Volume 6 Chapter 125 Instant Otherworld
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”That is a little—no, a very bad story,” the Conqueror King said. “It is like match-pump, as the people of Earth say.”
He looked upset. Since Claude had brought him here almost by force, it made sense that he was angry.
”Match-pump is not really a saying,” I said. “Match means to start a fire, and pump means to put it out…”
He must have heard it from a Summoned Hero. It is not a word you use every day, but you want to say it at least once in your life.
”In my home, we have a saying about calling Goblin to your town to make yourself look good. It is almost the same as match-pump.”
So it means someone brings monsters into a town just to get praise. Even as a saying, it is cruel.
By wiping out Wall Barley, then trying to help the people who will go hungry because of it, my plan is match-pump for sure. I have no excuse.
”Still, I think Wall Barley should be dealt with now. This is our last chance.”
Even without the promise with the Demon Lord, this is close to the deadline. Now that I think about it, maybe the Demon Lord had also counted on this.
”I do understand how Wall Barley harms people,” the Conqueror King said softly. “It is like a poison that leads humans to a quiet death. But must it be now? It has been part of our history for over one hundred years. A few more decades may be fine, yes? Why not leave this for later generations?”
We know the same facts, but we feel the danger differently. The falling birth rate and the loss of forests alone show we are almost out of time, yet people in this world hardly feel the danger.
If I told them people on Earth worry about cow gas, they would laugh.
”Long ago, myth says the world began with one man and one woman,” he went on. “As long as a man and a woman live, the world is not in danger. So please return me to my castle at once. They must be in panic by now.”
”You do not need to worry about that,” I said. “This room is a kind of otherworld. Time here is not the same as in the real world. Even if we stay here for a year, we return to the same place and time.”
To be exact, we return a moment later, but it is a small gap. People may see a tiny flicker, but if he is in bed, no one will notice. Time runs even faster here than in Uno’s Nest.
”It sounds like the time rooms in old fairy tales,” he said. “Is this also a power of the world’s great knowledge?”
No. Uno squeezed this room together somehow. It is a small fake world that vanishes in a few seconds outside, but inside it lasts for years. It is perfect for a secret meeting.
The scale is smaller, but the act is like the gods creating heaven and earth. No wonder dragons are treated like demigods.
The Conqueror King’s face grew brighter.
”Oh. You should have said so sooner. In that case, I will stay as long as needed. I also want to think about world peace together.”
He changed his mind fast. I guess taking him by force was a mistake.
He is a king with too much work. Little sleep, short meals, less time for a bath—this is his life.
Right then, I decided to help him relax. A makeover for the room was the first step.
He should sleep while we set it up. A tired mind cannot think well.
He happily slid into the bed I made, and I heard soft breathing in three seconds.
Without Shea-Shea and Ms. Floria, I would be like this too. No one should be a king without good helpers.
By the way, Summoned Heroes are better at work than most people in this world. They can read, write, and do math, which is a big help. They are also hard-working, though they like to create new jobs for themselves. I do that too.
To live a happy life, maybe we should learn how to rest instead.
I laid a green carpet, set three soft brown sofas, and put a kotatsu (heated table) in the middle with soft drinks and snacks. The white wall could act as a screen for a video projector.
The perfect chat room was ready.
Information gathering? A strategy meeting? It was just three men here. We could relax.
”This place… looks lazy and a bit wild… but very comfortable,” he said when he woke. “No, it is even stylish?”
The pretty boy looked confused, but he seemed to like it. After a good sleep, he was in a very good mood.
”By the way,” he said, “will you introduce him to me now?”
He meant Claude, who sat with us on the sofa. Of course he was curious. Claude did not act like a servant at all.
He even looked more important than me, though he was just being himself.
Tizzy once said this was the right level of pride for a member of a royal family.
To enter this otherworld room, his ability was needed, so he stayed with us. It was a good chance for him to gain experience with people.
We had two kings in a meeting, after all.
”This boy is my smart son,” I said. “He is good at teleportation magic, so he helps me.”
”Hello. Claude is fine,” he said.
”Oh, a false name,” the Conqueror King said. “Then call me Masurao. It is an old word from another world. I hear it means ‘Hero’. “
It was an old Japanese word from over a thousand years ago. Hero? Well, it did mean a brave person.
He did not react to Claude being my son. You would think he would ask how I had a grown child so soon after marriage. Maybe that was normal in this world. He also accepted this room without a problem.
”The Wall Barley problem is really the duty of Belzea (goddess) and the priests of the Belzea shrine. Do you mean to start a religious reform?” the Conqueror King asked.
Ah — right into the heart of it. Good.
