4. Heading for the Radzuel Empire

The next day, we headed towards Lord Royz’s home near the border between the Radzuel Empire and Chronowize. We’d brought a lot of guardian knights with us from the capital, but the fact that we were going to the empire was top-secret, so we only brought four carefully selected knights with us this time.

“We’ve got no idea what Emperor Bearsley’ll do if he finds out, so we have to be sneaky~” Miss Micah said, pointing to a covered wagon. As I looked confused, she laughed. “Micah comes here in a covered wagon for shopping. If you hide between the foodstuffs, they won’t find you~”

“So you’re smuggling us in?”

“I’ve already talked with the soldiers at the border crossing, so it’ll be fine~”

Apparently, the problem was if someone unrelated saw us and spread rumors.

Lord Glen, Ele, and I boarded the wagon first with the cutting box. Then, with baskets of fruits and vegetables piled around us, it just looked like she was coming back from a shopping trip. The guardian knights were walking around it, dressed up as mercenaries.

Once Miss Micah sat on the driver’s bench, the wagon started moving. Since there wasn’t a wall between the driver’s bench and the back, we could hear her humming.

“Y’know, I’ve been thinking. That kitty of yours is really quiet~”

Kitten-form Ele hadn’t made a peep since we’d met Miss Micah. Maybe he was tired from constantly using his magic on the Spirit Tree cutting? I looked at him, but all he did was yawn and silently curl up again.

“Oh, that’s right. Would we have the time to make a little detour?” Lord Glen asked.

“We should be fine as long as we get back before sunset~”

After their short conversation, the wagon stopped a bit off of the highway.

“No one’s here, so it should be safe for you to get out~”

Once we got the okay, Lord Glen and I got off of the wagon and saw a bright blue flower...a blue lily blooming there.

“You kept your promise,” I whispered, getting a gentle, angelic smile back from him.

The wastelands where the blue lilies bloomed were covered in fertilizer, which was left once the flower had bloomed and wilted. It was proof that there had been a large amount of miasma here just a while before.

“I’ve never seen a lily that color before~ If there were more, it’d look like the ocean~” Miss Micah said from her spot on the driver’s bench.

I want to see the real ocean someday...

At the border crossing, you had to show the soldiers proof of your identity and a pass. A soldier with a fluffy tail at the checkpoint smirked when he saw Miss Micah.

“Got a lot with you today, huh?”

“It’s been dangerous, lately, y’know~?”

“Famine’s gettin’ worse, yeah. Better to have guards with you when you’re carryin’ food,” he said, giving another smirk before letting us pass straight through. He didn’t check the contents of the wagon or ask for identification from any of the guardian knights dressed as mercenaries.

After getting a bit farther away, Miss Micah whispered, “That soldier got a letter from Lord Royz explaining things~” So that’s why he smirked. “He was so happy to get one from him. Everyone loves Lord Royz~”

As I nodded in understanding, the wagon took a turn. I’d heard that we’d be leaving the highway beforehand, so I wasn’t surprised. A little while later, we could see a building surrounded by a wooden fence. It was a log house about the size of my room back at the Research Institute.

“This is Lord Royz’s home~” she announced, stopping the wagon beside the house and walking inside. Lord Glen, the knights carrying Ele and the cutting box, and I followed her inside.

“I’m baaaa~ack! Lord Royz, are you still kickin’~?”

“Hah? I’m still here,” a tall man replied to her, walking over from farther inside. His long, near-black green hair was braided with a length of cloth, and swayed as he walked. His eyes were deep green, and seemed to suck you in. His ears were in the same place as human ones, but they were long and pointed, and on the top of his head were big, thick black horns growing out. His scales and the tail with fur the same color as his hair made him really look like a dragonman.

I wonder if the reason he looks older than his portrait is because he’s sick?

He gave me a weird look when he saw I was staring. “You’ve brought some weird guests today, Micah.”

“You’re the one who told me to bring them~! Have you forgotten already~?”

“Wait, are these people from Chronowize? I never expected you’d actually bring any. Great job.”

