Chapter 4 – Teacher

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Imperial Calendar, Year 431, End of March – 2nd District of Imperial Capital Alfirk

Arthur headed towards the gate of the military academy while stabbing the ground with his cane. Hearing voices in the distance, he guessed that some students had stayed behind to practice. He was curious to see what they were practicing, but shaking his head lightly, he proceeded towards his original destination.

After passing through the gate, he looked back. The school building, constructed like a fortress, towered at the end of his line of sight. A sigh escaped his lips.

Arthur――Arthur Wiseman was an assistant teacher at the military academy. The duty of an assistant teacher was to provide supplementary classes for the students with lacking grades. Some were mocking him as a teacher in charge of supplementary classes, but Arthur always treated his students sincerely. That’s because he believed it was indispensable to build a relationship of trust before it would be possible to draw out a student’s true potential. He had spent 25 years doing this job.

Of course, he took pride in his job as a teacher. He was also confident about his own abilities and achievements, but the looks directed at him by those around him were cold and unfriendly. He guessed this to be largely influenced by him having lost his right leg during the civil war and him stemming from a lower-ranking noble family.

No, it’s probably also because the times have changed.

Arthur held as much pride in being a knight as he did in being a teacher. Pledging allegiance to the emperor and protecting the weak; those were the two key duties a knight should perform in his eyes, but sticking to this way of thinking seemed to be regarded as ridiculous.

Although he felt somewhat miserable for having denied what he believed was right, he could also understand why people might think so. In today’s empire, the rank of knight――a knight peerage――was seen as nothing more than proof that the person had graduated from the military academy.

Arthur started to walk away from the academy. He would never come back here anymore. Just an hour ago, he had been called to the principal’s office and received his dismissal note. His own assessment didn’t mesh with the evaluations others gave him. This was yet another reason for him to feel miserable.

“Now then, what should I do from here on?” Arthur muttered while slowly walking with the help of his cane.

It’d be great if some noble were to hire me as a private tutor, but I have no idea who to rely on in this case.

“Arthur!”

Having his name called from behind, Arthur turned around. Just to spot Taur――a man possessing a body comparable to those of minotaurs or lizardmen――running towards him.

“Taur?”

“Arthur, it’s been a long time since we last saw each other.”

Taur came to a halt in front of Arthur, revealing a daring smile.

“Why are you in a place like this?”

“You know that the empire has concluded a peace treaty with Argo, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“This led to a reshuffling of posts. Or, what others would call political circumstances.”

“But, won’t it be a problem to lower the alertness at the border?”

“I’ll be called back right away anyway. That’s why I wanted to meet you before that.”

“That’s great.”

“What is?”

Taur asked, looking bewildered, when seeing Arthur relieved.

“Just now, I was dismissed from the military academy. We almost missed each other.”

“What!?”

Taur immediately glared at the military academy. His friend was angry for his sake. Arthur felt grateful for that, but if he left it unattended, Taur was quite capable of raiding the principal’s office.

“Taur, please calm down.”

“You’re…no, sorry. Since you’re putting up with it, I should do the same.”

“Thank you. Anyway, let me give you some advice in a suitable place.”

“――――!”

Taur’s eyes flew wide open in surprise. Arthur smiled wryly. They were acquaintances since the time when Arthur had worked his lance as a knight. He could at least tell when his friend was burdened by some worries.

“But, are you okay with that?”

“Of course. I mean, I’d like to get some advice from you in regards to where I could find a new job, too.”

“That’s an easy task.”

“Would you mind us using the coffee shop in the 3rd District for our conversation?”

“No, not at all.”

“Okay, it’s this way then.”

Arthur started to walk, and Taur followed him at the same pace.

“Come to think of it, are you talking like this even when you’re in the 2nd Imperial Knight Order?”

“Don’t be silly. I can tell when to put on a mask and when not.”

“Haha,” laughed Arthur.

“I don’t think it’s all that funny.”

“I’m just relieved to hear that you’ve become an outstanding knight captain, Taur.”

“It gives me peace of mind if I’m being told this by you.”

“Okay, let’s go then.”

Arthur exited the 2nd District, emerging onto the main street that separated the districts. The coffee shop of his choice was beyond the main street. The coffee shop had a big sunshade made out of cloth. Several tables and chairs were lined up beneath that shade. Maybe because it was a warm day, several customers were drinking aroma tea outside. A familiar face was among those customers.

He placed down his tea cup and looked this way.

“OOHHH, Taur and Arthur! Won’t ya have a drink of tea together with me, guys!?”

Their acquaintance――Chrohd raised his voice and beckoned them over. There was no reason to refuse his invitation and thus the two sat down at Chrohd’s table, which was set up at the side of the road.

“Long time no see.”

“Indeed, it’s been quite a while.”

“Yeah, the last time I saw you, Arthur, was during Chrono’s graduation from the academy. Taur, we saw each other during the ball.”

Chrohd revealed a manly smile as he greeted Arthur and Taur. Each time they met with him, they’d realize just how different humans could be.