The Belzea shrine is the largest religious group now, but I doubt there is a real priest left. Even if an oracle came, no one would understand it. They have fallen to that level.
”The Belzea shrine is already an organization separate from Lady Belzea,” he said.
They are more a money machine now than a place of true faith. Yes, they need funds, but when giving money becomes the only goal, they lost their way.
”Because gods are unseen, even priests doubt. Even those who once saw a god’s miracle begin to doubt their own memory as time passes. It all feels so unreal.”
Masurao—who chewed a salted rice cracker as he spoke—made the point clearly. Being in another world does not mean people are more faithful.
Maybe he himself cannot fully trust the gods.
Why are people so weak in faith in a world where gods are so near? There is no lack of strange beliefs here.
”God time and human time differ. If you try to speak too fast, you might not get an answer at once. That is why the gods may ignore people,” I said.
”You get answers right away, though,” he replied.
Perhaps I am watched more closely. When divine punishment triggers, it can feel like a built-in trap set to go off. Still, blessings often come fast. Gods have many reasons.
It is rude to demand instant replies from them.
”At least for Lady Belzea, we cannot say when she will react to Wall Barley. Other gods have stepped in because she did not.”
She feels like a goddess who moves at her own pace. Maybe she grew bored of Wall Barley and left it alone. At least she should clean up her mess.
Even on Earth, old gods often seem fickle. Maybe that is part of being a god.
”I see. Since people helped make that thing, people can also destroy it. If you only pray and wait, salvation may come tomorrow or a hundred years later. Can we leave our lives to luck? That would make us the gods’ cattle.”
He began to mutter, and I was pleased. Good. Worry, worry. I am worried too.
”God helps those who help themselves. Waiting for fate comes after you have done all you can. Will a god save someone who never even tries?” I added, saying something that sounded right.
It made me feel good. I felt a kind of light buzz, even without drink. Maybe the gods spoke through me, or maybe I was rambling.
”The Belzea priests tell people to give money and only pray. They say human extinction is a test by the goddess and must be accepted. Yet what you say sounds true. I want to stand on my own feet,” someone said.
In such hard times, asking for soul comfort by prayer is not wrong. Who could blame them?
But the Belzea priests only fatten themselves. They are not fools. They are the top layer of the world’s educated class. Some must know about Wall Barley, but they still favor quick money. That is a heavy sin.
”Ten years, maybe twenty, and you could reform the Belzea shrine and restore the bond with the goddess. But I have neither the duty nor the time for that,” he said.
”So it is a matter of time. If conquest takes too long, you would even leave the Larse Empire behind?” someone asked.
It is not a matter of abandoning them. If food runs out, that empire will come to raid and take what it needs. I am planning to stop that from happening.
”If the emperor fully cooperated, you would not need to conquer. But that must happen within a year—ideally six months. If we do not start rice farming by next spring, the schedule after that will be tight,” he said.
”Hmm. The emperor is not wicked, but he is stubborn. He will not listen. Wait—what if we call him to this room and take time to make him understand? If that fails, I have a secret plan I have kept for years. In ten days I could seize the throne.”
Ah, so there really was a secret plan. He is a man of deep will.
”You have met me and gave up your grip on the throne. Now you tell me to sit on the emperor’s chair? Is that fate?” he said with a small smile.
I did not tell him to become emperor, but it sounded interesting. It would give some legitimacy.
If he could bring the Larse Empire under control in ten days, we would have room to save the survivors of the Totoana Empire.
To keep the species alive and secure genetic variety, we should also save those people.
”The emperor’s palace has a barrier against teleportation, and only a few trusted people may enter. So kidnapping him by teleportation seems impossible. But Claude, who took me from my bed, might break through such defense, right?” the Conqueror King asked.
Claude nodded quietly.
”First we kidnap the emperor and re-educate him?” someone suggested.
That is another word for brainwashing. But to make a good ruler, education is needed.
”It may take time to fix his nature, but time here is stopped, is it not?”
Actually the opposite. Time here runs very fast. I understood his meaning, so I did not bother to explain.
”The emperor cannot dress himself alone. We would have to bring his servants too. No—that is the problem. Were those servants the ones who taught him?”
It might be wiser to isolate the emperor alone. The ones who teach a ruler are often the real power. We could send our own servants, and let them handle his new lessons.
Mr. Ginchi had restored some Doll Princesses, and we were testing them as maids in the castle. They had been noble ladies in life, so they knew good manners.
A restored Doll Princess had traces of memory inside her core, but without a soul, she was only a shell. When the master shared a part of their soul, she started up in a normal way.