“What’s with the monotone! Praise me properly~!” Miss Micah looked angry, but her wagging tail said otherwise.

“Okay, okay, good girl,” Lord Royz said in a deeper monotone, roughly messing her hair up.

Her tail is wagging even harder...

“Well then, let’s get talking. You guys can sit on that sofa over there.”

Lord Glen and I sat on the sofa he pointed to. We had the cutting box and Ele set by our feet. The kitten-formed Spirit was still curled up, sleeping. Lord Royz sat down on the three-seater sofa on the other side of the low table in front of us.

Miss Micah quickly set out tea and sweets on the low table. Once she finished, she stood behind the sofa Lord Royz sat at.

“Should introduce myself first, huh,” he said, looking listless. “I’m Royz, former Emperor of Radzuel. I’m currently enjoying my retirement living in the country. Just enough monsters out here for a good bit of exercise.”

“...I’m the younger brother of the King of Chronowize, Glenarnold Snowflake. I’ve come here in charge of the Spirit Tree issue.”

“It’s nice to meet you. My name is Chelsea Sargent. I am a research fellow at the Royal Research Institute.” I introduced myself using the ladylike words they’d drilled into me before we left, but I was worried I’d said it weird. If I spoke too much, I’d go back to my normal way of speaking, so I had to keep quiet as much as possible...

Lord Royz glanced at my face before moving his eyes above my head. After he looked at me, he looked above Lord Glen’s head too, and his expression changed to one of shock. I glanced over at Lord Glen, and he looked shocked too.

What’s wrong? Oh, that’s right. Miss Micah said that Lord Royz also had the [Appraisal] Skill. They might have seen something surprising on each other’s results.

Watching them for a bit, Lord Royz mumbled something.

“Damn, it’s a shock to meet another [Reincarnator] now.”

I couldn’t make out what he said, but Lord Glen must have, because he kept nodding.

“I knew that there had to be others, but I never thought the former Emperor would be one.”

“It’s been about 100 years since I last saw one... Can I just call you Glen?”

“That’s fine. I’ll just call you Royz.”

Just from the way their conversation was going, it seemed that both of them might have been surprised that they have the same rare Skill.

“Ah, that’s right. Micah can make Japanese food, so stay the night here.”

“Japanese food... I’ve been dreaming of eating that for so long...!” Lord Glen’s eyes were sparkling for once. When he saw that, Lord Royz smiled happily too.

I really didn’t know exactly what happened, but it seemed they were getting along well despite only just meeting.

After the situation had mellowed, Lord Royz sat himself down properly. “Let’s get to the point,” he started, before having a coughing fit. Miss Micah softly patted his back. “First, I wanna thank you for coming all this way. I should’ve been the one to go to Chronowize myself, but... Honestly, I don’t have it in me to travel now.

I knew that he’d retired because of his sickness, but I hadn’t thought it was bad enough he couldn’t travel. I stared at him, worried, only to get a smirk back. He must not want me to worry...

“Micah probably gave you the basics, but I want you to listen to my Spirit Tree Plan,” he said, pulling a map from somewhere—probably another Item Box—to show us. The map had a number of marks along the borderline between Radzuel and Chronowize. “If we put Spirit Trees at regular intervals juuuust on the border, the miasma shouldn’t flow into Chronowize.”

“Wait just one second. There was no specification you wanted more than one. That’s all we have here,” Lord Glen interrupted, looking at the wooden box at our feet.

Ele was still on top of it. After stretching, he sat down and spoke, «It’s not so simple to prepare more than one cutting. Were we to make as many as your plan requires, it would take years.»

“Huh? That isn’t a normal kitten?”

It seemed that Lord Royz had understood what kitten-form Ele said, despite the fact that normal people shouldn’t be able to. He stared above the Spirit’s head. Maybe they both understand because they have the [Appraisal] Skill...?

“I’d thought it was a catperson in animal form, but it’s the King of the Spirits’ temporary form, huh... Nice.”

It seemed he’d used his [Appraisal] skill to see Ele’s true status.

