Chapter 16: Yamano County

Mitsuha now had a noble title. This made her a real, honest-to-goodness noble. Not a superficial noble in title alone, but a full-fledged noble with her own territory... which came with the responsibility of running it.

Why did this happen?!

She decided to meet with the king, the chancellor, and the person in charge of area management. The latter—rather than an expert in running noble lands—was merely a human database who knew the kingdom’s territories and their locations, sizes, and special features. His job was to assist nobles with acquiring or inheriting new domains.

Mitsuha began by describing the type of land she wanted. “I want it to have a shoreline, mountains, rivers—oh, and I want it to be small.”

“You want a small territory?”

“Yes. A place that’s too big and has too many people can be more trouble than it’s worth. I want to have a tightly-knit community that’s more like a family. Ah, and keep me as far away from the border as possible! I don’t want to be a part of any disputes.”

The king smiled.

“Then we have to look in the north,” said the dominion database. “That’s the only part of the country that has a shoreline.” It was apparent he knew what he was talking about.

“Please, have a look at this map,” he began, gesturing to it. “You have large rivers flowing into the sea here, here, and here. And these are your smaller rivers. There are vast plains around the big rivers. They’re counties, of course—already taken by other nobles.

“If you want a small area close to the sea and mountains, don’t have a problem with a small river, and filter out the lands that aren’t open or belong to the king himself, there’s this one, that one, and this one here. Picking anything besides those would mean chasing out some other noble.”

Whoa, chasing somebody out? That’d make ’em hate me for sure. Should I just go with it and fight for a better spot? Nah. I bet most of those families have had the same territories for generations. The land’s probably part of them at this point, so I’m not gonna mess with that.

“Then... is this one okay?” she asked, pointing.

“Indeed. This land belonged to a now ex-baron who was stripped of his status when he chose to ignore the king’s call during the invasion. He planned to side with whichever side was the victor once it was all over. Since it’s quite a distance away from the capital, it’s large for a baron’s territory. It would be on the small side for a viscount, but still plausible. There’s a small river and a mountain that’s not too steep. It certainly aligns with your conditions.

“Are you certain about this one, though? There are lands fit for viscounts closer to the capital. They would be more profitable, at the very least.”

Mitsuha declined, since she didn’t really want that. Being far away from the capital meant less visits from nosy nobles and meddling merchants, and the distance wouldn’t affect her operations whatsoever.

Anyway, I’ve got my own land now! Wait. It’s in the north... Has a shoreline... That sounds real familiar.

Shortly after, she found out that it was right next to the Bozes’ county.

Was this really a coincidence? That database guy... Does he know Count Bozes? I wonder if he set me up.

Mitsuha entertained her conspiracy theory for a moment, but had no difficulty making her decision. The count could help her run her domain, his family was full of good people, and it gave her a good excuse to visit Colette more often.

Huh? Alexis’ land neighbors mine, too? It’s on the opposite side from the Bozes’ county? Have I been put in a Bozes sandwich? I have, haven’t I?! She was now convinced that this had been planned.

You wanna pass through my land so you can visit your parents? Yeah, yeah. Sure.

Huh? One “yeah” is enough? Yeah, yeah. Whatever.

Having an imaginary conversation, she began preparations to visit her territory. Wondering about her store? Not to worry, she had no plans of abandoning it; she would simply close it for the time being. She didn’t intend to bring it along with her world-jumping power, either. Not now, anyway. However, her heart went out to the poor souls desperate for shampoo, so she aimed to reopen as soon as possible.

Mitsuha spent the next three days going through territory management training from someone recommended by the king himself. There was a great deal to learn in such a short amount of time, but Mitsuha’s modern knowledge made the lessons much easier. She already knew the basics, such as taxation, budget management, and morale. Her level of understanding surprised even the teacher.

She also captured their lessons on a tape recorder so she could review them whenever she felt like it.

Viva science!

After completing her crash course, Mitsuha was ready to leave. She planned to travel to her land by a regular coach, of course. She didn’t have her own private carriage, wasn’t sure where to get one, and had no desire to spend the next few days alone with her driver.

Jumping directly to the Bozes’ county was always an option, but she wanted to take at least one good look at the road between the capital and her domain. Sure, she took the same means of transport on her initial trip to the capital, but her attitude had been much different back then. She now had to think about what she could do for her land: look into the problems with traveling to and from the capital, see the state of the surrounding areas, and so on. Mitsuha could learn a lot from the other passengers, too, now that she knew what questions to ask.

Before she left, a good number of people came to her asking to be hired. It was only natural; being one of the first employees under a new noble was a coveted status. They would be higher on the hierarchy than all those who came after, and since the head was a child—in their eyes, anyway—they had a chance to usurp her or use her power themselves. Perhaps they could even get their own family into her lineage.

