Volume 6 Chapter 87 Returning Home In The Morning
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”You’re back in the morning, huh?”
Ms. Shirakaba’s voice floated over the empty ship’s deck, playful and teasing.
Could it be… she was waiting for me?
I had indeed returned early, but no guilt weighed on me.
I was just handling every single request Shea-Shea dumped on me, and by the time I left her place, it was past midnight.
After grinding through my tasks, I practically flew across the river at midnight—giving it my all.
The night breeze was refreshing, but cold enough to remind me autumn was skipping straight to winter.
”A day trip’s a bit far, huh?” she said with a soft chuckle.
”You don’t have to push yourself so hard. Humans aren’t gods, after all,” she added with a dramatic flair.
Is she quoting some anime line or something?
”Did you pull an all-nighter watching anime?” I asked.
”We stayed up all night yesterday, but everyone was asleep before dawn. I made sure of it,” she replied.
Everyone really got hooked, huh? Even Ms. Nina, surprisingly. Total gap moe.
Maybe those cosplay outfits they tried to shove on me might make an appearance after all.
”I got inspired watching the sunrise. Mind if I borrow a solar panel? Sorry if I break it,” she said casually.
I watched curiously as she disappeared into the dark hold below, lining up solar panels. What on earth was she planning?
”I’m trying to generate electricity with light magic. If it works, we could use unlimited power,” she explained without looking up.
Ms. Shirakaba’s no good with fire magic, but light magic’s her thing.
If she can convert mana into electricity through these panels, we could chill in an air-conditioned room and watch anime forever.
Is that really what a summoning hero winner like her wishes for? Guess happiness wears many faces.
”Ah, the 100-watt panel’s putting out 20 watts,” she murmured.
”Is that bad?” I asked, peeking at the Cha-cha controller’s display.
Ms. Shirakaba squinted at the numbers, adjusting the light intensity.
I silently prayed the panel wouldn’t fry.
”No, it means the magic light can generate electricity properly. Pretty practical,” she smiled.
If she made a box with solar panels facing inward and cast light magic inside, the output would multiply six times by simple math.
”Hmm, clever. Maybe we could power the air conditioner, TV, and fridge just with natural mana recovery,” she said, eyes bright.
She was happy, but fire magic’s conversion efficiency is still far better.
What if there was electric shock magic too?
What is mana anyway? That’s where we have to start.
Tizzy and Ms. Nina were impressed too, proving that even in a magic world, electric appliances are in demand.
They say after just a few days without electricity, life becomes unimaginable—even for El.
Even simple life magic takes years to master, but machines you can use with a button are too convenient.
If we gave the dwarf kingdom basic knowledge, samples, and tools, they could probably build air conditioners and refrigerators immediately.
But something controls the development of civilization here—forces above kings, emperors, even management bureaus. A shadow government? A deep state? Maybe the gods themselves.
Earth myths have stories where gods limit humans, like the fruit of wisdom in Eden or Prometheus stealing fire.
They’re not malicious, just afraid humans can’t handle too much power. Zeus might have feared humans surpassing gods.
Hmm, bringing too much from Earth might be risky. Don’t want to be Prometheus.
But if it’s just fun with close friends, maybe it’s okay? For now, I’ll gather Earth stuff and see how it goes.
…Everyone strongly opposed. No chance to bring that up now. Totally impossible.
From now on, I’ll stop casually bringing up Earth tech.
* * *
”Is there an organization controlling civilization in this world? Maybe,” I said.
On topics like this, I could speak freely with Ms. Nina. Moments like these made me a little happy.
”I can’t say it out loud, but the inner sanctum—desuwa, right?” she whispered.
”Words of power? Wouldn’t that make Tizzy’s talk a problem?”
”If the Saint’s barrier’s here, this level of talk is safe~desuwa,” she reassured me.
Safe? Right, the Saint’s barrier is famous for blocking even gods’ eavesdropping.
”So, is the head of the inner sanctum a god?” I asked.
