbs-up. 

“Never in my life have I tasted such a soup. Whatever is this dish called, pray tell?” 

“Go ahead and tell her, Sir Pendragon.” 

Surprised, Miss Sara asked a question that Miss Nina deflected toward me. 

“This is called a consommé soup. It may look simple, but it’s actually a remarkable blend of flavors from different ingredients.” 

My answer sounded like I was parroting some gourmet critic. 

Chef Gert of Muno Castle had helped me reproduce this soup based on my vague memories. It was supposed to be more of an amber color, but it came out clear. I must have missed a step somewhere. 

Maybe that was because we used Mia’s magic to reduce the cooking time, or maybe I shouldn’t have used “Transmutation” to extract the flavors. But it didn’t cause any problems other than disguising it as salt soup, so I wasn’t terribly concerned about making it look right. 

“Hey, do you think we can get seconds?” 

“I’m sure we could, but as for whether we should…” 

I overheard the young knights talking again. 

Lady Knight especially seemed to have taken a liking to the soup, as she flagged down one of the waitresses standing against the wall and requested another helping. 

As far as I could tell, this encouraged the other guests: Several more people asked for seconds, and this continued until the soup ran out. 

Next came hors d’oeuvres consisting of sasakama and cheese, with fried potatoes and potato chips on the side. The unique texture of the chips was very well received. The combination of sasakama and cheese was especially popular with beer drinkers. 

After the appetizer came the salad, which consisted of decorative, thin slices of celery over leafy greens with strips of daikon radish arranged to look like a feather on top. 

I heard someone asking a waitress about the dressings that came with the salad. 

We had mayonnaise and tartar sauce, which were very popular at Muno Castle, and a sweet-and-sour orange sauce that was commonly used in the Shiga Kingdom. 

The more reserved adults chose the orange sauce, but most people requested that the servants pour a little of each kind over their salads. 

“This white stuff is great. I’ve never found vegetables so tasty before.” 

“What is this vegetable anyway? The transparent white one. I’ve never had a texture like this.” 

“Mmm, it has a little kick that goes well with the white sauce.” 

The knights continued chatting as they ate the salad. 

“Radish, you say?!” exclaimed Sir Keon, a temple knight, after a short exchange with a maid. 

When I’d first suggested the daikon salad, Chef Gert did warn me that some people in the old capital despised radishes. 

“That was daikon radish? But I ate all of it…!” 

“The rumor that eating radishes summons orcs is only a superstition, y’know.” 

“But…daikon, though!” 

“I mean, I’ve never eaten it before, but it was delicious. Didn’t you like it, Ina?” 

“Well… It was good, but…” 

Judging by the knights’ conversation, superstitious people had an intense dislike for daikon. 

Nobody made any complaints, but the reaction was stronger than I’d expected, so perhaps it’d be best to shelve the radishes for any future dinner guests from the old capital. 

We hadn’t caught any really good fish this time, so instead we tried making tempura for the seafood portion of the meal. Shrimp was the main focus of this course, with three kinds of vegetable tempura as well. 

Normal tempura sauce accompanied it. Salt is a fine topping and all, but this time I wanted to try making a particular variety. 

“What is this lumpy yellow stuff?” 

“I don’t know, but I bet it’s delicious.” 

Clearly, we’d won the trust of the knights. I was a little proud. 

I watched the other guests’ reactions as I brought a piece of shrimp to my mouth. 

For my first bite, I used the tempura sauce sparingly. 

The sweetness tickled my tongue lightly along with the crunchy coating. 

As my teeth came down on it, they reached the slightly chewy body of the shrimp for a tantalizing sensation. 

I bit through the shrimp and began chewing. 

The different textures mixed in my mouth, with the sauce adding to the flavors blending on my tongue. 

Absolute bliss. 

I doused the second piece thoroughly in the tempura sauce, enjoying the thick coating. 

Some people might have frowned upon that, but I thought this deep, thick flavor was one of the true charms of tempura. 

I was relieved that the tempura made with the local analogue to beefsteak leaves went over well. Deep down, I’d been worried that someone might be enraged that we would dare to make them eat such a thing. 

Next, the main dish: fried cutlets from long-haired cows. 

Instead of large slabs of meat, these were bite-size pieces that we’d tried flavoring in various ways. 

There were three normal pieces, one coated in red pepper powder, and one fried with cheese. 

I had made sure to color each coating so that the guests could tell them apart. A thick tonkatsu sauce accompanied them. This was an exquisite condiment that we’d only recently perfected. 

“These are crispy and delicious, too!” 

“Mmf, spicy!” 

“Spicy? This reddish one, you mean?” 

“It’s spicy, but it’s good. And cheese comes out of the yellowish one! That was a surprise.” 