And if greed alone did not apply, they could just as easily be spies tasked with finding out more about her homeland’s technology, particularly the “divine weaponry”. Regardless, Mitsuha couldn’t take the risk.

I’m not gonna hire those who are clearly in it for the good stuff. You worked for a noble before? You say you’re a veteran when it comes to running lands? A real pro? No way, you’re gonna double my profits? And you, you know how to handle the people? I should just leave it all to you, then?

You’re all morons. If you were that good, you wouldn’t be desperately searching for a job in a place like this.

She refused them all, set the store’s security to the maximum defense mode, and asked her neighbors to call the palace soldiers if they saw anyone skulking around. After that, she met with Sven’s party and requested they keep an eye on the store’s surroundings whenever they were in town. She also introduced them to the neighbors, and vice versa.

Both groups informed her that no one would dare sneak into the Lightning Archpriestess’ place, but she mostly ignored them. In the end, the king dedicated some palace soldiers to patrol the area.

On the day of her departure, Mitsuha arrived at her stagecoach to find Sabine waiting for her with her bags.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Sorry, little lady, but I’m gonna have to chase you away. The princess’ bodyguards—concealed nearby—had planned to take her back by force at the very last moment, and they did exactly that. So you let her hold onto her dream until it almost came true, huh? Wow, that’s harsh.

Mitsuha’s stagecoach was bound for the Bozes’ county. The home of a new viscount wasn’t important enough to have a fixed carriage route, so this was her best option.

She wore a dress you might expect to see on a normal commoner girl. It was plain, but flowy and charming. This dress was intended to make her seem more approachable to her fellow travelers.

I learn from my mistakes. I’ll also be super friendly and chatty. Sabine’s “Paradise waitress” persona will probably be a good reference for that.

Underneath, she wore a Walther PPS on her right thigh and a small knife on her left. The usual Walther was tucked under her arm, but the one on her leg would be easier to draw in an emergency. Both the 93R and the revolver were tucked away in a holster in her bag because they would attract too much attention.

The bag full of weapons was at her side, while a bigger bag containing her spare clothes and other effects sat on the stagecoach’s storage shelf. Larger baggage usually went on the roof, but there weren’t too many passengers, and the driver hadn’t wanted to separate a young girl from her belongings. It wasn’t terribly big, anyway.

At present, the carriage had twelve passengers. Since it was outbound from the capital, that number was unlikely to increase. As it went through its stops, there would be fewer and fewer people inside.

Shortly after departure, Mitsuha called out to a friendly-looking young man she presumed was a merchant. She presented herself as a clueless trader heading to work in the land of a new noble.

No lies there. I am a trader, and I am pretty clueless about this world.

Though she was still a child, the merchant enjoyed speaking with a cute girl. She listened to him intently and offered up some good questions—proof she was interested in what he had to say. The girl understood him and clearly had a good head on her shoulders; during their conversation, he even learned a few things himself. It was obvious she would make an excellent merchant. So much so that he even thought of talking to his wife about passing his trade on to a daughter instead of a son.

The two spoke naturally, and the whole exchange was smooth as butter. Their positive energy caused the onlookers to join in, and by the end of it, everyone had learned a great deal from one another.

◇ ◇ ◇

Two days out from the Bozes’ county, the coach was attacked by bandits.

“Isn’t this kind of thing supposed to be rare?” asked Mitsuha.

“Oh, uhh... It’s happening more often lately because of all the empire’s soldiers scattered around. There’s the farmers who stayed here because they’d be in for a bad time if they returned, the low-ranking officers who could be executed for the defeat, the washed-up mercenaries who didn’t get paid... Many chose to skitter up north because the kingdom hunted down anyone going south.”

“Oh, yeah. Guess ‘rare’ doesn’t really mean ‘never’... I should remember that.”

While just about every passenger was starting to panic, Mitsuha was chatting with a somewhat refined, middle-aged man as if the ongoing assault was no big deal.

I can’t get enough of these guys. They just have that “dad” aura around them. No, I don’t mean that they smell. It’s the aura!

Mitsuha was calm because she could jump out of the situation at any moment. The man was calm because of the so-called “right of extraterritoriality”, an unwritten agreement of sorts between mercenaries and bandits. Unlike mercenaries hired for protection, those you happened to come across had no obligation to protect anyone. Putting their lives on the line for someone without a contract involved just wasn’t worth it. The same went for the bandits—fighting a mercenary who sat idly by while they pillaged was often to their own detriment.

The mercenaries had no reason to defend bystanders, and the bandits had no reason to fight the tough, penniless mercs. Just like that, their interests coincided. A mercenary’s presence in this situation could also reduce the amount of post-battle murders and brutalities, so it could feasibly work out for passengers and contracted mercs as well. However, bandits still wouldn’t hesitate to kidnap women and children.