Their first meeting with Chrohd happened 31 years ago――in the middle of the civil war surrounding the imperial throne. Back then, Arthur and Taur’s unit was rescued by the mercenary band led by Chrohd. Then again, neither of the two thought so at that time. Nowadays, it was a funny story for them, but in the past, they thought that they had run into some sort of man-eating fiend. This was just how disconnected in strength Chrohd was from other humans.

Talking about changes, Taur was the same. In the past, he had been a violent and wild man. Even though he had rescued his allies many times, capitalizing on his large frame and inhuman strength, his wild and violent temperament had caused him to become isolated. Taur was the complete opposite of Chrohd, who was idolized by people while being called a slaughterer.

Now those three were peacefully sitting in a coffee shop.

Heck, this is why life is so damn interesting.

As Arthur thought this, the waitress showed up.

“Welcome. Is it okay to bring you the usual blend?”

“Yes, please do. Taur, are you okay with that as well?”

“Mm, I’ll go with that as well.”

“Okay, I will bring your order as soon as possible.”

The waitress bowed quickly and headed to the counter inside the store.

“Are you often frequenting this place, Sir Chrohd?”

“No, today’s my first time here. I plan to go back to the southern borderlands soon, but Mayla wouldn’t shut up about me being a nuisance for her packing, telling me to go for a walk. Since I got annoyed by her constant whining, I departed and have been wandering around randomly. I found this place by chance, so I took it as an opportunity to rest a bit,” Chrohd explained sulkily. “But, what about you guys?”

“I used this coffee shop often.”

“It’s my first time here. My duty shifts at the front have been long, and usually I have no relation to classy places like this either.”

“No, that’s not what I was talking about. Why have you two come to a coffee shop?”

“I’m sorry to bother you with my family’s disgraceful behavior, but my son Gaur has started to talk about wanting to transfer from the 2nd Imperial Knight Order to an outside battalion. And so I wanted to get Arthur’s advice on that…”

“For Gaur to plan something like that…,” Arthur muttered reflexively while Taur was scratching his head.

Given that his son is considering dropping out of the elite course, it’s definitely a significant issue for Taur, as his father and the head of the Elnath family.

“The boy decided it for himself, so why does it matter?”

“Sir Chrohd, saying such irresponsible things…”

“Look, Taur’s son is already an adult. Why don’t you let him do whatever he likes?”

“You’ve got a point there, but something like wanting to test things with his own strength…,” Taur groaned.

“What would you do in such a case, Sir Chrohd?”

“Ask Arthur, not me. He’s the teacher at the military academy, so he’ll be able to come up with a good idea, right?”

“Please! Tell me as a fellow father of a son!” Taur leaned forward.

Chrohd scratched his head, “Even if we’re both fathers, my son botched the military academy.”

“Hmm, Sir Chrono defeated 10,000 soldiers of Argo with just 1,000 men and performed splendidly during the previous war, so I find it a bit hard to believe that he botched the military academy.”

“It’s certainly true that you will rarely find students with such a divergence between their scores at the academy and their results on the battlefield.”

“That’s because he’s Elua’s and my son. He’s suited for actual combat,” Chrohd declared, looking pretty smug about it.

In the end, he’s likely pretty happy about having his son praised.

“To begin with, he was always pretty smart and got some backbone. I expected him to blossom someday, if only he devoted himself to studying for five or ten years, but…”

“Come on, now you’re overdoing it with the praise,” Chrohd shrugged his shoulders lightly and picked up the menu.

“Are you going to eat some pastry?”

“No, you don’t need to pay any attention to me.”

Chrohd wryly smiled at Arthur as a doting parent would. At that point, the waitress showed up.

“Sorry for the wait. Here you have the blend.”

“Thank you.”

“You have my gratitude.”

The waitress put the cups down and headed to another customer.

“Ah, so about Taur’s son; I do think you have no choice but to let him do as he pleases. Even if you try to pin him down, he’ll likely just wrangle himself free anyway.”

“That might be true, but he will likely be assigned as a battalion leader or adjutant when it comes to transferring from an Imperial Knight Order. It will be a position that influences the fate of his subordinates. I’m simply worried that Gaur might make an incorrigible mistake…,” Taur groaned.

“I’m telling you, you’re worrying too much. Even if your son makes a mistake, it’s not the end of the world. Besides, he might apply for a transfer soon, but it’s not like it’ll be approved easily. You wouldn’t force a change of a territory’s battalion’s commander to the extent of worsening the relationship with your relatives, either, would you?”

“…That’s…well, you’ve got a point,” Taur agreed after a short time of thinking.

It was a custom for a close relative of the feudal lord to be assigned as battalion commander. If a lord requested it from the military department, a change of battalion commanders was possible. Still, it would deteriorate relations within his family if he didn’t complete the proper groundwork beforehand.

“Going by possibilities, there’d be our place――the southern borderlands, but a transfer at this time is unlikely.”

“Lord Chrohd, please lend me your assistance at such a time…”

“It’s the usual, so you don’t really need to worry about it. The savage tribe in the Aleos Mountains is still going strong and no matter how much time passes, they still haven’t dispatched any family members as battalion commander, resulting in us getting pissed with the situation too. If he acts too much like an idiot, I won’t be covering his ass either.”