”Impossible. Gods have promises they must keep before interfering with humans,” she said seriously.
I began to get how gods and humans relate here.
Gods hold immense power but can’t act unless humans do something first. Even divine punishment requires a trigger. Gods don’t harm unless provoked.
”Anime is great. Before the inner sanctum does anything reckless, let’s offer them anime and get the gods’ approval,” I joked.
I understood why rules are so hard to change. Even in Japan, Meiji-era laws still stand. Big changes only happen after big problems.
If we get gods’ OK first, then we’re safe?
”For that, we need to carefully choose excellent anime,” Ms. Nina nodded.
”Yeah, but shouldn’t asteroid countermeasures and saving Uno be higher priority?”
”If the temple officials act, maybe we won’t need to do anything,” I said.
”True. We gave them rights to sell distilled spirits, so the grand temple better pull through,” Ms. Nina added with a grin.
”Tell me more about that!” Ms. Nina suddenly reacted intensely.
Huh? Was she scolding me? Did I mess up?
I briefly explained the deal with the cardinal, then Tizzy and I consulted. Despite noble birth, Ms. Nina and Tizzy were tough about money.
”Um? Ms. Nina, was that really bad?” I asked cautiously.
Her eyes glazed over, scary as hell.
”Whether you’re being exploited depends on the power dynamic with His Eminence the Cardinal,” she said. “Weak nations get endlessly stripped bare~desuwa. The Sabroa Dukedom doesn’t have a proper army… but if the king can drop stars, that beats a million troops.”
Even a dragon can’t stop falling meteors.
”Shall we first test the Grand Temple’s skills?” I suggested.
If they fail the stove offering, their rights to sell distilled spirits get canceled, right?
The cardinal wouldn’t come to this remote place himself. Without teleportation gates, it’s over ten days one way.
He just orders subordinates through the Grand Temple’s comms network.
”The temple and Adventurer Guild’s communication tech is cheating for a medieval world,” Ms. Shirakaba said, flipping open a battered laptop.
Probably broken in many ways. Magic tech like this needs careful handling.
”Is that even a computer? Looks like a laptop but more like a typewriter with a screen. Can it play games and communicate? Is it basically a smartphone?”
If you think about it, a smartphone is a computer in a way.
”The Hero’s computer is a sub-device connected to the management bureau, linking the Grand Temple and Adventurer Guild,” Ms. Nina explained.
If we ask the management bureau, we can chat between my laptop and Ms. Shirakaba’s.
”So, we can talk to the Cardinal too?”
”We can, but the management bureau will overhear everything relayed,” she warned.
”Huh? Seriously? Oh no.”
Ms. Shirakaba blushed bright red for no reason.
”Oh, I have walkie-talkies. Want to use one?”
”Of course! It’s a love hotline, right?”
Because Ms. Shirakaba bragged about it, I ended up supplying them for everyone.
Even people from another world use it easily. El hesitated pressing the button, so I gave her a bigger military surplus model.
”If the inner sanctum or whoever finds out, it might cause trouble. Keep it secret, okay?”
”Roger that, secret it is.”
Since comm devices are widespread already, is that okay? Still, a specific group monopolizes them.
* * *
I checked the nearby temple early afternoon. Preparations for the stove offering were already underway. The Grand Temple really used their communication network well.
”The power of their organization is amazing,” I said as I watched the disciplined movements of the temple staff.
”For them, events like this are routine,” Ms. Nina answered, sounding both impressed and wary.
”The believers are used to instructions. Community-based religious orgs are scary,” Tizzy muttered, arms crossed, like she was remembering something personal.
A king who just squeezes taxes, and a priest who actually helps people through rituals and prayers—no wonder the people support the temple. The king’s got no chance against that kind of public favor.
”Like the Ikko sect? No, more like the dual structure of royal power and temple authority? The humiliation of Canossa?” Ms. Shirakaba was geeking out now, eyes sparkling.
(TL: Ikko sect = militant Buddhist monks from Japan’s warring period. Dual structure = when kings and temples both held real power. Canossa = famous event where a king humbled himself before the Pope.)