Including Mitsuha, there were nine passengers. Out of these, one was a wife, another a young woman, and two more were young girls. Mitsuha didn’t count the coachman—the bandits wouldn’t harm him, after all. If too many coachmen were lost, these vehicles would stop traveling altogether. This would be bad for the country and the local lords, and they would have no choice but to initiate a bandit hunt. The lack of transportation would make it harder for bandits to get by, too. For these reasons, the bandits didn’t even consider coachmen during raids, and the drivers themselves never interfered. In their minds, giving in to righteous indignation and fighting back would only place a target on the backs of all their fellow coachmen.

“I’ll fight,” said one of the men.

He was obviously a farmer, and two of the four women were his family members—his wife and daughter. It went without saying that he didn’t want to see them kidnapped before his very eyes, even if it meant his death.

The next to speak up was an elderly man. “I’ll fight with you. My children are already fully grown, and in the past I committed many misdeeds in order to protect my family. I’d say it’s high time I lend a hand to someone else. I’ve also brought all my wealth, and I’d quite like to see it survive this journey along with me.”

“Thank you.” The farmer bowed his head.

After glancing at Mitsuha, the young merchant joined in. “I’ll help, too.”

“I want no part in that,” said a man who appeared to be in his early twenties. “We just have to give them our money and possessions and we’ll come out of this unharmed, right? There’s a stray merc with extraterritoriality here, after all. If we resist, we’ll just end up hurt or even killed. Giving up is the way to go here, you fools!”

No one could blame him for his cowardice. Everyone prioritized themselves above all else. Even the farmer probably wouldn’t have decided to fight if he didn’t have his family with him.

The last to speak was the mercenary. He turned toward the farmer and asked, “Hey, wanna hire a bodyguard? I’ll make it one silver.”

“Huh?!” everyone shouted in unison.

Mitsuha grinned. What a man, she thought.

“What?! Weren’t you going to use the right of extraterritoriality?” cried the young man.

“That’s a condition for mercs who aren’t hired, young’un,” the merc shot back.

Oh, man. Why are there so many great guys among mercs? You know what, I’ll help too.

“From falling in love to running your land, Mitsuha’s General Store will tell you how it’s done! Want me to get rid of the bandits? Just one silver, please.”

The mercenary was visibly surprised, and Mitsuha beamed at him.

Yeah, I just can’t resist a refined, middle-aged man.

The mercenary had a short sword as his primary weapon. He gave Mitsuha his spare dagger, and she began to feel like the old man wasn’t the commoner he’d seemed at first glance. She dug through one of her bags, took out a hunting knife, and handed it to the young merchant. The look on his face was delicious.

A lady isn’t proper if she’s not into knives! They add to our beauty!

Then, Mitsuha took out her gun belt and hung it around her waist. It had the 93R, the revolver, and some spare magazines. The bullets in the 93R right now were hollow-points. They were reserved for monsters and humans not wearing metal armor, and therefore fit the situation.

The revolver was loaded with armor-piercing bullets. The “armor” there referred to kevlar vests, not the plate mail abundant in this world, but it would surely work on whatever the bandits were sporting. As far as Mitsuha knew, bandits who wore metal armor were rare, since they preferred mobility over defense.

Once she was completely outfitted and battle-ready, Mitsuha earned a strange look from the other passengers.

As for the farmer, he wielded a wooden plank he’d pried off the vehicle. He was strong, but not used to battle, so this was clearly better than giving him something sharp.

The bandits had blocked the path ahead and the one behind them. There were eight in total. Three had the look of practiced mercenaries, while the other five appeared nervous and blatantly green. Mitsuha guessed they were ex-farmers that had been conscripted into the Imperial Army.

Four of the passengers left the carriage to fight, leaving the young merchant behind to protect the women from being taken hostage. This type of stagecoach required one to use both hands to enter, so even an amateur like him had a chance to fend off potential invaders.

Oh, and just so you know, the ones who paid the two silver were the farmer and the young lady. One each.

The first to speak was one of the three merc-looking bandits. “Leave yer valuables here and ya won’t get hurt. And take off your clothes. Ya can keep yer underwear on, though. As fer the women, leave ’em here too. They don’t gotta take their clothes off... Not now, anyway.” He grinned with malice.

God, I hate this, Mitsuha thought, grinding her teeth. This worm’s no merc, he’s a walking insult to Sven’s party, Wolfgang, and this refined middle-aged guy next to me. Disgusting.

The elderly man and the farmer didn’t want to kill anyone, and it was entirely possible they would be killed themselves. It was basically Mitsuha and the mercenary versus the eight bandits. Five of the bandits were obviously new to this, but then again, it wasn’t clear how strong the mercs on either side were.

Mitsuha stole a glance at the man beside her. Our merc seems pretty tough, if you ask me. I have no idea if he really is, though.

