Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 42 - Chapter 3

Koutarou’s Job

Tuesday, October 18th

DKI, also known as Dragon Knight Industries, was enjoying record-breaking business. The reason? The recent release of the PAF, which, while not very profitable per unit, was being produced at incredible volumes to meet surging demand. The result was unprecedented revenue.

“Why is it selling this much...?”

The current owner of DKI, Koutarou, was puzzled by the situation. He’d imagined that the PAF would primarily be used as a prosthesis or a mobility device for the elderly, so the massive orders pouring in from all sectors came as a surprise to him.

“Consider the vastness of Forthorthe, spread throughout the galaxy. General-purpose machinery that can be used for most anything is bound to be in high demand. Of course, there’s also the appeal that you bring to it,” said Kiriha with a smile.

The Holy Forthorthe Galactic Empire was, true to its name, spread throughout the reaches of the galaxy. It was constantly developing planets and expanding its borders. A great deal of machinery was required in the process, and on the individual level, the PAF could perform the functions of many different machines. That made it much more efficient. And the more Forthorthe expanded, the more critical logistics became—so reducing the number of machines needed in any given location only made sense. Moreover, since a worker with a PAF could do the work of several, the device did wonders to make up for lack of manpower in understaffed areas. It was also invaluable in dangerous fields like deep seas and mines. So even overlooking the fact that the PAF was the Blue Knight’s product, Kiriha figured it was well-suited to Forthorthe’s needs.

“But regardless of why it’s taken off, the fact remains that DKI is seeing unprecedented profit from the PAF. If you stay true to your word, then you’re going to have to spend all that money on something... So, how are you going to use it?” Theia asked, getting to the point of the day’s meeting.

Koutarou wanted to avoid having a major influence on Forthorthian society. He feared the damage he might cause whenever he became personally involved in something. With the PAF, it wasn’t hard to imagine the impact its debut might have on other machine-making companies, so Koutarou was taking steps to mitigate exactly that. But the money the PAF generated was a separate issue. Finance wasn’t Koutarou’s strong suit, and if he sat on too large a percentage of Forthorthe’s wealth for too long, the galactic economy would stagnate. So the capital he’d unintentionally amassed needed to be reinvested into Forthorthe somehow. Koutarou couldn’t just save it up like he had the pension Alaia left him.

“Even if you ask me that... it’s not like I can come up with an answer right away,” Koutarou replied to the princess. The question at hand troubled him, which was why he’d called the meeting in the first place.

“Then let’s put the specifics aside for now. Have you given any thought to how you’d like to use the funds?” asked Harumi, throwing Koutarou a lifeline. She believed Koutarou already had an idea of how to spend the money, so they could make a plan by bringing that to life.

“Vaguely... but I’d like to do something useful for the world. Maybe something other people have been avoiding doing?”

The PAF was turning out to be a boon to Forthorthe, and Koutarou wanted to spend the profits from it the same way. He wanted to continue helping people in need, to continue helping the nation regain what it had lost. And since money would be no object in whatever operation he chose to pursue next, it had occurred to Koutarou that he would be free to take on enterprises that weren’t considered profitable and had likely been overlooked by other parties.

“How about investing in the rebuilding effort?” asked Maki. Her idea was to bankroll construction companies and suppliers in the hopes that it would accelerate the sorely needed restoration.

“You could give the money to healing angels like yours truly!” volunteered Sanae-chan.

“You wouldn’t use it for anything good,” replied Koutarou.

“Boo, I didn’t really mean me! I’m talking about the angels in white gowns, like nurses and doctors!”

“Wow, you actually thought about this.”

“I expect an apology.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Very good.”

Sanae’s idea was simple, but it wasn’t bad. Forthorthian hospitals and medical facilities had suffered under the strain of the civil war, so they could likely use the support. Koutarou agreed with that much.

But Kiriha countered, “That said, there’s plenty of financing in construction already and the peak strain on the medical industry has already passed. Tax breaks would be more effective.”

Nothing was wrong with either Maki’s or Sanae’s plans, but construction and medicine were natural funnels for investment in the first place. And, as Kiriha had pointed out, the medical industry was already returning to normal six months after the war. Kiriha believed that the imperial government could help them the most via tax cuts and the like, which wasn’t exactly how Koutarou had imagined his philanthropy effort.