“C’mon, don’t spoil it for me. I could really get addicted to this combination of crunchiness and thick cheese.” 

If the knights’ exchange was any indication, they were thoroughly enjoying the meal now. 

I thought that having two fried dishes in a row might be too heavy, but just as Miss Gert and the other chefs had assured me, it was fine. 

Unfortunately for them, there were no seconds for the fried foods. Long-haired cow beef was pretty rare. 

“Oh my! So the final dish is pancakes?!” 

“Ho-ho, these are all the rage in the royal capital, I hear!” 

Miss Sara couldn’t withhold a little exclamation of joy when she saw the pancakes decorated with fresh cream. The handsome official next to her looked pleased as well. 

“Is this the same white stuff as earlier?” 

“I dunno if that sauce would go very well with pancakes…” 

“I mean, I’ve never had pancakes before, have you?” 

Even lower-class nobles don’t eat pancakes, then? Maybe eggs are expensive or something? 

“Delicious… This is incredibly good!” 

“No kidding. It’s even better than the ones I had in the royal capital. And look, there are two cakes, with sliced fruit in the middle!” 

“I wonder how they make the white stuff on top? Wish I could bring some back with me.” 

“It’s so sweet and delicious. I bet they could make some truly incredible desserts if they worked together with the famous confectioners of Gururian City.” 

Happily, the last dish seemed to be a hit as well. 

I’d definitely like to try that dessert Guy Knight mentioned. 

I added eat cake in Gururian City to my planning memo for the duchy. 

Thus, the dinner ended with contented sighs and countless compliments from the guests. 

After that, at the invitation of Baron Muno, most of the men moved on to a drinking party in the salon, while the women went with his eldest daughter, Soluna, to have tea in the parlor. 

After an hour or so, the get-together in the salon was becoming a little rowdy. 

“Sir Pendragon! You should come and serve the Lloyd family!” 

“I beg your pardon, Lord Ipasa. I wouldn’t go poaching the third noble of the Muno Barony if I were you, unless you want to learn why they call me Iron-Blooded Nina…” 

They nicknamed me the “third noble” because there were only three people in the whole territory with a noble title. 

This was the fourth time that the gourmand Lord Ipasa had attempted to recruit me as a vassal and the third time that Miss Nina had interfered. 

As I smiled blandly at the pair’s conversation, I felt a tug on my shoulder from the seat behind me. 

“Are you listening, Sir Pendragon?” 

“Yes, of course.” 

“Most people will go their whole lives without meeting a demon, ya know. The only difference between you and me is that you were lucky enough to fight one. You got that?” 

You call that “lucky”? Wish I could give you the rest of my luck, then. 

I didn’t actually say that, of course. We Japanese people are especially good at this sort of thing, if I do say so myself. 

“Yes, you’re quite right.” 

“No, I don’t think you do—” 

“You’ve had too much to drink, Sir Keon.” 

“Right this way, Sir Pendragon.” 

Two other temple knights stepped in to rescue me from the drunken Sir Keon. 

Another young temple knight, Sir So-and-So, led me to the corner of the room, where the handsome official and Baron Muno were engaged in a rousing discussion about heroes. 

“…and have you heard this theory? According to that same book, the ancestral king Yamato continued traveling around for the betterment of the world even after abdicating, and then he unearthed corruption in several territories as the duke of Mitsukuni!” 

“Yes, so I have heard.” 

“Ooh! You are one of the leading hero researchers, after all! Still, it’s impressive that you would know a story only passed around among commoners!” 

“You flatter me greatly. Truly, the ‘Depths of Celivera’ story has become so famous that most people believe that the ancestral king Yamato exorcised the Corpse King and the Origin Vampire before falling in battle against the Ogre King. It is a great shame that only commoners know the tale of the travels that took place after.” 

“Indeed. Nobles and knights prefer stories of pulse-pounding battles, alas.” 

…I didn’t know how much of this was true, but it sounded to me like the ancestral king Yamato lived a pretty exciting and dramatic life. 

As the two of them fell silent for a moment, I took this opportunity to interject. 

“Would you mind terribly if I listen in?” 

“Oh heavens, what an honor to share tales of legend with the hero of Muno City!” 

The handsome official was pretty drunk. His manner of speaking was getting stranger by the minute. 

Wait, who are you calling a “hero”? 

“I pride myself on my knowledge of the ancestral king Yamato, rivaled only by his lordship the baron here. Please, ask me anything.” 

I didn’t actually have any questions; I just wanted to hear cool stories about a hero. 

But I couldn’t bring myself to say that to the handsome civil official as he puffed his chest out with childish pride, so I picked a question at random. 

“What sort of demon lord did the ancestral king Yamato fight?” 

“Ah yes, the Golden Boar Lord.” 

…Golden? 