They were clearly outnumbered, and Mitsuha didn’t want to attack until the bandits made it obvious that they were prepared to kill. She knew it was naïve, but she had to consider all the possibilities.

“So, merc. Extraterritoriality, right? Go on, walk away.”

The old merc didn’t move an inch. “Me? I’m a, uh... hired guard,” he replied in his deep voice.

In Mitsuha’s mind, the “hired guard” bit was replaced by something else.

Bodyguard, bodyguard, bodyguard...

“Whazzat now?” One of the bandits pulled out his weapon.

All three experienced bandits had swords, while the remaining five were split between swords and spears, three-to-two. Just one of them drawing his sword was enough for Mitsuha’s personal rules of engagement.

B-B-BANG!

The man who had drawn his sword was blown away.

“Huh...?”

One of their own had just fallen to the ground in an instant. Unable to process what had just occurred, the bandits were frozen in place. No good mercenary could pass up such an obvious opening. And the mercenary on the passengers’ side was definitely good.

He took out his short sword, ran up to the bandits, and slashed at one of them with amazing speed before spinning around and slashing another.

He’s strong!

Within seconds, the enemy lost their main force. The five still standing were panicking, but they didn’t let go of their weapons.

You can have some good beginner’s luck with spears, so I’ll take out the spearmen first.

B-B-BANG! B-B-BANG!

The machine pistol barked out its three-round bursts.

By Mitsuha’s standards, the “ex” in “ex-farmer” was very important. They had stooped far too low and were now actual bandits—murderers. Mitsuha was certain they had killed people already, and if left alive, they would surely kill again. For all she knew, those victims could be someone dear to her. She just couldn’t let them go.

The mercenary made short work of the three remaining sword-wielders. All in all, it was a victory so flawless you could hardly call it a fight.

◇ ◇ ◇

Back within the shaking stagecoach, the farmer told Mitsuha everything he knew about the Bozes’ county. He was doing his best to repay their savior with knowledge. The other passengers pitched in, and she ended up with a substantial amount of new information, including some that wasn’t readily available.

Mitsuha also asked the merc, the elderly man, and the farmer not to tell anyone about her. They all agreed. The former two seemed accustomed to keeping secrets, and the farmer couldn’t refuse someone who had put her life on the line for his family.

The others had stayed inside the coach, so they hadn’t seen anything. They heard the gunshots, of course, but had no idea what the sounds were. The four fighters had also agreed to pretend they each had a part in defeating the bandits. Specifically, they agreed to say the mercenary took out five while the remaining three handled one each. Only the first part was true.

The stagecoach was now full of weapons and valuables taken from the bandits. The passengers planned to take them to the local lord, where they’d be checked, then returned to whoever brought them. The check was necessary to know, for example, whether or not the weapons were supplied to the bandits by another country to let them interfere with local business. There was little doubt that the bandits were remnants of the empire, so they were bound to get the things back immediately.

Since Mitsuha wasn’t going to the Bozes’ county, she gave her share of the weapons to the farmer. The man tried to refuse, but she convinced him by saying she wasn’t going to the county’s main town, and that a normal girl about to work outside of the capital had no business having those sorts of things. The farmer said he wouldn’t sell his share of the weapons and instead use them to train and become strong enough to protect his family. After the whole bandit affair, his wife and daughter trusted and respected him more than ever.

Before the attack, the man in his early twenties had been speaking with the young woman, but now she completely ignored him or merely glared. He was obviously depressed, but her scorn was rather well-deserved.

You could search everywhere on Earth and this world, but you wouldn’t find a single woman who’d smile at a man willing to hand her over to some bandits!

Once they arrived at a particular crossroads, Mitsuha exited the coach. She would walk the rest of the way to her land, which she tentatively called “Yamano County”. The other passengers waved goodbye, with the exception of the young man, who sat curled up in a fetal position.

Now, you might be wondering why no one ended up figuring out who she was, but the answer to that is simple.

This was a world with no television or internet, so the spread of information was slow and unreliable. The more it was passed on, the worse it became, like some extreme game of telephone. Because of this, the only ones who knew what Mitsuha actually looked like and the details of her battle against the empire were the people who were there to see it. Everyone else ended up being misinformed to varying extents.

Not only that, but most of the passengers weren’t in the capital during the battle, and those who were had only heard her distorted voice through the speakers. Most of those who had seen her had merely caught glimpses of her in the distance.

As for the gunshots, the sounds heard around the capital were those of RPGs, heavy machine guns, and 20mm autocannons. Compared to these, the firing of a handgun was nothing. The “divine soldiers” had also used what they believed to be long wands of lightning, and Mitsuha’s handguns didn’t even come close to this description.

Perhaps the bandits, being ex-empire soldiers, realized what they were up against, but as the saying goes, “dead men tell no tales”.