“I will make sure to instruct Gaur so that he keeps his quick temper in check, no matter what he does.”

“Please do.”

“I promise.”

Taur corrected his seating posture and bowed deeply.

“So, what about you, Arthur?”

“Actually, I was dismissed from the military academy.”

“Do you have a new job in sight?”

“I would like to continue as a teacher, but…”

“How about working at my son’s place then? I can’t tell you any details, but my son is onto some reeeally big things. I think he’ll need educated subordinates for that purpose. Want me to whip up a letter for you?”

“That’s really appreciated, but won’t it cause trouble for your son if you decide on this so arbitrarily?”

“He’s not the kinda guy who would consider it as trouble if he’s relied on by his teacher. So, what’s it gonna be?”

Arthur fell silent. The feeling of not wanting to be a nuisance made him hesitate to give a positive reply.

At that moment, clattering could be heard from behind him. It was the sound of wheels. Once he turned around, a carriage was just passing them. Suddenly, the carriage dropped its speed.

Maybe something happened.

Even as Arthur felt suspicious, the carriage kept slowing down before eventually coming to a halt altogether. The door opened, and a man came out. He wore the proof of an imperial knight, a white uniform.

Arthur remembered having seen that man’s face before. It was Bertil Piske, captain of the 12th Imperial Knight Order.

Bertil closed the door and approached the three men. Arthur suspected that he had spotted Taur and came over to greet him.

He’s quite the integer guy.

Apparently feeling under the weather, he was staggering. Taur stood up and headed over to Bertil. Once Taur did a somewhat messy salute, Bertil came to a halt and returned the salute.

“Sir Bertil, I am deeply obliged for your consideration.”

“No, I just saw you by coincidence, so I thought I should greet you.”

Once Taur stopped saluting, Bertil answered in kind.

“Who are your companions?”

“Oh, forgive me. This here is my friend and teacher at the military academy, Arthur Wiseman, and the man over there is Sir Chrono’s honored father, Baron Chrohd Chroford,” Taur introduced Arthur and Chrohd while pointing at either with his hand.

Bertil looked at Chrohd, his eyes wide open in surprise.

“You are Sir Chrono’s?”

“Yeah, his father.”

“I am much obliged to your son.”

Chrohd scratched his head awkwardly when he saw Bertil bowing his head deeply.

“My son said he’s indebted to you, so you don’t have to bow your head to me. Well, if you don’t dislike the idea, keep us company for an aroma tea. We can call it quits with that.”

“…If that’s the case.”

Apparently still having some business to attend to, Bertil looked towards the carriage, but ultimately he followed Chrohd’s offer and sat down. A little later, Taur also sat back down.

“Missy, one more blend over here!”

“On the way!”

Bertil closed his eyes, massaging his eyelids. His expression looked bad. Arthur assumed that he had to be quite exhausted.

“You look like you are quite tired.”

“The replenishment of troops and the preparations for sending soldiers to Lord Chrono’s territory have been taking much more time than I expected…”

“Here’s your blend.”

The waitress put down another cup and left. Bertil placed the cup to his mouth and took a sip of the tea. Breathing out in relief, he placed the cup back on the table.

“Why are you looking after my son?”

“I had already started doing it anyway, so now I’m finishing the loose ends. If I had known that the arrangements to transfer 550 soldiers would be such a hassle, I would have hesitated a bit more, but…,” Bertil smiled bitterly.

Taur spoke up, looking as if he’d just remembered something.

“Come to think of it, Sir Bertil, I heard you took Sir Brad’s younger sister as your adjutant… Aren’t you getting any help from her?”

“She’s just useless, isn’t she?”

“No, that’s not the case…,” Bertil remained evasive.

“So, why?”

“She is, umm, unskilled when it comes to office work…,” Bertil turned his face away and mumbled under his breath when Chrohd leaned forward.

“Doesn’t that just mean that she’s useless?”

“No, no, calling her useless…,” Bertil answered while still averting his face.

Brad――Brad Hamal was the oldest son of the prestigious noble Hamal family and the captain of the 5th Imperial Knight Order. And malicious gossip was something that tended to reach much farther than you’d think. As such, he couldn’t afford to call his little sister useless.

“But, can you hold out like that?”

“I got the financial department to dispatch some personnel under the pretext of personnel exchange, so…”

“No, I was talking about the future.”

“……It has been decided that she would be promoted,” Bertil murmured while frowning.

“Promotion? You mean demotion, right?”

“No, not at all. To begin with, her position as adjutant stemmed from her promotion in the field. Once the troops are replenished, she will return to her previous role as a low-ranking soldier. Since she will be able to serve as adjutant, albeit in an ordinary battalion, it’s a promotion.”

“I got it, man. No need to get so desperate about defending it,” Chrohd replied with a sigh when Bertil kept talking and talking.

“Ah,” Bertil raised his voice and looked at Arthur, “Which reminds me, Sir Arthur, you are a teacher at the military academy, right?”