“Now that I think about it, Chelsea had ‘The Spirit King’s Contractor’ as her occupation.” The moment Lord Royz said that, he froze. A moment later, he turned to me, moving like a rusted doll. “I didn’t think a kid this little’d be the contractor. Sorry for making you travel so far.”

As he said that, he fell into an even worse coughing fit than before. Miss Micah was rubbing his back again, but it wasn’t stopping. That looks like it really hurts. I wish I could do something...

“That’s weird... I thought I was doing good today...”

“It’s because you’ve been spamming your [Appraisal] Skill! You should’ve been holding back~!” Miss Micah was scolding him, but her worry was making her tail droop.

“What kind of illness...are you afflicted with?” I asked, trying to sound ladylike, but he just looked away from me, not answering. Did he not want to tell me?

Lord Glen spoke up while I was confused. “It’s called Mana Deficiency Disease. It’s a sickness where your mana pool can’t fill up.”

“Hey, Glen. Don’t tell a little kid something that’ll worry her.”

“...I will be an adult in three years, so I am not that little,” I said slowly, still using ladylike language.

“That’s true. If you’re a research fellow, I shouldn’t be treating you like a kid. Sorry,” Lord Royz apologized, before explaining his illness to me.

Mana Deficiency Disease was a disease where it was almost as if your mana pool had a hole in it, stopping it from filling. Normally, your mana would regenerate by sleeping or eating, but with the disease, your mana would slowly drain without you doing anything, eventually leading to death.

“A normal person would die after half a year, maybe a whole year... I’ve been eating Micah’s medicinal cooking, so I’ve managed to survive these three years. But the end is nigh,” he said, looking as if he’d given up.

Hearing him say that made Miss Micah, who had been standing behind the sofa, pull her lips tight as if she was trying not to cry.

＋＋＋

We decided to take a little break, so Lord Glen and I stepped outside. I’d noticed it a bit back when we were in the wagon, but most of the trees in the surrounding area were dead. We couldn’t see a single flowering plant, and the ground itself was cracking.

Circling around the house, we saw fields about three times as big as the house itself with different seedlings sprouting. Oh, that’s right. Miss Micah said that Lord Royz was looking for crops that could be grown in blasted lands. Those must be what she was talking about. But they’re all withered. There really is a famine...

While I was realizing that, Lord Glen spoke, “I can tell from this field that Royz decided that Spirit Trees were the only option after all he’d thought up and tried.”

“He abdicated the throne, but he’s still thinking about his citizens and working to help them... As a ruler who cares about his subjects, he should live as long as possible,” I said. Remembering what he’d said before, I asked, “You can’t use your [Cure] Skill to heal him?”

He nodded. “Sometimes you can cure some illnesses with operations, but Mana Deficiency Disease affects your mana pool, which is invisible to humans, so it can’t be operated on. The only thing that might work is medication.”

My Skill, [Seed Creation], lets me make any seed I wish for. Any seed... Even one that could cure Lord Royz’s disease.

“I want to make a seed that can save Lord Royz,” I said, words leaving my mouth before I even realized.

Lord Glen looked shocked for a moment, but his face soon changed to his usual gentle smile. “I was just about to ask you, but you beat me to the punch.”

“If he gets healthy again, he’d be able to protect the Spirit Tree after I plant the cutting. It would be horrible if it was cut down right after it was planted...”

He patted me on the head softly after I said that. “Okay, let’s get him healthy before we plant the cutting.”

“Okay!” I nodded.

＋＋＋

Going back inside the house, Lord Royz was reclining on the three-seater couch, smirking. “You’re back. I’m feeling a bit better, so let’s continue our discussion.”

I could tell he was bluffing, since he didn’t look much different from before our break. He might be forcing himself so things get done... The moment I thought that, I felt a pang in my heart.

Miss Micah put out some newly brewed tea on the low table. Lord Glen leaned forward with a concerned look on his face.

“Before we do that, can we talk for a bit?”

Lord Royz looked confused, but nodded. He sat up properly on the sofa.

Lord Glen took a deep breath before starting, “Since you’ve got the same [Appraisal] Skill as I do, you must already know what Chelsea’s Skill is... Right?”