She must’ve packed history books in her gear. We’ll definitely be talking more about this tonight.
”Oh, they’re not only offering prayers for the hearth, but also gathering villagers to evacuate~desuwa, right?” she added, twirling a strand of her hair like this was all part of some elegant strategy game.
Huh? Now that I noticed, there were way too many wagons lined up. These people didn’t move halfway. No casualties. All thanks to the cardinal. It was expensive, but yeah—leaving it to him was the right choice.
”Subject movement is sensitive for the lord. Good job, that cardinal,” Ms. Nina said, quietly but firmly.
”Sensitive…?” I mumbled. My mental translation lagged behind.
Maybe it meant something like, ‘the lord doesn’t want to admit people can move freely.’ Something about power and control, I guess.
”Yeah, the temple and king probably trust each other,” I said, trying to follow.
”Looks like they’re ready to fight if obstructed,” Ms. Nina said, her voice dropping ominously.
Wait, why? I had seen some priest-warriors, but not enough to go toe-to-toe with a national army. They didn’t look like the ‘fight a thousand men alone’ types either.
”I see, so that’s how it is,” Tizzy murmured, as if a puzzle piece had clicked into place for her.
Just me being left behind, huh?
”If that’s so, let’s leave everything to the temple and withdraw,” I suggested with a shrug.
”Ah, worked hard, worked hard. Amada-kun, I want chilled somen,” Ms. Shirakaba said suddenly, breaking character and sounding like a normal hungry girl.
You’ve only been out for like, what, less than an hour? That’s not ‘esteemed teacher surveys the field’ levels of effort. But hey, must be nice having that gig.
But since the temple was showing crazy strong organization, our butting in would probably just slow them down. Yeah, that’s how it is.
Sometimes, the best move is to not move at all. Got it.
Chilled somen, huh? Good choice. I had enough dried noodles stocked up to start a food stall.
If I got moving now, lunch would be right on time. And somen cooks even faster than cup noodles. Real test of a cook? How many toppings you can bring to the table.
Can’t skip kinshi tamago, shredded cucumber, chopped green onions, chicken ham, roasted pork. For the curveball: itawasa and tuna mayo. Maybe fruit in syrup for some color? Umeboshi might be too intense for locals, but Ms. Nina liked the ume onigiri last time, so maybe.
Back on the abandoned ship, I got to cooking fast, but the girls looked kinda off.
”I can’t forgive this. For a priest to use people as bait—even if it’s just pretend,” one of them said sharply.
Huh? What’s going on? Everyone nodded. Me? I felt out of the loop.
”But as long as the king doesn’t interfere, the evacuation order’s perfect, right?” Ms. Shirakaba asked, keeping pace with the serious talk.
Wait—the king might actually interfere? Why would he?
”If the temple gave a proper evacuation order and the king blocked it, people would question his right to rule. If a meteorite actually falls and he held things up, he wouldn’t be king for long,” Ms. Nina said, throwing me a glance as she explained.
Okay… starting to get it.
”Okay, question,” I said. “What happens if the king just disappears?”
”If priest-warriors die in battle, the Great Temple gets justification. Either they claim the land directly or appoint a new king. Something like that, I guess?” Ms. Nina replied.
”The priest-warriors who die are martyrs… or sacrifices?” I asked, not liking where this was going.
”Exactly. The priests had this feverish look in their eyes,” Ms. Nina said.
”Those are fanatic eyes~desuwa,” Shirakaba added, her voice almost playful but with an edge.
”Humans are dumb. They think if they die for God, they’ll go to heaven,” Tizzy muttered, looking away.
Wait—hold up. God exists, right? So… no heaven?
Maybe leaving things to the cardinal wasn’t such a great idea after all. A war might hurt more people than a falling star ever could.
”Good intentions often cause bad stuff unexpectedly,” Ms. Nina said, and her eyes met mine.
Was she encouraging me? Scolding me? Both?
