Chapter 101: A Dangerous Person, In a Way
For ten days since then, I’d been spending my time leisurely.
I’d been enjoying my freedom, going to the Abyss or checking on the progress of the tenant building.
Turns out, office work wasn’t a big deal once I tried it.
Most of it was just reading, calculating, and if there were no problems, stamping my seal and being done.
There were no petitions from the populace at all, and it wasn’t time for repairs on the facilities managed by the Lord.
And above all, it was a big help that one of Leben’s soldiers introduced me to a merchant relative of his.
I’ve entrusted all the low-priority tasks to him, a man who worked diligently but failed in business, so as long as I don’t let things pile up, it’s work that can be finished in a few tens of minutes a day.
Man, he was a real bargain.
He was just too much of a yes-man to be suited for business.
I’m not paying him a huge salary, but I’ve given him the condition that if he works diligently for me, I’ll cover his debts and he can repay me without interest, so he’s happy too.
Since he’s just started, I’m having Genzou-san secretly check the work he finishes, so I’m not worried.
Well, it might get tough around tax season, but I can just entrust it to someone reliable. If I hire a tax collector and occasionally make surprise inspections, they won’t be able to do anything shady, right?
Also, the profits from the mine have increased considerably. It probably took a while for those who weren’t used to it or those who returned to work after several years to improve their efficiency.
Net profits had grown about threefold.
If things don’t change after observing for about a year, I’d like to give raises to those who’ve worked for a long time, but I won’t be here by then.
“Rui, isn’t it about time you went?”
It should have been her usual adorable voice, but just this once, I didn’t want to hear it and covered my ears.
Yes, it was the day I had to go to the place of the person I’d promised to meet in ten days.
“…Do you want to go that badly?”
“If you don’t get serious, I’ll get angry, you know?”
Ugh. It’s because you said no even when I said I’d go alone.
Saying no to me going with just Genzou-san is too cruel!
“That’s why I only love you, Rui!”
“Alright, then let’s go!”
“…Aren’t you making me say that on purpose?”
Saying that wasn’t the case, I picked her up, went outside, and straight into the sky.
Flying while sitting comfortably in a cabin I created mid-air.
I only worry about air resistance and such for long distances now, so it was a leisurely flight.
Even so, we arrived at our destination quickly and landed on a plain.
For some reason, Ignat and a woman were waiting there.
He was supposed to send Kai, though…
“What’s up? This isn’t what we planned, is it?”
“Well, it seems I might have been found out. If possible, I was hoping you could at least take her in…”
From what I heard, his wife was so happy to be able to move again that she went out in disguise, but it was apparently super obvious. At least, her family completely saw through it, or so I heard.
She was looking up at Ignat with a dejected face.
She certainly is beautiful enough to fall for. A pretty woman.
She’s a different type from Yuri, who’s the cute type. Though, since no woman more charming than my girlfriend exists, Yuri wins by a landslide.
“I see. Well then, you wanna come too? You want to be with her, right?”
“Huh? Is it really okay for me to go? I think taking me with you on your own authority would cause you trouble.”
“I got permission from Pops. I’ll have to place some restrictions on your actions, but I can guarantee you a life with your wife and the freedom to walk around town, but…”
“A free life with Lia… I want to go. I want to go so badly…”
“Shuperu, if we can live together, let’s go! I want to be with you more!”
After a long thought, he bowed his head and said, “Please give me time to prepare.”
No, there’s no need to be so formal, so I listened to his thoughts.
Apparently, he has a younger brother and wants to make preparations to entrust the domain to him.
If it became known that he defected, it would cause immense trouble for his family and subordinates, so he wants to skillfully fake his death.
If he makes it seem like he died fighting monsters from the mountain while defending the territory, at least there won’t be any major repercussions, he figured.
“Hmm. The mountain monsters, you mean those bears?”
“Yes. It will likely be a fight to the death, but that’s precisely why it will be more believable. Stray ones appear on very rare occasions, you see.”