“I was until just one hour ago. Now I’m unemployed.”

“Oh, that’s…”

“Don’t mind it. Do you have any questions?”

“Do you know a guard called Simon Arden?”

“Yes, I do. Is something the matter with him?”

“I wanted to obtain some information about him. What sort of student was he?”

“…He was weak at learning in the classroom, but the curriculum related to hand-to-hand combat was his forte. However, whenever he took on someone above him or the battle dragged out, he started to get impatient.”

After pondering for a bit, Arthur decided to come out with the truth. He didn’t know Bertil’s motive behind the question, but he felt it’d be bad if he exaggerated the assessment.

“That’s different from the impression he gave me during the enrollment exam.”

“Meaning?”

“We had matches as part of the exam, and he piqued my interest since he persistently hung on when matched against a superior opponent, winning in the end. I see. Not one full year has passed, yet…”

Bertil remained silent, looking at Arthur as if taken aback.

“Ah, forgive me.”

“No, don’t worry about it.”

Arthur smiled. He was able to hear about his student’s growth in an unexpected place. He had no reason to ask for forgiveness, but should feel grateful instead.

At that moment, Chrohd interjected, “Sorry, I have a question…”

“What is it?”

“When are you going to send those soldiers to my son’s fief?”

“They will depart the capital in three days, so they’re slated to arrive in the Erakis March in the beginning of April.”

“Is it possible to add one more person to that group?”

“…It’s not impossible, I suppose.”

“You heard him. What are you going to do?”

With those words, Chrohd smiled broadly.

※

Imperial Calendar, Year 431, Beginning of April

The sound of hammering could be heard. Wondering what caused it, Arthur tilted his head in confusion as the covered wagon dropped its speed. They had passed through Harshel’s main gate a little while ago. He guessed they had finally arrived at the marquis’s mansion.

Peeking outside from the back of the wagon, he spotted gate posts and a high wall.

“We arrived at the marquis’s residence! The wagon has slowed down enough, so get off now! This is the last wagon in the column so you don’t need to worry about getting run over!,” shouted the soldiers serving as driver.

Arthur looked at his right leg. He also had luggage with him. It’d be one thing if it were just about jumping off, but the landing looked like it’d be difficult. As he pondered that, the beastmen who had accompanied him on this trip jumped down one after the other.

It seems like I have to make up my mind.

When he extended his hand for his bag, a lizardman’s hand touched his. The lizardman lifted the bag and stared at Arthur, his tongue flickering out like that of a snake.

“Are you going to help me?”

The lizardman kept staring at Arthur and then nodded after a little while. Moreover, he picked up Arthur himself and jumped off the wagon while holding him under his arm.

A stabbing impact pierced Arthur’s whole body. The lizardman had landed. Probably because of his advanced age, it felt as painful as having his intestines squeezed.

The lizadman moved to a corner of the garden and gently set Arthur and his bag down.

“Thank you kindly.”

Once Arthur bowed his head, the lizardman replied with a bob of his.

“Everyone, may I have your attention please?”

A cheerful voice filled the area. Looking toward the voice, Arthur found a woman in a white uniform. On her right and left stood two men each, holding two bulletin boards.

“Next, we are going to move to the barracks! I would like you to properly follow us! Sub, Alba, Glove, and Geiner, we are off!”

As soon as the woman started walking energetically, the four men and the soldiers followed her in succession. The lizardman saluted Arthur, turned around, and began to run.

Artur surveyed the estate’s garden now that the soldiers were gone. Dwarves were working in one of the four towers situated in the corners of the garden. No one was visible at the building in the center of the ground.

In addition, there were three elves around. All of them were women. One had silver hair and brown skin, while the other two appeared to be twins. Both had bound their hair on one side of their head.

“We have replenished our soldiers, so it’s kinda goodbye to all those days of super hard work!”

“It kinda might mean the beginning of even more super hard-working days.”

“Uooohh!, what an ominous thing to say!”

“Anyway, I thought we wouldn’t get anyone who can be put to use right away, but I kinda spotted an attractive middle-aged man!”

The two elven twins ran up to Arthur.

“This here is kinda the marquis’s estate.”

“We’d like you to leave the grounds if you have no business here.”

“No, I wanted to meet with the lord of this estate.”

“Hoh, I see, I see,” nodded the two elves.

“”We kinda don’t need any door-to-door salesmanship!!””

“I’m not trying to sell anything… Sorry for not telling you, but my name is Arthur Wiseman.”

“Oh, how very kind of you to introduce yourself, Sir. I’m Arided.”

“I’m Deneb, kinda.”

The two elves curtly lowered their heads.

“”Leaving that aside, we kinda don’t need any door-to-door salesmanship.””

“No, I told you I’m not selling anything…”

This is going in circles. Just what should I do?

Just as Arthur was at a loss, a third elf, no, half-elf approached. Planting herself behind Arided and Deneb, she sighed deeply.

“…I will take over.”

“Layla kinda sighed at us!”

“But, please do, kinda! This might be my limit for acting like this!”

Layla quickly stepped forward.