Was that the same as the “Golden Lord” or whatever that the lesser demon had mentioned before? 

He was talking about resurrection, too, so considering that this ancient demon lord might be making a reappearance at some point, I should probably listen carefully. 

“His body shone with gold that repelled even a Holy Sword, and his twin sabers slew two heroes… Yes, he was truly a lord of demon lords, said to be the strongest ever known. Even the ancestral king Yamato fell to him twice before finally defeating him with the help of the flying dragons.” 

Clearly in his element, the handsome official expounded at great length. 

I wasn’t sure how much his drunken testimony could be trusted, but if it was true, that meant there had been at least three heroes. 

If this demon lord could repel even Holy Swords, did that mean he was basically invincible? 

“Hmm, I must make a small objection to that view. Wouldn’t the strongest demon lord be the Dogheaded Demon Lord, who traveled the world destroying gods in ancient mythology, or perhaps the Goblin Demon Lord, who forced Parion to implore the dragon god to summon the first hero?” 

“Hmm-hmm. I’ll grant you that the Goblin Demon Lord was perhaps stronger, as he sank even the light boats of the elves and could not be eliminated even by the gods. That much is true. However! I take issue with your suggestion of the Dogheaded Demon Lord.” 

“Even though the scriptures of many temples report his strength to have rivaled a god’s?” 

“True, I certainly do not deny his power. However, this ‘Doghead’ was not in fact a demon lord but an offspring of the Demon God. In fact, it is now believed by yours truly that this creature would be more accurately named the ‘Dogheaded Evil God.’” 

The civil official got even more worked up, reeling as he spoke. 

Yeah, I didn’t really need information about some unreasonably strong enemy. 

What if it jinxed me and ended up with their being revived one after another? 

I especially don’t want to meet this Mr. Doghead guy, okay? Let’s change the subject… 

“Are there any records of what level the ancestral king Yamato was?” 

“There are varying opinions, but some texts, like the ‘Depths of Celivera’ that I mentioned before, suggest a superhuman level of eighty-nine.” 

“Indeed. However, successive generations of heroes have rarely exceeded level seventy…” 

“I beg your pardon, Baron Muno…! The Saga Kingdom’s first hero was level eighty-eight. Are you suggesting that a later Shigan king falsified this information to compete with him?!” 

Guess nations get competitive in fantasy worlds, too. 

Their conversation was becoming heated, so I took the first opportunity I saw to change the subject again. 

“Could you tell me about King Yamato’s Holy Sword?” 

“Do you mean the Holy Sword Gjallarhorn he created?” 

The ancestral king made that sword, too…? These legends were starting to sound made-up. 

I wondered if this meant that the Holy Sword recipe I found also came from him. 

“Or did you perhaps mean the Heavenly Holy Sword gifted to the king by the goddess Parion?” 

“The latter, if you please.” 

“Truth be told, there are several differing anecdotes about the ancestral king Yamato’s summoning to the Saga Kingdom, but it is theorized that the sword the king wielded at the time was either Durandal or Claíomh Solais…” 

The Holy Sword Durandal was actually tucked away in my Storage. 

“Well, which was the sword that the ancestral king wielded against the demon lord?” 

“That would be Claíomh Solais! There is a famous verse that goes thusly: ‘Dance, Claíomh Solais, become thirteen blades whirling through the skies…’” 

After sharing an absurd description of the ludicrous sword—which apparently boasted a homing function, the ability to break into smaller blades, and elasticity—the handsome official went on to explain other anecdotes about the ancestral king, and we had great fun until he finally drank himself unconscious. 

With all the information I got, I felt like I could put together a whole book about the adventures of Yamato the Hero myself. 

 

Four days after the night of the feast, when Miss Sara and her party were departing, we decided to leave the Muno Barony as well. 

Miss Sara had already left, and now our wagon was the last to depart. 

We weren’t the only ones hitting the road along with her; Miss Karina and her attendants were leaving as well. 

The baron’s daughter was going to the royal capital by way of the old capital, in order to deliver a letter to the king summarizing the events of the demon attack in the Muno Barony. As I understood it, the only people in this territory with titles befitting a messenger to the king were Miss Nina and the baron himself, neither of whom could leave at present. 

For that reason, it was decided that sending a member of the baron’s family would be the next best option, and ultimately the duty fell to Miss Karina. 

It seemed that a report to the king had already been made using the City Core, but it was considered courteous for the lord to send a messenger to explain in person nonetheless. 

As I mulled over this information, Lulu called out to me from the coachman’s seat. 

“Master, I believe we’ll be departing soon.” 

Indeed, the number of wagons departing from Muno Castle’s parking area had greatly decreased, and it would soon be our turn next. 

“Satou, please take care of my dear Karina.” 