“She can make any seed she wishes for. Never seen anyone have [Seed Creation] in my life. So...?” the dragonman replied, readily describing my Skill.

“I want to make a seed that would heal your sickness,” I said, not bothering with a ladylike tone.

He tilted his head curiously. Standing behind him and the sofa, Miss Micah’s tail fluffed up.

“We’ve just met. Would you heal anyone’s illness after first meeting them?”

“I wouldn’t do it for just anyone,” I said, shaking my head. “Even if you aren’t the active ruler anymore, you still care about your subjects. It’d be good if you can live as long as you can.”

“...It’s true that I’ve been thinking of the citizens even after retiring. It’s hard to drop the habit after ruling for around a century. Honestly, it’s hard seeing the country I built up fall to bits like this... If I could cure this disease of mine and become Emperor again, I would,” he muttered before going silent.

Miss Micah was shaking. “Can you really...really cure Lord Royz’s disease?”

“I can do it with my Skill,” I said resolutely.

Her fluffed up tail started wagging back and forth. “If you can get it cured, you should do whatever possible to do it~! You’re THAT important to the Empire! What are you hesitating for?!” she said, smacking him in the head repeatedly with the tray she’d been holding.

“M-Micah, calm down!”

“You think I can calm down?! Have her cure you and then punch both that dummy of an Emperor and the fake fortune teller! Beat them to a pulp!”

The current Emperor had believed the fake fortune teller and chopped down all of the Spirit Trees, making it impossible for the Spirits to come and purify the miasma and causing a famine... Of course she would hold a grudge.

“I understand how you feel. More than half of the country probably wishes I’d get healed up and beat ’em up,” Lord Royz said, stopping Miss Micah’s assault. “No one thought it’d be possible to heal me. I’d given up, too. Imagine the looks on their faces when I’m back to business...” he continued, his grin changing to a fearless demon lord’s smile. “Cure me!”

I gave him a strong nod back.

＋＋＋

“When I make new seeds, I need to have a detailed blueprint, or else I can’t imagine it,” I said, completely forgetting I was supposed to be talking like a lady.

“The tone you’re using now suits you. Don’t use the stuffy ladylike one you were using before with me,” Lord Royz ordered with a smirk.

“O-Okay...” I was surprised. I’d expected to be told I was rude, not to stop talking politely.

“So about that blueprint... Why don’t we make medicine like an Elixir?”

“Chelsea creates seeds, so you mean a seed with Elixir inside, right?”

I have no idea what these two are talking about... Confused, I asked, “What’s an Elixir?”

They both puzzled over their answers.

“I’d describe it as a liquid that can heal poison, paralysis, curses, any negative status imaginable...”

“The ones I know of restore your health and mana to max, too.”

Curing poison, paralysis, curses, and any other bad status effects, and restoring your health and mana? It’s like everything amazing in the world rolled into one. “Since it’s liquid... Why don’t we make it like a coconut and have the juice inside?”

“Oh yeah, that’s a great idea. But it’d be hard to carry if it was that big, so maybe just big enough to fit in the palm of your hand?” Lord Royz suggested, popping his fist down on the palm of his other hand.

“If you made the stem into a cork, it’d be easy to drink from,” Miss Micah said, pointing to a wine bottle before popping the stem off of an orange.

«Make it so that it will wither instead of growing if planted.»

“Why wouldn’t you want it to grow?” I asked Ele, still in his kitten form.

«If it ever fell into the hands of villains, it wouldn’t be misused as long as it touched the ground.»

I nodded in understanding. Since it would have such an amazing effect, it would be important to take countermeasures like that.

“Instead of tasting like coconut juice, let’s make it so it tastes sweet and refreshing, so everyone thinks it’s good.”

Lord Glen had mentioned before that he didn’t like the taste of coconut juice. Since I was making it to drink, flavor would be a big part of it.

After that we discussed the size of the leaves, height of the stem, how big the flowers would be... All kinds of things. Once we’d decided, we went to draw it, but... We had a problem. Lord Glen, Lord Royz, and I were terrible at drawing. We tried, but it came out looking like a lanky, weird plant. I wish Lord Tris was here...!

