Chapter Five: The Seaetto Territory
We made our leisurely march through the night with Filo pulling the carriage, and we reached the part of the territory near Raphtalia’s village by morning.
“Master, we’re heeere!”
According to the queen, Eclair and the others were not staying in the village that Raphtalia had lived in, but rather in a neighboring town. We kept going, and after a short while, we arrived at a town that looked a bit run-down.
“Oh!”
A Melromarc solider . . . The same young soldier that had asked to join me during the second wave, actually, was standing near the entrance to the town.
“Shield Hero!”
“Long time no see.”
“Indeed! I was there during the Spirit Tortoise incident but didn’t get a chance to talk to you.”
I had to give him some serious props for making it out of that alive. It was a close fight with heavy losses, so the fact that he had been there made me shudder.
“We received word that you would be coming. I assume you want to meet with Lady Eclair and Princess Melty?”
“Yeah. I figured I should at least say hello before anything else.”
“This way, then.”
We followed the soldier into the town. It had been reduced to ruins. The streets were lined with a variety of buildings, including houses that had been destroyed—perhaps by the wave—as well as others that still looked usable. It didn’t seem like it had been a very big town. Even the town mansion looked pretty average and wasn’t as big as the ones I’d seen in other towns.
The young soldier said something to the gatekeeper, who then opened the gate without hesitation.
“Ya! Hiya!”
I could hear some kind of shouting coming from the mansion courtyard. I climbed down from the carriage and made my way in that direction. Eclair, the old lady, Keel, and three other kids that I didn’t recognize were training in the courtyard.
“Mr. Iwatani!”
Noticing she had guests, Eclair stopped the training and waved to us.
“Ah! I smell Mel-chan!”
Filo let go of the carriage and ran off into the mansion.
“How is everything?”
“Bubba Shield! Long time no see! I heard all about it! You went to another world and defeated the bad guy, right?”
“Yeah, we took him out. I’ll tell you all about how he died later.”
“Ugh . . . I wanted to be there, too!”
Keel stamped his foot in regret. The reason he couldn’t come with us was because he’d fought recklessly and had to get his injuries treated.
“Keel, are your injuries all healed up?”
“I’m all good! They weren’t that bad thanks to you, bubba!”
“It’s been a while, Keel.”
Raphtalia smiled as she approached Keel. The other kids that had been standing at Keel’s side backed away several steps, speechless.
“Surprised, right? That’s Raphtalia!”
“No way . . .”
“Is that really Raphtalia?”
“She looks completely different!”
“Rafu!”
Just then, Raph-chan jumped up onto Raphtalia’s shoulder and howled.
“Ah! That was Raphtalia’s voice!”
“This little thing?”
“What is that? It sounds like your voice, Raphtalia.”
“Umm . . . Just ignore this little thing.”
“It’s a shikigami that was made using a lock of Raphtalia’s hair. They’re known as familiars here. Her name is Raph-chan. Be nice to her!”
“Oh? So she’s kind of like Raphtalia’s alter ego?”
“Keel! Don’t say that!”
I left Raphtalia and the others to rekindle old friendships and went to talk with Eclair and the old Hengen Muso lady.
“How have things been progressing? You’re working on rebuilding the territory, right?”
“Umm . . . About that . . .”
Eclair’s mood suddenly darkened.
“My student Eclair here has been training quite hard. The reconstruction, on the other hand, has not seen much progress,” interjected the old Hengen Muso lady.
“Oh?”
So it was so bad even the old lady could tell. Hadn’t the queen said that Melty was helping out?
“I fully intend to follow in the footsteps of my late father and rebuild the territory, but . . . I haven’t been able to find much help. It seems it will take quite some time,” Eclair explained.
“Well, your father’s connections can only take you so far, I’m sure. The Church of the Three Heroes made things a lot worse, too, from what I hear.”
“. . .”
Raphtalia’s family had died along with many of the villagers. On top of that, I’d heard that many of the survivors had been captured and sold into slavery.
“After all, you can’t expect the people that originally lived here to return if most of them are dead. Not to mention, the residents that were made slaves were all sold off before the queen could secure them. You’re trying to locate them now, right?”
“That’s right. We’re working behind the scenes to do everything we can to bring them back.”
“And what happens when you do? Let’s say you find ten, maybe twenty of them. Are you just going to throw them into the ruins of a town and say, ‘Alright! Rebuild your town!’ Is that your plan?”
“. . .”
Eclair fell silent. So that was seriously her plan? Try thinking ahead a bit! I couldn’t help but sigh. Eclair had an overly serious personality that made her an excellent knight, but she lacked the qualities that made for a good governor.
“Hey, where is Nice Guy, the guy that was taking care of Keel? Or even one of the country’s leaders will do. We need someone to drill you in the basics of reconstruction!”
I pointed at Eclair and spoke bluntly.
“How dare you!” she snapped.
Just then, Filo came running up, pulling Melty along behind her.
“Mel-chan, Master is over here!”
“I know! Calm down, Filo!”
“Melty! Perfect timing. What were you thinking letting this knucklehead govern a territory? Are you stupid?”
“We meet again after all this time and that’s what you have to say to me?!”
“Just what do you think makes me unfit to govern?!”
Eclair’s furrowed brow made it clear she was upset.
“Seriously? I’m sure Melty has noticed this, too, but Eclair . . . You obviously understand absolutely nothing about what governing a territory entails.”
“What?!”
“I’m certainly no expert, but I still understand what’s necessary to manage a territory and make it livable.”
I looked at Eclair and pointed to a chair. Melty subtly instructed her to sit down for me. Raphtalia and the others . . . I’d just leave them to getting caught up for now. We were going to be busy with other things soon, after all.
“First of all, governing a territory is about more than just owning the land. The people that live on that land are important.”
“I understand that much. That’s why I’m trying to bring the people that lived here back.”
“I’m saying that just bringing them back isn’t enough!”
I drew a picture of some people on the ground. That would represent the population.
“To rebuild the territory, you’ll need people, clothes, food, and housing.”
Securing food would come first. In a world like this, hunting monsters and using them for food would be quickest. Next would be a base of operations for daily life—housing and the like. And then there would be clothing. That would include equipment, too, in this world.
“As for the people, I totally get wanting to prioritize the people that originally lived here—those that were lost. But it’s not realistic. It’s not about how much we can prioritize them. There simply aren’t enough of them.”
“I . . . I know that! Princess Melty is working on that.”
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