◇ ◇ ◇

After eight days of travel on land and ten seconds on water, Mitsuha finally arrived at Yamano County.

Yeah, I crossed a river. What about it?

Upon seeing the county’s capital peeking from between the trees, she felt sure of one thing. I’m not calling this a “capital”, that’s for damn sure! It’s not even a town; it’s a village! Calling it a capital is too embarrassing! Ugh, “town” it is, I guess.

Before entering, she decided to go back home. She had been away for over a week, so there had to be lots of email and regular mail piled up... and she desperately needed to use the bathroom and take a bath.

◇ ◇ ◇

Mitsuha walked into the village. Since following the main road would lead to the sea, it was an actual dead-end settlement. Because of this, travelers were scarce, which was probably why she attracted so much attention.

Oh, it’s because a little girl in a dress came here all by herself without any real luggage? All right, then.

Mitsuha was hungry, so she first went to dine at the local eatery—if that term applied to a place that only sold meals for locals, by locals. This visit doubled as an opportunity to gather information, which is why she’d skipped eating food at home. She ordered whatever they had on offer and asked for the village’s name. They simply called it “town”.

No name? These really are my people. Though it’s not a “village”, then, huh?

Because it was a seaside town, the meal she was given was primarily fish, but there was nothing else noteworthy about it. The eatery was in a small corner of a small town, and it wasn’t anywhere near lunchtime, so Mitsuha was the only customer. While chatting, she asked for opinions about the previous lord in charge, and the lady who owned the eatery wasn’t too talkative in that regard.

The fact that he was a disgraced noble had brought shame upon them all. There was no telling what kind of person the next lord would be, and it was unlikely that this poor embarrassment of an area would ever know a good ruler. The lady might have been willing to gossip and complain with someone close to her, but it wasn’t something she would mention to a stranger. Mitsuha didn’t press the issue, however, and merely asked for the location of the ex-lord’s mansion before going on her way.

The mansion was on the outskirts of town. Since the town was small and its buildings were sparse, Mitsuha had no trouble finding it.

Yeah, I’m not calling this a “mansion”, either. It’d be humiliating. “Residence” seems like the best option. Just “house” or “dwelling” would be kinda sad.

Still carrying all her possessions on her back, Mitsuha went to the front door and rapped on it loudly with her knuckles.

“Yeees? Who is iiit?”

It opened, and there stood a maid who looked no older than seventeen.

Though the previous lord and his family had lost their noble status, the servants weren’t at fault. Unless they were personal retainers, one couldn’t take servants from land they had once possessed. Besides that, the next lord would be in need of servants as well. Most of them were also locals who had family in the area, so they couldn’t just abandon them.

But even if they had been gathered from elsewhere, neither the lord nor the servants knew what happened in these scenarios. Therefore, besides the ones who left of their own accord, the servants stayed at the residence and served the next lord.

Of course, some servants would quit if they decided they didn’t like the replacement, and the new lord could fire the servants he had problems with. Servants also increased their chances of being removed if they were caught speaking about how things were under the previous lord.

Anyway, most of the servants still remained, ready to welcome her. Of course, none were the previous lord’s retainers or dependents.

All right, these are my servants... For now, anyway.

“Um, I’m Mitsuha,” she said.

“Huh? Mitsuha?” The maid looked puzzled.

“Mitsuha von Yamano. Viscountess and new ruler of this county.”

“Huh? Oh, I see. Wait, WHAT?!” The girl’s reaction was to be expected. Regardless of whether the new lord was a girl who didn’t look any older than twelve, it was highly unlikely the ruler would go to their new territory all alone.

“Please gather the servants. I’ll greet them all.”

“Um, yes! Right away!” The maid hurried off.

Once all the servants had been assembled, Mitsuha addressed them. “Hello, everyone. I am the new local lord, Mitsuha von Yamano. This territory is the same size as before, but it will now be ruled by a viscountess, rather than a baron.”

The servants were shocked, and you could hardly blame them. Viscount was a direct upgrade from Baron, and it meant a great deal. They could now expect better payment, treatment, and social status, as even the servants were regarded differently depending on what kind of noble they served. “Viscount’s servant” was a powerful title, whether in finding work or searching for a spouse. It was like the difference between a table knife and a short sword.

They had been informed that the capital was sending a new noble to rule over them, but they were told nothing about the person in question. Things like the rank, gender, age, and appearance had all been a mystery to them.

Of course, that had been entirely intentional. Withholding this information prevented the servants from making unfair assumptions about their soon-to-be ruler. They could draw their own conclusions once they saw him or her in person.

Because of this, many servants were elated. They now worked for a viscountess—a gentle little girl, at that. If they played their cards right and sweet-talked her, they could make a wonderful life for themselves, and if they manipulated her... the possibilities were endless.