“I’d like to see the money invested in the military. We have a lot of equipment that will need to be updated or retrofitted now that magic and spiritual energy technology are on the table,” Theia put forward.

“I’d normally say that can wait, but it’s a real possibility right now,” Koutarou replied.

Theia’s idea was to supply the Imperial Army with new and necessary countermeasures against magic and spiritual energy now that their enemy had access to them. It would be a huge and expensive undertaking not already factored into the national budget. And since magic and spiritual energy were still classified, it would be difficult to allocate the required funds for it without raising questions. Considering all this, Koutarou realized that Theia had a point.

“If that’s the level of investment we’re talking, I’d like to see more money put into agriculture,” said Shizuka. “Maybe it’s because I like cooking, but if people are in need, I think food is the way to go.”

“As for me... I would want to support education and welfare. A lot of children lost their families in the war,” said Ruth.

“I would like to promote the arts, science, and athletics, which are often overlooked at times like this,” said Clan.

As everyone began to get their heads around the issue at hand, ideas popped up one after another. Only one person wasn’t keeping up with the conversation. It was none other than our beloved Princess of Love and Courage, Magical Girl Rainbow Yurika.

“Hmm...”

She watched on as Koutarou and the others discussed the matter but kept her thoughts to herself. As a magician, Yurika naturally wanted to invest in magic and magical studies... but that would lead to chaos given the current state of the world, so she knew it was off the table. That was her initial line of thought, so in truth, she’d been considering the issue in her own way. But something else had since occurred to her, and she was still stewing over it.

“What’s the matter, Yurika-san?” asked Elfaria in a whisper so as not to disturb the ongoing conversation when she noticed the young magician was lost in thought.

The empress was sitting next to Yurika as she often did at meetings. As easy as it was to forget, Yurika was an expert on magic and often had keen insight to offer whenever the subject came up. For that reason, Elfaria consulted her frequently during councils and the like, when they’d whisper back and forth to one another like this.

“Um, Elfaria-san...” Yurika said in a hushed, pensive tone.

“What is it?” Elfaria answered with the same gentle smile she always wore while watching over the girls.

“Well, when did Satomi-san start acting like Forthorthe’s king... er, emperor?”

Yurika was perplexed to see Koutarou behaving like a politician, or more aptly, as she put it, like an emperor. That was how Koutarou appeared to Yurika as he tried to decide how best to spend his coffers on his people.

“I was just wondering how this happened...” she muttered, answering the empress honestly. Huh?!

That was when she noticed a change come over Elfaria. The empress was suddenly very, very imposing. Yurika had been looking at Koutarou, but when she felt the change in the air, her eyes darted to Elfaria.

“Shhh,” Elfaria said quietly.

“E-Elfaria-san...?” Yurika said nervously.

The same gentle smile remained on Elfaria’s lips, but her eyes were now cold. They perfectly matched the intimidating aura she was radiating. Yurika shuddered.

“Yurika-san, that’s not something we need to discuss.”

Yurika could clearly hear the part Elfaria wasn’t saying: “Do you know what’s going to happen if you mention it again? If Layous-sama catches on, everything will have been for nought—and I’ll have you take responsibility. So tread carefully.”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty!” Yurika yelped, fully aware of and shrinking before the danger she faced. S-Satomi-san is getting dragged into some sinister scheme!

Yurika understood that much—but she hadn’t the courage to pry further.

“Good,” said Elfaria. With that, her intimidating aura disappeared and she continued to smile as if nothing had happened.

Just forget it... Try not to think about it too much...

While Yurika was steeling her nerves, Koutarou and the others reached a conclusion.

“Out of all our options...let’s focus on logistics. Especially on routes that are considered unprofitable,” announced Koutarou.

That was what he’d decided after hearing the girls’ opinions. They’d fielded a variety of options, from construction to healthcare to agriculture, but logistics was vital to them all. Many industries would benefit from an increase in ease of transport for both people and products. Koutarou specifically wanted to focus on under-traveled shipping lanes that slowed the restoration efforts for faraway planets. He felt that would be a worthy way to spend his money.

“Kiriha-san, what do you think?” he asked. He was confident in his plan, but he still sought the approval of the wisest among them.

She nodded with a smile. “I also think that would be an excellent use of resources.”