“Please excuse Arided and Deneb. My name is Layla. What sort of business do you have with us today?”

“I have served as an assistant teacher at the military academy in the capital, but the other day I was dismissed from that post. When I then consulted an acquaintance, they referred me to this place.”

“Forgive me, but who is your referrer?”

“Baron Chrohd Chroford. Ah, please wait a moment.”

Arthur knelt down and retrieved a rolled-up parchment from his bag. It was the letter of introduction which Chrohd wrote for him.

“I think you will understand, if you take a look at this…”

“I see.”

He held out the letter, but Layla covered her mouth with a hand as if pondering and then――

“Lord Chrono has gone out on an inspection tour in the Cad Earldom. Therefore…”

“Ah, I understand. There is no way you can arbitrarily open the introduction letter. Very well, I will come back here tomorrow.”

“It’s a great help to have you――”

“Layla, I think it’ll be a problem if we turn away Lord Chrono’s guest.”

“It might kinda result in damaging Lord Chrono’s reputation.”

Arided and Deneb interrupted Layla.

“But, we cannot afford to allow someone, whose identity we can’t confirm, to stay in the…”

“Ah, which reminds me, I have been entrusted with something else as well…”

Arthur put the introduction letter back into his bag and took out three letters next. They were in envelopes. They were letters entrusted to him by Chrohd, but they were addressed to Layla, Arided, and Deneb, written in elegant handwriting.

“These are for you three.”

“For us?”

He held out the three envelopes. Layla accepted them――

“Arided, Deneb, those are for you.”

“It’s kinda my first time to receive a letter.”

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

Layla passed the letters to the two and unsealed hers. She pulled a neatly folded sheet of paper out of the envelope and skimmed its contents. Her face became visibly gloomier as she kept reading, and by the time she had finished, she looked like she had swallowed a bitter bug. As for Arided and Deneb, one of them didn’t change her expression while the other put on an expression similar to Layla.

Layla slid the writing paper back into the envelope and put the envelope into her pouch.

“…It seems this person is Lord Chrono’s benefactor and a friend of Lord Chrohd.”

“”That’s kinda right.””

Arided and Deneb nodded at Layla’s words. Arthur was curious what was written in their letters, but he suspected it’d be better to not ask. As well known, curiosity kills cats.

“I will go and call the Head Maid Alyssa, so please wait a short moment.”

“”See you, kinda!””

Arided and Deneb waved their hands as Layla turned around and walked away. Suddenly, she stopped and sighed deeply.

Arided and Deneb looked back while startled, but at that time, Layla had already resumed walking.

“That slightly cold treatment kinda gave me shivers.”

“Us having played hooky might kinda be a part of the reason for it.”

“Those are two different pairs of shoes.”

“Suiting your own narrative, huh? By the way, you seem to have worked at the military academy, but with Lord Chrono too?”

“Yes, I taught him,” Arthur answered Deneb.

“Hoh, I see. What kind of pupil was Lord Chrono?”

“…He was a serious and honest boy,” Arthur answered with a neutral evaluation.

“How does the lad look from your point of view?”

“”The lad?””

“Ah, sorry. Old habits die hard. I must be more careful,” Arthur corrected himself in a hurry.

“Hehehe, if you’d like us to stay silen――gyaaa!”

Arided screamed after having her flank stabbed by Deneb’s spear hand.

“What are you doing all of a sudden!?”

“Sis, punishment is waiting for you if you get carried away.”

“I kinda welcome it very much to be punished, as long as it happens in bed.”

“I’m sure it’s the type of punishment where you get locked up in a basement.”

“Hehehe, I’ll be locked up in the basement――”

“Each day, there will be a visit to ask you whether you reflected on your actions, turning this into a week’s course for some reason.”

“Well, if I consider that it’s going to be a life of getting three meals a day――”

“We’re talking about Lord Chrono, so it’s kinda going to be hard bread and stale water twice a day.”

“T-That’s harsh! Just two meals a day isn’t so bad, but I heard bread and stale ware only is torture!”

Arided covered her face with both hands. Then she lowered them and took her wallet out of her pocket. Moreover, she took a brass coin out of it while revealing an evil smile.

“I-It’s kinda a bribe.”

“Sis, you should at least go with a silver coin.”

Deneb sighed deeply, seeing Arided holding out a brass coin.

“It’s fine. I won’t be tattling to the la-, err, Sir Chrono.”

“Yay, I love you, Teacher!”

“You’re so superficial and calculating, sheesh.”

Deneb sighed once more while Arided put the brass coin away.

“B-But, you’ll kinda go to hell if you lie.”

“I swear on my honor as ka night, I won’t tell him.”

Just as Arthur placed a hand on his chest and gave his oath, the mansion’s door opened. The ones coming out were Layla and a woman in maid clothes.

“Please forgive us for making you wait so long.”

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Alyssa, and I work here as head maid.”

“Oh, how kind of you to be so polite. My name is Arthur Wiseman.”

Layla and Alyssa bowed their heads, so Arthur did the same.

“Allow me to guide you to our guest room, then. Your luggage ple…”

“No, thanks. I will carry it myself.”