“So, there you have it! I hope we get along. I’m new to this ‘ruling’ business, so please help me out in any way you can. And like I mentioned before, I will hold interviews for all of you at a later date. Now, please return to your duties.” Mitsuha finished her introduction, making sure to appear as gentle and courteous as possible.

Some were relieved that they had received a nice new ruler. Others chuckled as they underestimated her, and others still became gloomy as they lamented the future of this land. The impressions of the eighteen servants were hardly aligned.

◇ ◇ ◇

Mitsuha ate her dinner alone, as servants couldn’t eat alongside their ruler. Though they were in a seaside area, there was a lot of red meat on the table.

Probably the previous lord’s tastes, Mitsuha thought.

Praising the food, she ate everything she was presented. It was standard for nobles to be given enough to leave leftovers, so she obviously overate this time.

After taking a bath, she locked herself in her new bedroom and jumped back to her house on Earth. She jumped back, bringing along a small cardboard box she had prepared beforehand. Next, she unlocked the door and walked around her residence. She watched the servants work, cheering them on here and there, then returned to her bedroom. Kneeling in front of the cardboard box—which was significantly more empty than before—she took out various security equipment and set it up around the door and windows. Once she was finished, she went to sleep.

Beep.

Mitsuha was woken up by an electronic noise. It was an alarm set to go off when something passed the security laser at her door. Grasping the Walther beneath her sheets, she looked over and saw the maid that had welcomed her at the door yesterday.

“Good morning. Are you already awake?” the maid asked.

“Morning! I slept so well in here. Is breakfast ready?” Mitsuha let go of the gun and smiled.

After breakfast, she took another stroll around the residence. Once back in her room, she placed a cloth over the door handle to cover the keyhole and took out a bunch of electronic devices. They were extremely small voice recorders she had purchased in Akihabara. They automatically began recording when they picked up sound, then stopped after a certain amount of silence. She had set them up all over the place last night.

“Let’s hear what you all picked up, then.”

She cracked a mischievous grin.

◇ ◇ ◇

Mitsuha was a good-tempered, gentle ruler. She always smiled, looked out for her servants, and walked around the fishing, mountain, and farming villages in her area to greet the locals. Many assumed she was in poor health, however, as she often retired to her bedroom at midday.

Thinking they knew what kind of person Mitsuha was, some servants resumed diluting expenses or making secret deals with merchants. They’d refrained from doing these activities until they examined their new ruler, but now that that was done, they were doing them almost brazenly. There were also attendants who ran off during work hours after leaving their jobs to others, butlers who aggressively approached the village girls, maids who snuck goods out of the residence, and so on.

The head butler had noticed the danger and expressed his worries, but Mitsuha just continued smiling as if nothing was happening. Her diligent, faithful servant was at a loss. If these ingrates are allowed to continue, our county will be in disarray. Something must be done.

Days went by, and the misconduct showed no sign of stopping.

“It’s time,” said Mitsuha. Time to crack down.

“All right. The six of you are discharged due to conduct unbecoming of a servant,” Mitsuha declared, eyeing the guilty parties.

It was so abrupt that the accused servants exploded with indignation.

“What is this idiocy? Why me?!”

“Is this some sort of joke? Viscountess or not, you cannot discharge someone without a legitimate reason!”

Mitsuha looked at them with an icy expression. “Idiocy? And who is the idiot here?”

“Wh-What?”

“I’m asking, who’s the idiot here?!” The shouting from what they had thought to be a weak, soft ruler dampened their bravado.

“Hans,” she said, turning to one man in particular. “I always praised your cooking, didn’t I?”

“Huh? Uh, yes...” Hans—the head chef—was bewildered.

“Yes, I always said your food was good, yet for some reason, the taste just kept getting worse. Shouldn’t praise normally make you motivated to do an even better job?”

The chef fell silent.

“Why didn’t that happen? Do you know the reason?”

With every word she uttered, he grew paler.

“It’s because you thought that a child like me wouldn’t notice the drop in taste and so you just chose low-quality ingredients. They got cheaper and cheaper, but for some reason, our kitchen expenses stayed the same. Isn’t that strange, Hans?”

By now, Hans was as white as a sheet.

Mitsuha then moved on to the man at his side. “Hey, Gunther, isn’t there something wrong with the wheat numbers?”

“Pardon?”

“The amount of wheat we gained in taxes from the villages and the amount we sold to the merchants is slightly different, isn’t it? Someone’s writing down the wrong numbers. And who would do that, huh? Did no one notice? Who’s in charge of that, again?”

“Uh...”

“Now, Tilde, the day before yesterday, you pushed your own job onto the chore maids and went somewhere, didn’t you? You took a lot of our spices, too. Were you visiting that tailor again? The one with a wife and kids?”

The head maid half-collapsed into her chair.