Kiriha agreed that investing in the distribution of goods was a sound choice. The idea of raising the economic floor for all citizens also agreed with her personal ideals. But the greatest influence of all on her approval was the bright smile Koutarou had given when announcing he’d made up his mind.

Elfaria was satisfied as well. She felt this was a worthy new enterprise for Forthorthe’s hero. “That’s Layous-sama for you. What a wonderful decision.”

The only person unsure about this development was Yurika. What is she scheming behind that smile...? the magical girl wondered. She was extremely curious about the way Elfaria was acting, but she chose to keep her mouth shut for her own safety.

“Layous-sama, I have a suggestion for your new business endeavor,” the empress continued.

“I’d love to hear it,” replied Koutarou.

“This is actually something I’ve considered before...” Elfaria used a computer to pull up several holograms, each displaying a different mark with the text Blue Knight Business Certified. “As you can see, I still haven’t decided on a design, but I was thinking of an official seal of authenticity.”

“A seal of authenticity...?” Koutarou was agog. He couldn’t get his head around why they’d need such a thing.

“Yes,” Elfaria replied. “You only have PAF right now, but if we consider future business operations, there will inevitably be less than scrupulous people who would appropriate your name to make a quick profit. This is a necessary measure to prevent that.”

“Ah, so it’s to prevent scammers. That’s a good idea.” Koutarou nodded upon hearing her explanation.

Even though the PAF was Koutarou’s only product right now, it was increasingly likely that he’d produce more in the future. In truth, there were already several ideas for variations of the PAF. And as his business expanded, there would no doubt be people who tried to take advantage of his good name to sell inferior products, which would both harm buyers and damage the Blue Knight’s reputation. Measures to prevent that were absolutely necessary.

“Then do you mind if I continue, Layous-sama?” Elfaria asked.

“Yeah, go ahead. I don’t want to distrust the people of Forthorthe, but I’d feel even worse if they ended up suffering,” said Koutarou. The seal of authenticity was predicated on the idea that someone would attempt to rip off the Blue Knight, which was an unpleasant assumption to make, but he appreciated that instituting safeguards against exactly that would ultimately help people.

“This new enterprise will be the first to use the seal of authenticity, but we won’t limit it to logistics. We’ll need to rebrand future PAF devices as well,” Elfaria explained further.

“Thanks a lot, Elle. Without you, we wouldn’t have gotten around to addressing this until it became a problem,” Koutarou said with a pained smile.

Elfaria had promised to lend her aid, and she’d quickly made good on that promise by coming up with the idea for a seal of authenticity. Her help was a great relief to Koutarou. He knew the problems she was trying to prevent easily could have snuck up on him right under his nose.

“How forward-thinking of you, Mother. Like Koutarou, I was only seeing what was in front of us,” said Theia. She felt the same way Koutarou did, albeit with a bit of pride since her mother had been the one to come up with the idea.

“Truth be told,” began Ruth, who uncharacteristically looked a bit proud herself, “I’m helping to devise countermeasures against forging the seal.”

“Well done, Ruth.”

“I’m honored, Your Highness.”

Thus Koutarou’s new business venture was already proceeding smoothly. Unfortunately, however, the same couldn’t be said for other ongoing operations. News of one came in as the meeting was winding down.

“Sorry, but may I have a bit of everyone’s time?” Kiriha requested after looking at her bracelet.

“I don’t mind,” Koutarou agreed right away.

None of the girls raised any objections either. When Kiriha made a request, it was always important, and this time was no exception.

“I just received a message from Nana. Their raid on the recently discovered enemy stronghold was a success, but they’ve found no clues leading to any other bases. They now believe Ralgwin is very carefully guarding his intelligence network.” Kiriha tapped her bracelet to display a feed of information on the 3D monitor, relaying how Nefilforan’s unit and the court magicians had captured the mountain stronghold and what they’d discovered there—or the lack thereof.

“So they are being more cautious now...” Maki concluded upon seeing the diminishing returns they were receiving from the capture of enemy bases.

“After last time, you can’t blame them,” added Koutarou, who felt the same way.

Ralgwin had suffered terrible losses due to the man-made disaster at the factory, but the greatest problem of all was that the Imperial Army had discovered the factory in the first place. Even without the explosion and ensuing fire, there still would have been a battle for the production facility. And even if Ralgwin had managed to save the facility and his men, there was nothing he could have done to prevent the hacking. In other words, Ralgwin’s information network was his greatest liability. He would have been a fool not to revamp the way intelligence was handled within his army after realizing that.