But… weirdly, I felt a little lighter.
”You were probably overthinking, right? Keep it simple,” Ms. Shirakaba said, her tone cooler now. “If someone in front of you needs help, and you want to help, do it. That’s enough. Go with your feelings. Humans aren’t gods; we can’t save everyone. And anyway, lunch is somen—that’s the priority.”
Right. Do what I can now.
I cleared my head and let my hands take over. Calm. Steady. This felt right.
Good food makes people happy.
Oishii is justice.
My kind of justice is probably just this simple.
”Is this the famous somen?” one of them asked, peeking into the setup.
”It doesn’t flow?”
”That’s nagashi somen. This is the non-flowing kind.”
Wait—why do they all know about somen? Anime, maybe?
”Cooking with ice is such a noble’s hobby~desuwa,” Tizzy said dramatically.
”If it snows in winter, you can just stock it in a magic bag, right?” El asked.
”That’s kind of a waste of a magic bag,” Tizzy muttered.
”This freezer doesn’t need electricity. Just turn the crank and use the heat pump, right?”
”There’s no motor. It’s a Peltier type.”
If it was a motor-driven heat pump, technically a person could power it. But 100 watts of human effort? That’s a stretch.
Though… with Ms. Shirakaba’s cheat-level strength, it might actually work. Total overkill.
”Yuck! This dipping sauce or whatever, it’s so bland~desuwa!” she said, making a face.
”Ah, you need to dip it a little deeper,” I said.
”If you dip too much, it’ll taste too salty,” Nina added.
Clumsy eaters, huh. Not surprising—otherworlders struggle with somen. El, though, happily crunched on the shredded cucumber.
Ms. Shirakaba looked like she was enjoying herself, so it couldn’t be that bad.
”Expecting skill from the eater? Nobles would never go for that~desuwa.”
”Huh? Is it really that hard? Just takes getting used to.”
Exactly. Just like Ms. Shirakaba said—it’s all about practice.
I remembered when I was a kid. Everyone messes up at first. You dunk too much, it’s salty. Then the sauce thins as you eat. Not simple.
I always liked slurping up the last somen with watery sauce.
”I got it! Like this, like this! Try it!” I said, excited.
I poured the thinned-out sauce into a glass bowl, laid the somen in, and lined up the toppings neatly.
”Hmm, this looks like ramen!”
”Delicious!”
”Tasty!”
”Is this ramen?”
Right, I hadn’t served ramen yet.
”This is… chilled nyumen?”
”Nyumen? Because it’s new noodles? Nyumen?” Ms. Shirakaba said with a grin.
Oh no. Her Mind Communication Skill was weak against puns. Everyone paused.
Still, they got it. Somen = delicious. Even Ms. Nina went back for a proper try at the end.
Once you taste how good it is, tweaking the flavor gets easier.
Notes:
• Shirakaba – A paladin who seems to be a skilled fighter. He’s introduced as someone with a strong defense and healing abilities.
• Shea-Shea – Mauro’s daughter. Hurt by Alexander. Became an eager fiancée after advice from protagonist.
• Ms. Nina – Doll Princess (Auroora 217), renamed by the protagonist. Beautiful blonde, ~168 cm, slim waist. Wears adventurer attire. Made from artificial parts and wooden limbs, resembling a princess. Knowledgeable, can read, write, and use basic healing magic. Reliable partner, often saves the protagonist with her skills.
• Nina – Doll Princess (Auroora 217), renamed by the protagonist. Beautiful blonde, ~168 cm, slim waist. Wears adventurer attire. Made from artificial parts and wooden limbs, resembling a princess. Knowledgeable, can read, write, and use basic healing magic. Reliable partner, often saves the protagonist with her skills.
• Tizzy – Claims to be Duke’s daughter, a noble with advanced magic skills. MC and Ms. Shirakaba lover.
• El – She is a giant woman, appeared as Saburou’s captor, living alone in a large tent, skilled in hunting and cooking, proposes marriage to Saburou.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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