“I’ll draw it for you~” Miss Micah said, sketching it out quickly. She had a strange style, but she was by far the best out of all of us! It was nice how Lord Glen and Lord Royz were looking at her reverently.

Beside the drawing, we wrote down the effects of the Elixir that would be inside the seed.

“...And it’s done,” I said, getting nods from everyone else. I read the new seed’s blueprint over and over again to memorize it, but we had another problem. “I can imagine mana restoration being like your mana pool is being filled, but health isn’t stored anywhere... How would I...”

No matter what I did, I couldn’t imagine health being restored. Even if I wished for it to come out just as the blueprint said, there was a chance it wouldn’t happen without my imagining it.

The men looked at each other.

“For us with our [Appraisal] Skill, it’s easy to imagine since we see it in numerical form, but...”

“Hmm... How should we explain that?”

In the end, we decided to just erase the part about it restoring your health.

After reading things over again, I decided I’d memorized enough, nodding to myself. “I’ll make a seed just as the blueprint says — [Seed Creation].”

After I cast it, a round orange seed with a cork plopped down into my palms. Both Lord Glen and Lord Royz stared at it using their [Appraisal] Skills.

“Wow... It really is an Elixir,” Lord Royz mumbled.

“It’s called an ‘Elixir Seed,’ and its effect is healing all status effects and restoring mana to max...”

I handed it to the former Emperor. After swallowing hard, he took it, and...quickly popped the cork out and drained its contents. We watched with bated breath, before he screamed.

“Uooooooooooah...! I’m bursting with manaaaaaaaa!”

I jumped, shocked by his sudden yelling.

He gave me an incredibly enchanting smile. “Chelsea, my savior! No, Lady Chelsea! I swear allegiance to you!”

“Huh?!”

He took my hand, resting his forehead against the back of it. “I offer myself to you, forev—”

Before he could finish that sentence, Miss Micah drop-kicked him. He flew across the room, hitting the floor.

“You’re absolutely the worst, starting matrimonial vows without even asking the other person!” she screeched, puffing up her tail in rage.

Hearing that, even Lord Glen looked enraged, glaring at him.

Matrimonial...? That’s marriage, right? I thought. “Wait, are you and Miss Micah not married?”

“Absolutely impossible~! Lord Royz is my foster father and teacher. There’s no romantic feelings there!”

“I dunno about humans, but us beastmen don’t romantically love our children or siblings. I might’ve picked her up, but I raised Micah like my own. I’d never think of her like that,” Lord Royz added. “But, Chelsea, I don’t think of you as my child or daughter. Therefore, my desire to have you for myself...”

Miss Micah threw the tray she was holding at him. “You’re so selfish! You’re trash!”

He was still on the ground, but the dragonman caught the tray in midair. “No, wait, listen! Chelsea’s Skill is incredible and very likely to put her in danger, so I thought I’d marry her and keep her safe and protected...”

“I agree that it would be easy for you to protect her. But you can’t marry someone one-sidedly! I’d feel so bad for Chelsea if she had to put up with you her entire life~!”

“You’ve got some nerve suddenly trying to keep your savior, Royz,” Lord Glen bellowed, shocking me by using a lower tone than I’d ever heard him use before.

“Damn, I can’t take both of you on at the same time...” Lord Royz finally got up before kneeling before me. “Allow me to say it again. I thank you for curing my illness. I can’t marry you, but I swear that I will always be your ally.”

I had no idea what to say back.

“The Elixir Seed is incredibly dangerous. We should keep its existence secret,” he continued worriedly.

“Um, ah, uh... Thank you for worrying about me,” I managed to squeeze out.

He started wriggling before me. “Lady Chelsea is just so cute, I can’t hold myself back...!”

“You lolicon!”

“No! Beastmen can change their physical age and size on a whim, so we don’t judge based on appearances! We fall in love with their hearts!”

Lord Glen and Lord Royz were talking, but I couldn’t hear them.

＋＋＋

“I’ve gotta give you something as thanks,” said the former Emperor, pulling a small box out of his Item Box. “Open it up.”