Only one Doll Princess, with a spirit orb in her core, could move by herself. She was almost like a spirit, Mr. Ginchi had said.
What is a soul, really?
As servants, watchers, and teachers, the restored Doll Princesses were a good fit. They were half-autonomous, like remote bodies. They could not betray us, and because they were linked to my soul, I would feel if something was wrong. They were like my copies.
We could also swap their bodies for different jobs. There were light wooden golem bodies for simple tasks, Ann-type golems for battle, and fresh golem bodies that looked like real humans.
”By the way, how strong is the Larse emperor in a fight?” I asked.
”His fighting skill?” Masurao replied. “Lower than a normal soldier. He has never fought anyone directly. He loves war, but he always commanded from inside the palace.”
”Tch.”
Claude really needed to learn a poker face, though I understood him.
So the emperor could not fight at all. A wooden golem body would be enough to hold him. Still, I would send two.
”You share your soul with these restored Doll Princesses? Then please give me one,” Masurao said.
”Father, I want one too!” Claude added.
Why were they so eager?
”They are not toys. Aren’t you scared? Even if it is small, a piece of your soul is taken,” I said.
”My mother once gave half her soul to make the first Doll Princess,” Masurao said. “I do not know what a soul is, but if it is dangerous, then all the more reason to do it.”
It sounded deep, but the logic was wild.
He had lived as a hero with charm, mood, and speed. But lately, more people were starting to notice the cracks. He was growing up, and his boy soprano voice was gone. Without that soft, mystical sound, he was just a handsome man.
”I will place an order,” I said.
It depended on Mr. Ginchi’s spare parts. These were not ready-made.
”For the body, a fresh golem, please. If it is my soul’s copy, it should be beautiful,” Masurao said.
”Yes, that is important. Please give me a fresh golem too,” Claude said.
These two… I understood, but they were too honest with their desires.
”I will order them, but that model takes the longest time to make,” I warned.
Fresh golems were made by cutting and shaping grown meat. It was likely bio-technology, far beyond Earth’s.
I remembered how the Hero Bureau once tried to use thrown-away Doll Princess cores to control old battle golems. It failed. The Doll Princess’s mind broke because the battle golem body was not cute. If she could not wear cute clothes, she would rather die. Maybe I now understood girls a little.
Looks did matter. Then a human-like fresh golem was the kind choice.
I felt bad for doubting them. They had thought about the Doll Princesses’ feelings. My heart was the dirty one.
If we brought silicone rubber from Japan, maybe we could cover a wooden golem to look human. I should ask Mr. Ginchi.
After the Doll Princess talk, the empire plan felt like a side note.
If we could turn the emperor into an ally after his “re-education,” we would not need Plan B.
”Luckily, we have many Summoned Heroes who can use teleportation magic in our army. With Lord Claude’s help, we can send a big force anywhere at once. If we win the first strike, we can beat anyone. Easy,” Masurao said.
”A lightning war. If we take three vassal states on day one, the others will wait and watch. After that, we beat them one by one,” Claude added.
In their hands, world conquest sounded simple. Big mouths? They had the skill to match.
”What about taking the vassal kings too and re-educating them?” I said.
Could we take countries without shedding a drop of blood?
”No point teaching them,” Masurao said. “They only follow whoever is strong. If we scare them, they bow. If we talk to them, they get bold and annoying.”
So that was why they attacked Duke Mineley Territory without a word. Someone must have mocked them before. Still, they were young.
”In that case, I will play the one they can mock. You keep acting as the scary Conqueror King,” I said.
”Oh! Good Cop and Bad Cop! I saw that in an anime. But Father, why take the bad role?” Claude asked.
It was not a bad role, was it? Or maybe in this world it was worse to be looked down on than to die. Like those old stories about noble pride. I did not mind.
”Sweet words alone cannot save the people,” Masurao said.
Notes:
• Claude – A handsome boy, son of the narrator and Uno, with a flashy name possibly inspired by ‘The Tale of Genji’.
• Shea-Shea – Mauro’s daughter. Hurt by Alexander. Became an eager fiancée after advice from protagonist.
• Tizzy – Claims to be Duke’s daughter, a noble with advanced magic skills. MC and Ms. Shirakaba lover. Now Mc’s wife.
• Masurao – The conqueror king. Act as a king for the mc.
• Ginchi – Male. A dwarf, scientist, artist, and seeker of truth. Ms. Mahal’s acquaintance. He is a skilled artisan, researcher of homunculi, and monopolizes high-precision glass tubes. He is wealthy, rational, and critical of both dwarfs and Earth’s civilization. He has a rivalry with Mr. Zenom.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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