Huh? I’ve never heard such stories in Leben or Orde though…
Isn’t it man-made?
When I voiced that doubt, he nodded.
He said there are many who wish to strike a blow against the Empire, even if it costs them their lives.
Most of them get eaten before they can be brought over, but very, very rarely, some succeed.
Just how much are they resented!
“Either way, it’s something that could happen, so I want to deceive them with that.”
“Alright. Then I’ll go get them for you. Wait a bit.”
With that, Yuri and I flew up, shot down about five of them, and brought them back.
“N-No way… These things, five of them are strong enough to destroy several towns…”
“Well, just like you have your secret arts, we have ours too. You know I’m not actually that strong in combat, right?”
When I told him that, he seemed to have a realization and showed his understanding.
“This is a selfish request, but could you take Natalia with you first? I want you to protect her under Your Highness’s care until I can go.”
“Well, if it’s just for three or four days, that’s fine, but…”
When I replied, he said, “Please,” and began explaining the future plans to his wife.
“Lia, you heard, right? I’m going to prepare for Shen to take over. I know you’ll feel lonely until then, but I want you to go on ahead.”
“I understand. I’m sorry. It’s all because I acted selfishly…”
Ignat gave a gentle smile, shook his head, and hugged her tightly.
Immediately after, he said, “Please take care of Lia. I’ll see you here again in three days!” Then, he stabbed and wounded the monsters with his spear, making it look like he defeated them himself, lifted three of them, and ran off.
“Well then, shall we head back for now? Natalia-san, could you sit on this?”
“Eh, ah, yes,” she said, and as she sat down, I restrained her with Maso and we also sat on chairs.
I explained to the bewildered her, “The restraints are for safety,” and since taking off directly seemed like it would take time, I used a hot-air balloon method to ascend partway, then changed form and flew over the mountain range.
We returned to the mansion as is, decided on Natalia-san’s room, took care of her meals and bath, and the day ended.
The next day, the three of us set off on a journey into the sky again.
If I left her alone and something happened, Ignat would kill me, so I plan to stick together until we rendezvous.
This person is truly reckless.
She’s the type to say, “Wow, a butterfly!” and then jump off a cliff.
“I-I’m not that bad!”
“Yuri-chan, judge!”
“Umm, ouuut!”
“Eeeh! Whyyy~?” she showed a genuinely surprised face.
Because she’s like this, she’s already good friends with Yuri, whom I’ve mainly entrusted with her care.
“By the way, Natalia-san, is your body okay? You have Sclerosis, right?”
“Yes. I can move normally, so I’m fine. My shoulder is a little numb, though…”
“N-Numb?” I instinctively grabbed her shoulder and asked.
“But this much is fine, you know? I can move normally!”
“What are you saying!!! That’s not okay!! My mother also neglected that, and it became irreversible, you know!?”
“Rui…”
It seems I worried Yuri by unintentionally shouting.
My sudden change in demeanor also frightened Natalia-san.
“Haa. After we finish scouting the Empire, we’re going to the Abyss. Is that okay?”
“Understood. I will support Lia-san.”
Soldiers are already marching towards the Imperial Capital one after another.
Honestly, there’s no point in looking right now. It’s not like I can count them one by one.
It’s enough that I could confirm their destination is still the Imperial Capital.
So, I quickly observed their movements, then immediately turned and headed towards Oldam.
Just like with Uncle, I put her in the Cart, closed the lid, and ran alone towards the Abyss.
And then, I jumped straight into the hole of the Abyss.
“Hya, hyaaaaa! W-What is this! Aren’t we fallinggg!?”
“It’s alright, please calm down. You know Rui can fly, right?”
“But, not for longgg!?” she screamed.
Saying “Just a little longer, wait a bit,” when the bottom became somewhat visible, I stuck to the wall and shot the Yeti in the room below with the Laser Gun.
While checking for nearby monsters with Enhanced Hearing, I slowly descended.
Once I reached the bottom, I deactivated my Maso and let the two of them out.