“Still, not knowing what they’re up to now makes me nervous...” admitted Clan with a bitter expression. After Ralgwin’s overhaul of his network, she could no longer follow the rebel army’s movements. It left her with a haunting feeling.

“What bothers me is that they were stockpiling magic and spiritual energy weapons. They must have had plans to use them somewhere in the area,” said Ruth. She was alarmed by news of the cache found at the stronghold. Neither side was currently capable of producing such weapons en masse, so the cache was a good sign that they were meant for use in an imminent enemy attack.

“Somewhere nearby and soon, hmm?” Theia used her own bracelet to display a star chart of the region, scanning major star systems one after another for potential objectives. “It would be here... Planet Waragthorn of the Bandiet system.”

It didn’t take her long to find a target worthy of Ralgwin’s attention.

“What do you think?” she asked Kiriha.

“I also believe that is Ralgwin’s goal,” Kiriha confirmed.

“What kind of planet is that? Why would he be after it?” Koutarou asked, unclear what Theia and Kiriha had seen that he hadn’t. He cocked his head as he stared at the star chart.

“Layous-sama, Waragthorn has long been a vital part of the mining and shipbuilding industries. Also...” began Elfaria. She was normally quiet and calm, but she struck Koutarou as incredibly angry right now. “It’s also where the new Blue Knight is being constructed.”

In truth, Elfaria was livid. Waragthorn was the temporary home of Koutarou’s namesake battleship. And, her own daughter aside, Elfaria wouldn’t stand for anyone attacking the Blue Knight.

The report from Nefilforan’s unit prolonged the meeting beyond its intended duration. By the end, Koutarou was stiff from sitting for so long. He rotated his arms and tilted his upper body side to side while twisting to loosen up.

“Ugh, ouch...” he groaned.

“The chairs in the meeting room are pretty small for you, aren’t they Satomi-kun?” remarked Shizuka.

“I would appreciate it if they were a little bigger.”

“Ahaha, growing boys sure have it hard.”

Shizuka was stretching too, although she was moving her body in different ways. Curious, Koutarou decided to ask her about it.

“What are you up to over there, Landlord-san?”

“This? Oh, it’s a method of correcting how I stand that my osteopathic doctor taught me.”

“How you stand?”

“Yeah. Most people think they stand up straight, but it’s actually pretty rare. Our habits and how we use our muscles gradually change our centers of gravity.”

“And you’re trying to fix yours?”

“Yeah. Proper posture makes a huge difference in stability when it comes to fighting.”

“Ah, so this is the kind of stuff karate fighters think about, huh?”

“I’ll admit I was pretty shocked when my doctor first told me. I can’t believe what a difference it makes when I’m kicking.”

“Does it really change that much?”

“It does! But it’d be faster to show you than explain. For starters...”

Koutarou followed Shizuka’s instructions and began moving various parts of his body. Overall, the exercise was similar to stretching, including sits, squats, and backbends, but the routine was more designed to relax the muscles than warm them up.

“That should do it,” announced Shizuka.

“Okay... but I don’t really feel any different,” said Koutarou.

The routine didn’t take long—only a few minutes at most. But Koutarou couldn’t feel any change. The best he could say was that he didn’t feel as stiff after moving around some.

“That’s fine,” replied Shizuka. “If you really want to see the difference, either video yourself doing it or get someone else to look at your posture.”

“Someone else, huh? Hey, Mackenzie, c’mere!” Koutarou called out.

“What is it?” Kenji replied.

“Take a look at my form, would you?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Koutarou began his usual pitching practice routine as Kenji and Shizuka quietly observed. He didn’t have a ball, but he swung his arm as if throwing one for real. Seeing this, Kenji nodded.

“How’m I looking?” Koutarou asked.

“Like you’re back to your usual form. Your lower half is clearly more stable. Of course, you’re built for swordsmanship now, so you’re still nothing like you were in your prime.”

Kenji’s impression was that Koutarou had gotten some of his edge from his baseball days back. Koutarou was primarily focused on sword training now, however, so he still moved a little differently. But thanks to Shizuka’s exercises, he was much closer to his old pitching form.