“Of course. We’ll be parting ways at Bolehart City, but until then, you can certainly count on me.” 

I smiled reassuringly at the worried Baron Muno. 

Bolehart City was the dominion of the dwarves in the Ougoch Duchy. I had yet to meet a dwarf, one of the most famous denizens of any fantasy world, so I was very much looking forward to the visit. 

“You know you can come back here once you’ve seen Lady Karina to her destination, don’t you?” 

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible. We need to bring Mia back home to the Bolenan Forest.” 

Miss Nina’s comment was offhand yet serious, so I responded sincerely. 

She had also given me a letter of introduction to several influential aristocrats, as well as a few personal letters that she’d asked me to deliver. 

“I wish you’d at least leave Miss Arisa with me. Without her, my workload’s about to double.” 

“Oh, I couldn’t! I just can’t bear to live unless I’m by my darling’s side.” Arisa appeared out of nowhere to respond to Miss Nina’s complaint. 

I would’ve liked to object to the whole “darling” bit, but this was standard practice for Arisa. I just pretended not to hear it. 

Arisa was peeking at me hopefully, clearly expecting me to jab back at her, but she’d just have to wait. 

More importantly, I was a bit concerned about the maids who were slowly but surely drawing closer. 

They were all clutching their hands to their chests and gazing at me rather tearfully. 

…Ummm? 

I hadn’t so much as touched a single one of them, yet they were looking at me like a litter of abandoned puppies. 

“Please don’t go, Lord Hereditary Knight.” 

One of the maids, a slender redhead, rushed forward with a cry and clung to me. 

Sadly, she was a little lacking in volume. 

She had opened the floodgates, as a wave of maids cascaded toward me to embrace me and try to stop me from leaving. 

Some of them even tried to kiss my cheek or my forehead. If I were a lolicon, this would probably be a moment to remember. 

Instead, thanks to the enthusiasm of the younger maids, I missed my chance at a little intimacy with the shapely adults. 

Arisa and Mia kicked me from behind in protest (“Enough with the swooning!”), but I ignored them. 

“Sir Knight, please stay here forever!” 

“Yes! Who will make crepes if you are gone, my lord?” 

“Forget crepes! Can’t we get one more taste of that fried chicken?” 

“No, marry me and cook for me forever!” 

“At least leave little Tama with us!” 

“What are you saying? Pochi is much cuter!” 

“I want to hear Lady Mia’s music forever…!” 

…So at least half their reasons for wanting me to stay were food-related. I never knew I’d captured their stomachs so thoroughly. 

…Oh? 

I felt a familiar tugging on my legs, so I looked down to see Pochi and Tama. 

Why were they hanging off me like that? 

They were looking up at me keenly, their eyes sparkling. Did they think all this shoving was some new game? 

The head maid clapped her hands briskly, drawing her subordinates’ attention away from me. 

“Everyone! I understand we’re all sad to see Sir Knight go, but you mustn’t trouble him so.” 

“That’s right. Besides, he baked a pound cake for us that’s sitting in the dining room right now. Once you finish your work, you can come and have a piece each.” 

With this announcement from Chef Gert, the maids all flooded away from me like the ebbing tide. 

…I’ll admit it hurt my feelings a little. 

“You haven’t had breakfast yet, right? It may not measure up to your cooking, Sir Knight, but please take this if you’d like.” 

“Thank you very much. I’m sure it will be delicious.” 

I accepted the boxed lunch that the head chef Gert handed to me and passed it to Lulu in the coachman stand. 

“Are you heading out? If you get bored of traveling, please come back anytime.” 

“Once we’ve trained in Labyrinth City for a year or two, I promise we’ll return awhile.” 

Nodding to Miss Nina, I boarded the carriage. 

“Please take care of little Tama and Pochi.” 

Baron Muno spoke in the same tone he’d used when entrusting his own daughter to me. No, if anything, it was even more emotional. 

During our stay, he’d doted on the two like they were his grandchildren, so it wasn’t surprising that he was sad to see them go. 

“Don’t worry—I will.” 

The baron still looked worried. 

“It’s okaaay!” 

“Pochi is fine anywhere, sir!” 

Tama and Pochi, who were busy receiving little pouches of sweets from Miss Soluna, turned to the baron and grinned cheerfully. 

I helped the pair board the carriage, then joined them in waving out the window to our Muno Barony friends. 

Behind the baron and company, the rest of the castle staff, as well as the children and elderly in the care of the castle, had all gathered to see us off. 

Of course, this also included Miss Soluna and the former fake hero, Hauto; Sir Zotol; and the other soldiers. 

With Liza and Nana leading the way on horseback, our carriage departed from Muno Castle. 

We said our farewells to our unexpectedly cozy visit in Muno City and set off for the Ougoch Duchy. 





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