“I am greatly obliged for your kind consideration,” Alyssa bowed humbly.

“We are going back to our work then.”

“Good luck with your work.”

“Thank you,” Alyssa answered to Layla, who then nodded and started to walk away.

Arided and Deneb followed her, albeit looking reluctant. Alyssa headed towards the mansion with Arthur in tow.

Once he passed through the door, Arthur was greeted by the entrance hall. Guided by Alyssa, they proceeded further into the mansion, and just as they reached the third floor, a woman appeared from the shadows of the corridor. That person was―――

“―――! Your Highness!”

Arthur had his breath taken away and immediately fell on his knees. He was following the etiquette of a retainer.

Probably because he had shouted so loudly, Tilia drew back while looking surprised, and Alyssa stopped in her tracks as well.

“Who are you?”

“Your Highness, my name is Arthur Wiseman. I used to work at the military academy as an assistant teacher.”

“Wiseman? If I remember correctly, you were Chrono’s teacher, weren’t you?”

“That is indeed correct,” Arthur bowed his head in response to Tilia’s muttering. “I heard your health took a hit over the death of His Majesty the Emperor, but why are you in the Erakis March?”

“Well, even if you ask me that…”

“…Her Highness had her succession right deprived and was sent to the Erakis March,” a girl explained indifferently from further down the corridor as the princess scratched her cheek while looking troubled.

“Viscountess Eril Saldomerick?”

“…You know about me?”

“I might look like this, but I was still an assistant teacher at the military academy.”

Viscountess Saldomerick’s eyes widened in surprise. But the number of people in the military sphere who didn’t know about her was rather limited. She was of common descent but had been adopted by the Imperial Court Noble, Viscount Saldomerick, and had ever since developed many magic arts. Moreover, despite her lack of battlefield experience, she had been assigned as captain of the 11th Imperial Knight Order.

“Why is someone like you also in this place, Viscountess Saldomerick?”

“…I’m Her Highness’s observer.”

“Observer? You, a captain of an Imperial Knight Order!?”

Arthur widened his eyes at her murmured reply.

It’s unthinkable for an Imperial Knight Order’s captain to monitor Her Highness Tilia, the next empress. Maybe this is yet another effect of the changing era. If that’s the case, I cannot help but feel regret.

Once Arthur bit down on his lip, Princess Tilia went down on one knee.

“Your Highness!? Your clothing will get dirty!”

“Don’t mind it.”

Tilia lowered her eyes and then raised her face right away.

“Knight Arthur, I’m happy to know that you’re angry for my sake. But, I believe that it was my own hubris that prevented me from gaining the others’ trust and losing my succession right.”

“That’s not…”

“If it wasn’t my arrogance, then it was my laziness. The first thing I did was to ask your name. I didn’t even know the face and name of a man who pledged his allegiance to me while being injured so seriously.”

“I was an assistant teacher at the military academy. I didn’t interact with you in any way, Your Highness. I think it would be asking too much for you to know the face of someone like me.”

“You’re wrong there. I heard about you from Chrono. I was also somewhat curious. Yet, I didn’t try to meet you. And this is laziness. I was unqualified to stand above other people. But, “Princess Tilia continued, “if you allow me a comment as Imperial Princess nonetheless… Knight Arthur, I’m happy about your devotion and loyalty from the bottom of my heart.”

“Those words are wasted on me, Your Highness.”

Arthur cast his face down with his shoulders trembling while crying. He felt like those few words had rewarded him for everything so far.

※

The next day, the wind was blowing. A warm and gentle breeze. Arthur was enjoying it with his eyes narrowed while sitting on the load tray of a wagon. Suddenly, his eyes met with Princess Tilia’s, who was sitting in the rear of the wagon, and he bowed while seated.

“Thank you for not only providing a wagon but also accompanying me.”

“I just did what is natural. Don’t mind it.”

“But――”

“…You really don’t need to mind it. Her Highness just wants to meet Marquis Erakis,” Viscountess Saldomerick whispered.

“Ugh,” groaned Princess Tilia, but the viscountess continued reading her book without paying any attention to that.

“You sure speak as if you know everything.”

“…I’m Her Highness’s observer. That’s why I know a lot about Her Highness.”

“Humph, what do you believe you know about me?”

“…I know that you’ve been wandering around the city recently. On a fine day, you will hone your sword skills in training, while on rainy days, you will read books. During the discussion to decide the night attendance――”

“Do you mind me interrupting for a second?”

Arthur reflexively interjected.

Is Princess Tilia attending to someone at night? Who? No, it’s obvious without even thinking about it. There’s one man she’s been close to ever since their meeting at the military academy, isn’t there? Her partner is――

“…It is just as you imagine. Her partner is Marquis Erakis.”

“You don’t say――!”

His eyes quickly shifted to Princess Tilia. In response, she turned her face away from him, her cheeks red out of embarrassment.

I have never expected her to have entered a relationship with Chrono――

“…Her Highness assaulted Marquis Erakis on the fifth day.”

“Assaulted? Her Highness did that to Chrono?”