“Yeah, I felt like it was easier to balance too,” Koutarou remarked. He’d felt the difference for himself. Raising and swinging his legs was easier, which lined up with what Kenji was saying, leading him to the conclusion that Shizuka was right about the exercises.

“Maybe you should try this out before playing grass-lot baseball next time,” she recommended.

“Hey, that’s a good idea.”

“Do you get it now, Satomi-kun?”

“Yeah, I’ll give you that, Landlord-san. Posture is important.”

“By the way, if you don’t repeat the exercises daily, you’ll slowly return to how you were standing before,” she added.

“So I gotta keep it up until I get used to this new way of standing, huh?”

“That’s right,” Shizuka said with a smile before getting back to her own exercises. Koutarou wasn’t the only one who’d gotten stiff during the long meeting.

Koutarou got back to stretching too. Kenji watched them both for a moment, wondering what he should do before turning around and taking his leave. He made it a point to stay out of the girls’ ways.

“As thanks for the exercises, let me help you stretch, Landlord-san,” Koutarou offered.

“Really? Then could you push on my back?” Shizuka asked.

“You got it.”

With that, Koutarou and Shizuka started working together. It was more efficient than stretching alone.

“Owowowow...” she whined.

“For someone claiming to be stiff, you’re actually pretty limber,” remarked Koutarou.

“Well, I do karate. Aren’t baseball players the same way?”

Although stretching had been painful at first, Shizuka quickly folded flat on the floor. As she’d implied, range of motion was important for martial artists. Shizuka was incredibly flexible.

“In baseball, it kind of depends on what position you play. As a pitcher, I moved my shoulders and hips a lot, but lots of fielders are stiff and sturdy. When you’re super muscular, getting stiff is always a problem.”

“Huh, so people that can hit homers must have really stiff joints.”

Shizuka spread her legs and pushed her upper body against the floor, which required both pliant joints and muscles. Some sports, like weightlifting, required the development of certain muscles that could actually narrow the range of motion on certain joints. Shizuka, however, was always careful to remain lithe enough to lift her legs and swing her arms with ease. She also wanted to keep her weight down, but she saw no reason to share that part with Koutarou.

“If you can bend that far, do you really need me to push your back?” he asked, astounded by Shizuka’s flexibility. He’d barely had to apply any pressure to get her upper body on the ground.

But Shizuka shook her head. “Don’t stop, Satomi-kun. I can’t pass up this chance to have you touch me in public,” she whispered so that only Koutarou could hear.

“What am I supposed to do with an answer like that?” Koutarou whispered back, genuinely troubled.

“I wouldn’t mind stopping now if you’ll touch me on other occasions.”

“We’re not joking around here, Landlord-san.”

“Then quit complaining and keep going. Please, Satomi-kun. There are times when I want to feel the warmth of the person I love, just like Sanae-chan and the others, I’m sure.”

Shizuka comparing this to the way Sanae clung to him left Koutarou unable to argue. How could he refuse Shizuka asking for attention when Sanae climbed onto his back on a daily basis? All Shizuka wanted was to feel Koutarou’s hands on hers.

Kenji was watching Shizuka and Koutarou from a distance, and while he couldn’t hear what they were saying, he had a pretty good idea based on their expressions.

“Jeez, Kou would have it so easy if he’d just learn to give in a little...” he muttered.

“Koutarou doesn’t play that way, Glasses-kun,” Sanae proudly boasted. Her smile indicated she understood the situation as well.

“But doesn’t that make things hard for you girls?” Kenji questioned.

“Eh, not so much.”

“But—”

“We already have our answer. Regardless of what Koutarou says, we only want him. So he’s really the one who has it hard. He’s always looking for the right answer for our sake, even though there might not be one.”

“Yeah, that’s just like him. He’s so stubborn. Especially when it comes to other people,” Kenji conceded.

“Aha, so that’s what you’re worried about, Glasses-kun!”

“Seriously, what is he doing? Even the role of hero seems to be too much for him...”

Kenji looked and sounded exasperated, but he looked at Koutarou with gentle eyes. With her psychic powers, Sanae could easily tell how Kenji felt.

Hmm, so this is what childhood friends are like...

She was grateful that Kenji was Koutarou’s friend. He’d no doubt played an important role in Koutarou becoming the person he was today. As thanks, she now wanted to do her part to help mend Kenji and Kotori’s relationship.