Following his instructions, I opened it. Inside was a necklace with a round, dark stone in it. An emblem I’d never seen before was carved into the stone.

“That’s an Anti-Poison necklace. If you eat anything poisonous or get covered in poison, it’ll get negated as long as you’re wearing it. It’ll definitely help you in the future, so take it.”

“Thank you,” I said, immediately putting it on. But for some reason, Lord Glen looked really grim as I did...

“Now that I’m better, let’s change the spot we plant the Spirit Tree to the imperial capital,” Lord Royz announced, gripping his fist tightly. “I’ll beat the crap out of Bearsley and make a comeback as the Emperor.”

Miss Micah’s tail started wagging when he said that.

“If I’m Emperor, I’ll be living in the capital, after all. It’d be best to plant it somewhere I could protect it.”

Both Lord Glen and I nodded.

“So I’d love to get going right now, but...I need some time to recover.”

Drinking the liquid in the Elixir Seed had restored his mana, but it hadn’t done anything about his health. Since he’d been near empty, he would’ve also been constantly exhausted and having a hard time breathing, so it would affect his health, too.

“Then let’s celebrate your recovery~! I’ll make lots of yummy food~!” Miss Micah said, heading to the kitchen with the tip-tap of her footsteps ringing out.

“I’ll be better by morning, so try to use up as many ingredients as you can,” Lord Royz yelled after her.

“I know! Once we’re back at the castle, I don’t know if they’ll let me cook, so I’ll make as much as I can today~!” she yelled back.

“Let me help!” I said automatically, getting caught up in all the excitement.

＋＋＋

As we set out the cooked food on the low table and dining table, Lord Glen put his hand to his lips, murmuring the names of all the dishes.

“Chinese Rice Porridge... Miso Nikomi Udon... Tamagoyaki... Nikkorogashi... Pickled veggies...”

“Most of what Micah cooks should be eaten with chopsticks, but that might be a bit hard for Lady Chelsea and the knights. You can use a fork,” Lord Royz said, miming using his chopsticks to pick something up. I tried picking them up, but I had no idea how to hold them.

Lord Glen looked as if he was appreciating his happiness, grabbing some chopsticks and making the same motions as Lord Royz.

“Okay then, itadakimasu!”

“Itadakimasu~!”

“Itadakimasu...”

After Lord Royz said it, Miss Micah and Lord Glen repeated it, but what did it mean?

When I looked confused, Lord Royz explained with a grin, “You say a little prayer to the gods before you eat, right? I thank the chef and the ingredients. That’s what Itadakimasu means.”

I always prayed to the earth gods before I ate, meaning ‘Thank you for giving me this food. I’ll enjoy it.’ It seemed to be the same thing. “Okay... Itadakimasu.”

As I mimicked the three of them, Lord Glen gave me a gentler smile than usual... Actually, more sweet. My heart skipped a beat, but it vanished as he started eating happily. What was that?

“This takes me back... They’re all so good...” He looked as if he was about to cry as he slowly and carefully ate each dish.

I only ate a little bit of each thing, but it was all delicious.

“Looks like Chelsea likes the tamagoyaki~”

“It’s just a bit sweet... Wait, how did you know?”

“You’ve eaten more of that than anything else~! I’ll keep that in mind for later~!” Miss Micah said, pulling out a notebook and writing something down.

“Eating all this yummy food will probably grow my mana pool...” I said, chewing thoroughly. Lord Royz gave me a confused look.

“Recent research has shown that eating a good amount of delicious food will increase your max mana,” explained Lord Glen.

“I see... It is true that beastmen who are well-off and eat more good food have bigger mana pools than others,” Lord Royz nodded along.

“Where’d you get all the ingredients for this...?”

“I’ve got a spot within the empire where we’re producing rice, miso, soy sauce—everything. We can only make a little bit, so we never exported any. It’s all been halted since the miasma came in, since everything’s turned into wastelands, but once things are back to normal, I can export some of it.”

“We’re gonna save Radzuel, no matter what!” For some reason, Lord Glen got super motivated when he heard that.