“Alright, we’ve arrived! Hold this and try sending Magical Power into it. The non-numb side should be fine, right?”
When I had her try, she could shoot from either side. It seems the Sclerosis hasn’t progressed that much.
Since it’s the shoulder close to her heart, I can’t take it lightly, but if she can defeat monsters with this, then using Light Magic to erase the Magical Power again should be fine, or so I thought, as I summoned monsters with a gong and had Natalia-san keep shooting.
By the way, for accuracy, Yuri was guiding her arm from behind to help her aim.
“How is it? Does your body feel lighter?”
“Umm… Before that, I’m dizzy…” she swayed and looked like she was about to fall, so just in case, I gave Yuri an Elixir to have her drink.
Then, right away, she said, “Ah, I’m healed. It’s that stuff I drank the other day, isn’t it?” stood up, and ran to the end of the room and back.
…Slow. Really slow.
I thought this might be a lost cause, but…
“My body feels so light!” she exclaimed, full of energy.
Yuri and I looked at each other in surprise, then burst out laughing, which earned us a scolding from Natalia-san, “Why are you laughing?!”
Since she seemed okay, I figured we could do a bit more, and we continued onward and onward, eventually completing our usual entire route.
I thought she’d want to head back right away, but once she got the hang of aiming the Laser Gun herself, she actually wanted to continue.
Of course, I didn’t make her do everything. Only when I could easily provide support.
Still, she’s probably skilled enough to escape from an ordinary person now.
That said, she’s too dangerous a person to leave unattended.
With those thoughts in mind, I dropped off half the materials in Oldam and moved the rest to the Magic Tool Research Institute in Belfast and the castle’s storehouse.
By the way, the new-type bombs are stored behind a hidden door I made in the basement of Leben’s mansion.
I’ve piled up a ton of stuff in front of it to block the hidden door, so it probably won’t be found.
So, what’s in my storage right now is just a ridiculously large chunk of Maso and dinosaur meat.
The dinosaur meat, at least, I try to keep stocked as much as possible.
It’s incredibly useful. If I feed this to people, it usually cheers everyone up.
At this point, it’s not just food anymore; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a convenience item.
After finishing organizing my things, and since I was at the castle, I went to see Raku and Fuu and played with them.
“Should we bring Raku and the others along soon?” I asked Yuri.
“I’d love to, but can they fly?”
That’s the thing, isn’t it. Weight-wise, they’re probably like two horses or something. I wonder.
Maybe if we go up high with a hot air balloon, then transform and spread their wings wide, they could make it?
“Then, let’s bring them! These little ones are adorable!”
“Aren’t they, aren’t they! They’re such cute children!”
Oh my, oh my, they’re just like two little girls…
No, Natalia-san is, well, bigger than Yuri in various ways, so that’s not quite right.
“Rui… where are you looking?”
“Where? At Raku, of course. Wondering if they can fly.”
That was close. Girls are really sharp about those kinds of things, aren’t they.
Thinking such thoughts, I got into the basket with Raku and Fuu, used all four wind magic Magic Tools at full power, and soared into the sky.
As expected, it takes time to ascend.
Meanwhile, Raku and Fuu were looking around restlessly and howling.
Since they were being relatively quiet, I continued to ascend.
Thinking I’d need to spread its wings out considerably, after ascending until the Town looked small, I spread out wings that were about five times their usual size and picked up speed while gliding.
Once we reached a certain speed, we could fly stably without any problems.
And so, although it took some Magical Power and time, I was able to bring my beloved Familiars.
And then, finally able to do what I’d always wanted, I welcomed Raku and Fuu into the mansion.
“Alright, from now on, we can live together!”
“We won’t let you be lonely anymore, okay?”
“Awoo awoo!”
“Oh, how cute!”
The two girls pounced on Raku and Fuu, who were wagging their tails excitedly.
Usually, I’d be the one playing with Raku, but my position had been stolen.
Oh well, I thought, and headed into the kitchen to start preparing dinner.