“How about the rest? Want to hear what I have to say about you?” It was an intense question from the ruler they had thought was gentle, mild-mannered, and nice.

None of the three remaining knew how to respond.

“Do you know why I’m a viscountess? It’s not because I had a viscount father who died early. I got here by myself. I am the first, the only, Viscountess Yamano! Don’t underestimate me!”

Mitsuha’s glare choked the air out of the room.

“Again, you’re all discharged due to your misconduct. It’ll probably be hard for you to find work now. You have one hour to pack up and leave. If you’re still here after once that time is up, I’ll consider you trespassers on viscount property, whereafter I will capture and execute you. Get out!”

Six bodies rushed out of the room. Mitsuha ignored them and spoke to the elderly butler at her side. “Sorry if I worried you, Anton. I won’t be inspecting documents at night anymore. I’ll sleep properly, so I won’t be going to bed at noon, either.”

She handed him some documents from her pocket. “These merchants take bribes. Stop all trade with them. And we have some common folk who interfere with others. Observe and deal with them accordingly.”

“My word... Lady Mitsuha...” Anton’s eyes were brimming with tears.

“Also, the new head maid is Kathe. May she make me proud.” Mitsuha held back a yawn. “Anton, you know what I said about not sleeping during the day? I lied! I’m gonna take a nap. Oh, and starting tomorrow, I’m gonna get serious about developing my land. We’ll all be busy from here on out. Good work today, everyone. Dismissed!”

With that, Mitsuha left the room.

The twelve servants left behind were just standing there, completely flabbergasted. They were surprised by her sudden change, sure, but there was something else they felt. Was it astonishment? Amusement? Thrill? Curiosity? Excitement?

That had to be it—pure excitement. They knew they were in for something interesting. Something fun was going to happen soon. At the very least, it was clear that tomorrow would be more enjoyable than today.

One of them noticed another servant grinning. “Lorena, what are you smiling about?”

“Hey, you’re doing it too!”

The first servant hadn’t even realized it.

◇ ◇ ◇

While Mitsuha had been playing the mild-mannered good girl, she’d had many opportunities to jump between worlds. She stole these chances whenever she could, whether it be locking herself in her room or while walking around her territory to gather information.

On one occasion, she announced that she was taking a brief excursion to learn more about her county. Leaving unaccompanied, she jumped to Japan to speak with some electrical equipment suppliers about modernizing her life in the Yamano County residence. This was her second time doing so, and she spoke with the same salesmen as before, so the whole ordeal went smoothly.

Then it was time to check her email and mailbox. Let’s see... Oh, Micchan’s coming back from college for break. Nice! And the crazy dress lady’s asking if I need to doll up another cute girl. Nope, not yet. Maybe I should ask for a dress for Sabine? She’ll be paid in gold coins, though. Then again, she’d probably like that even more than yen.

A short while later, while browsing the internet, she came across a piece of breaking news.

Huh? “Dragon Finally Discovered”? What kind of clickbait is this? Hold on, is that what I think it is?!

In a flash, Mitsuha jumped to the mercenary headquarters.

◇ ◇ ◇

The members of Wolfgang had been paid a few days after the invasion. Since both the king and the nobles had paid more than expected, their compensation ended up growing to 60,000 gold coins. Of course, Mitsuha had taken a cut, which pushed her closer to her goal. Her “deep pockets” were slowly filling up.

As Mitsuha soon discovered, the mercenaries had been so excited about their victory that they wanted to be known as “Dragonslayers” and show off their prize to the world. They assured her they would keep her identity a secret at any cost, so she didn’t mind whatever else they wanted to boast about. They could spin any number of details in their wild war story without including her.

At this point, the mercenaries were convinced she was a princess from the other world who had the magical power to travel between there and Earth. They believed she had come to their world to learn and absorb all the knowledge she could. Her ability to speak in any language must have been some sort of translation magic, ergo she could use magic, ergo she was from another world. They also assumed she was a few centuries older than she looked.While she might have been older than she appeared, they were a bit too far off.

Mitsuha thought they had bragged about the dragon only to other mercenary groups, but it went far beyond that. According to the captain, they no longer had the remains; they had been taken to some university laboratory. One scholar had shown interest in the horned rabbits and left them his contact information. When the mercs had called him, he’d flown over immediately. Upon seeing the genuine dragon remains, he had been swept up in a flurry of excitement. He’d called his contacts all over the world, and the mercenary base was soon swarming with scientists.

Wolfgang’s mercenaries had an explanation planned out ahead of time. They explained that a princess from another world had summoned them, their weapons, and vehicles to her world to pit them against a demon king’s army. The mercenaries had won and returned home, bringing back a dragon on their truck. Even they believed in this story to a certain extent, so it was hard for others to doubt them.