“…It might be hard to believe all of a sudden. But, it’s an indisputable fact.”

Her Highness is holding her knees in a corner of the wagon. She must have something on her mind. Especially seeing how she’s red up to her ears.

“…Back to the main topic, she was unable to put her mind at ease during the discussion to decide the night attendance schedule, and she’s always very fidgety all day whenever her turn for the night attendance comes up. Her Highness is a very disappointing person.”

“Who’s disappointing!? What’s so bad about having sex with the man you love!?”

“…I haven’t said it’s bad. I say you’re a very disappointing person.”

Viscountess Saldomerick warded off Princess Tilia’s shouting without much care.

“…Surprised?”

“Yes, it was a big surprise.”

Arthur looked towards the corner of the wagon. Princess Tilia was puckering her lips, looking sulky, while holding her knees. He had never seen her act like that during her time at the military academy. Considering that, he felt like Princess Tilia might have changed in a good way.

Suddenly, the wagon shook with a jerk and slowed down. It gradually lost speed before eventually coming to a halt altogether. The wagon had stopped at a settlement near a primeval forest.

“We’re there.”

Princess Tilia stood up and jumped off the wagon. With a slight delay, Viscountess Saldomerick put her book in her bag and got up as well. But, she didn’t jump off like Princess Tilia. She moved over to the wagon’s edge, sat down on it, and slid down on the ground from there.

Arthur stood up and shouldered his satchel. Once he moved over to the wagon’s edge, Princess Tilia held out a hand to him. After fretting over it for a moment, he grabbed her hand and slid down on the ground as Viscountess Saldomerick had done before him.

“Thank you very much.”

“It’s nothing worthy of gratitude.”

Princess Tilia let go of his hand and started to walk towards the ocean. Arthur followed her together with Viscountess Saldomerick. A wind smelling of the sea blew past them, causing him to frown. He could hear hammering in the distance. As he wondered what was going on, Princess Tilia stopped.

“It’s dangerous since there’s a cliff ahead, but we’ll have an unobstructed view from here.”

“…So it seems.”

Arthur gazed at the coast.

Around a hundred demihumans――he noticed minotaurs and lizardmen, but dwarves could be seen here and there as well――at the beach, doing construction work. The lizard men were carrying trees with several, while the dwarves processed those trees into wooden stakes. A somewhat small minotaur carried those stakes to the coastline.

Hammering filled the air.

Once Arthur looked at the sea, a scaffold was floating on the water around a dozen meters away from the beach. Its silhouette was close to that of a catamaran. That said, it wasn’t a catamaran either, though.

Those were two boats with floaters on either side for additional stability. Planks had been built across the rear and front.

Four minotaurs were atop that scaffold. One was supporting a wooden stake, and another was wielding a big hammer to ram the wooden stake into the seabed. It seemed like the hammering came from that direction.

By the way, the remaining two were leaning against a stepladder, apparently lazing around.

Suddenly, the noise stopped. It looked like they had finished driving the stake into the seabed. A new stake was pulled over by a small boat.

A human was sitting on that small boat. Arthur assumed him to be a local fisherman they hired here.

The small boat, including the stake, arrived at the scaffold. The four minotaurs pulled the new stake up onto the scaffold and passed it through an opening between the planks connecting the boats. The stake protruded more than five meters out of the water.

Arthur wondered what they planned to do next, but the question was answered immediately.

One supported the stake while two propped up the stepladder. The last minotaur climbed the ladder while carrying the big hammer. After sitting down on the ladder’s top step, he swung down the hammer.

Once again, the rhythmical clanking of a hammer could be heard. Moreover, this time it was joined by another hammering.

When Arthur surveyed the vicinity, he found another such scaffold. Furthermore, minotaurs were tossing rocks into the ocean at another spot.

“Chrono is…over there, huh?”

Saying so, Princess Tilia started to walk away. After advancing along the cliff for a bit, they reached a stairway and went down to the beach. A short time later, the building frames of a house came into sight.

Chrono and a dwarf were standing in front of it.

“Chrono!”

“Tilia, and even Teacher Wiseman…”

In response to Tilia’s shouting, Chrono looked their way and widened his eyes in surprise. He came closer while looking confused.

At that point, Arthur noticed the scar on Chrono’s right eye. It pained him to see his pupil like that.

“Long time no see, Chrono…err, Lord Chrono.”

“Feel free to drop the honorifics. Still, what are you doing here, Teacher?”

“It’s slightly embarrassing, but I’ve been dismissed by the military academy. So I was wondering whether I wouldn’t be able to get hired at your place…”

“I greatly appre… No, sorry.”

Chrono looked very happy, but that only lasted for an instant. He probably thought that a dismissal wasn’t an overly auspicious event. He fell silent, smoothening over his expression.

“Don’t mind it.”

“Forgive me. But, I’m glad to have you here, Teacher.”

“I’m also happy about the opportunity to reunite with you, Chrono.”

Arthur stared at Chrono with a smile.

“It looks like you went through some hardships.”

“Yes, but I was able to survive thanks to you.”

Chrono stroked the scar on his right eye while revealing a bashful smile.

“Oh, come to think of it, I’ve been entrusted with a letter from Sir Chrohd…”

Arthur retrieved the letter of introduction from his satchel and held it out to Chrono. He accepted the letter and immediately broke the seal. After a few seconds, he smiled wryly.

“How typical of Dad.”

“What is it saying?”

“Only 『Hire him』.”

“Certainly, that sounds very much like Sir Chrohd,” Arthur laughed spontaneously.

This curt style of writing suited Chrohd a lot more than long-winded texts.

“How about it? Will you be able to employ me?”

“Of course. As for the salary…”

“I was paid 2 gold and 10 silver every month at the academy, so if you could pay me the same…”

“Okay, so how about we move towards a contract that lists a monthly salary of 3 gold as the lowest starting point?”

“I would appreciate that a lot.”

Chrono breathed out in relief. Arthur could understand the feeling. Money was important. But talking about money with an acquaintance was a lot more draining than expected.

“For the time being, I’m relieved about being employed.”

“When will you be able to start your lessons?”

“It depends on the content of those lessons, but I would like to have a week to prepare myself. I think it would be great if I could have you tell me what and whom to teach for when I put a curriculum together…”

“Makes sense.”

Chrono folded his arms, brooding――

“Teacher, I’d like you to educate my adjutant and the centurions. Currently, I have the priestess of the Ochre Temple teach them reading, writing, and arithmetic, but it looks like she’s busy with her main job…”

“Is it okay to have them acquire the least amount of education? Or…”

“I’m planning to entrust them with the management of the territory in the future. But, since I’m also intending to actively accumulate achievements from now on, it’d be great if you could educate them as officers at the same time as well.”

“…I see.”

“Is it asking too much?”

Chrono asked worriedly.

“I can carry out an officer’s education without any problems, I think. But, I’m an amateur when it comes to territorial management, so it would be smarter to leave that part to someone else.”

“Oh, okay. I see what you mean.”

“For the time being, I’m going to train them as officers, and we will consider the future route for them depending on their hopes and aptitudes. Do you have any other requests?”

“In addition to that…”

Chrono hesitated to continue. He was likely troubled. His eyes were darting around hectically.

“It’s something for the future, but I’d like to provide the least amount of education to all residents.”

“That’s quite the big dream.”

“I’d be happy if I could rely on your wisdom in this matter.”

“Very well. I will do my utmost to help you with my meager abilities.”

“Thank you very much.”

Chrono smiled bashfully. Arthur smiled as well. He was thinking about his former pupil now training others, and that made him happy.

At that moment, Princess Tilia interjected, “Chrono, what’s this?”

“Ah, I wanted to ask you about that as well.”

Arthur stared at the barebone frame of a house once again. Looking closely, that wasn’t a house’s framework. But if he were asked what else it could be, he’d be hard-pressed to answer. His belief that it was a foundation stemmed from the concrete water tank. A cube made out of crossed wood planks was installed on top of it, and inside, several lattices joined by sheaves were lined up. Moreover, there were stairs on either side.

“This is――”

“Saltpan Prototype Version 2!”

A dwarf, who had shown up here without Arthur noticing, suddenly interrupted Chrono.

“Silver, haven’t you become a lot more haggard?”

“No, I’m full of energy.”

Silver answered Princess Tilia’s question in a way that didn’t quite fit her question. And then he laughed. His smile resembled that of soldiers who have used up all their energy.

“After creating Saltpan Prototype Version 2, I worried about the low efficiency. I got the hint from Lord Chrono to use a three-dimensional object, but I didn’t know how to build a three-dimensional saltpan. So I worried. And worried. And worried. And got frustrated. But then! At that time! I suddenly noticed the sheaf used on roofs! It immediately gave me an idea how to build a three-dimensional saltpan!”

All of a sudden, Silver ran up to the house-framework-like construction. There he pulled up a bucket filled with water from the water tank――it must be sea water since it’s called saltpan―― and ran up the stairs, before casting the ocean water on the three-dimensional saltpan. The saltwater dripped down from the straw.

“The seawater trickles down through the straw! The sea breeze evaporates moisture, and seawater accumulates in the water tank below, increasing its concentration! After repeating this over and over, you boil the thickened ocean water, allowing you to create salt very efficiently! This is my Silver-styled three-dimensional saltpan! Kihaaaa!” Silver released a weird scream at the end while on top of the stairs.

“He’s become a disappointing man, hasn’t he? If you consider that his name will be marked in history, it might be his long-cherished ambition, but…”

“He’s simply sleep-deprived, so he should return to normal once he gets some sleep.”

“I aim to improve it even further and then set up Silver-styled three-dimensional saltpans at each fishing village! Someday, the Cad Earldom will become the foremost salt production area! Yes, the leading salt production area!”

“Silver!”

The voice of a woman could be heard from the coast. Silver looked in the direction of it――

“I’m coming right away!”

“He descended the stairs and ran towards the coast.”

“He won’t be able to sleep anymore, will he?”

“I’ll make him sleep one way or the other,” Chrono answered with a very deep sigh.

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