While feeding their guests this story, they hid the fact that Mitsuha could go between worlds at will and that she was a regular visitor. Instead, they insisted it had been a once-in-a-lifetime encounter. As for her name, they claimed it was “Princess Nanoha”. Much like this character, Mitsuha was small, had a penchant for cannonfire, and tended to shoot before asking questions. In all likelihood, one of the mercenaries really did have an obsession with Japanese animation.

Normally, no one would believe such a cliché story, but the dragon corpse was proof enough. A certain fantasy novel publisher assumed it was an unofficial PR campaign for one of their movie adaptations and accused them of copyright infringement. Considering the dragon was very real, however, they didn’t have a leg to stand on. Their intervention did make one wonder what would come of a movie adaptation of all this, however. Not only was their story great and glorifying—the experiments and analyses of the dragon DNA could be a great boon for them.

Apparently, the two members who were on vacation during the invasion, unable to participate, had been devastated to the point of tears. The rest of the team pitied them so much that the payment, instead of being split among the participants, was deposited into the group’s funds and shared among all members as bonus pay. This way, even those who hadn’t participated got a piece of the pie, even if it was a bit smaller than that of those who had.

Of course, not all of the payment was given out. They left a couple hundred million dollars in their treasury for weapons and maintenance, as well as potential support for those who might retire due to age, injury, or disease.

The two mercenaries who had missed the event didn’t want money. They whined about how they wanted the “Dragonslayer” title, to see the other world, and serve the princess.

Too bad, thought Mitsuha once she was finally caught up. None of my business.

◇ ◇ ◇

One day, a few guests came knocking at Mitsuha’s door. The head butler informed her there were three men. They didn’t know her relation to the events at the capital and had simply come to meet the new noble. Mitsuha guessed they were either looking to get a higher position, or perhaps bribe or threaten her. She considered merely turning them away, but upon hearing what they claimed to be—a scientist, a mercenary, and a merchant—she noted their variety and figured that it was hard to become a chief vassal or financial officer from those jobs.

They came all the way to this rural area, so I suppose it’s only fair to meet with them. I’ll size them up in the reception room. What? Why not a throne room? Don’t have one. This ain’t a royal palace. Also, a scientist? Here? Is the translator in my brain glitching out?

The welcome party in the reception room consisted of Mitsuha, Anton the butler, the three head maids, three normal maids, and three male servants standing near the walls. She had prepared so many people in case the guests hadn’t come to talk and needed restraining, or something of that nature.

Of course, she’d equipped her gun belt for worst case scenarios. The Walther she always had on her shoulder took too long to take out, after all. The table was large and there was lots of space between her and the guests’ chairs, so she would have more than enough time to pull out her gun and shoot.

“This is Her Excellency Viscountess Yamano.”

Led by a maid, the three guests stepped inside.

“Forgive the sudden visi—” The one at the front froze and fell silent right after he entered.

“Hey, what’s wro—” began the second.

The third one didn’t say a word and simply stood in place.

“Mitsuha!” the first two cried out.

“Huh? Well, if it isn’t the mercenary and the merchant.”

I should really remember their names.

“Why are you here?”

“I’m the viscountess here, Mitsuha von Yamano.”

“You mean ‘viscount’s daughter’, right?”

“Nope.”

The three were at a loss for words.

“Then why were you riding that coach?”

“I had no other option.”

“Why were you alone?”

“Because I had no vassals or subordinates.”

Unable to respond, they awkwardly shuffled in silence.

Mitsuha treated them to some tea and snacks, and they got down to business.

“So, what are you three doing here?” she asked.

“Well, first of all, we just happened to come here together because we took the same stagecoach. We’re all here on our own business,” stated the merchant. The other two nodded.

It made sense that they came here after visiting the Bozes County. They had to spruce themselves up before coming here. Mitsuha’s main town had no inns with bath services, after all. Also, it made sense that someone who’d been on that carriage for over ten days had come here because they’d heard of the newly-appointed local lord. They certainly hadn’t looked like acquaintances when Mitsuha was traveling with them.

“I’ll hear you out separately, then,” said Mitsuha.

“Very well. Allow me to begin.” The first to put himself forward was the merchant. Mitsuha’s identity as Viscountess Yamano surprised him, but since she was someone he’d spoken with on his travels, he quickly settled into a rapport with her. “I am Petz. A merchant, as you know. I came here to talk to you about circulation of merchandise,” he began.

Y’know, I just called him “merchant” in the stagecoach, so this is my first time hearing his real name.

According to Petz, Mitsuha’s predecessor had controlled all external trading, banned other counties’ merchants from doing business, and prevented local money from flowing out of his land.

Upon hearing that the previous lord was being replaced, Petz had come with the hopes of opening up a new market. Yamano County was so remote that it was hard to make the trip here profitable, but since it was right next to the Bozes’ county, he could incorporate it into trade routes passing through there, making it worth the time and effort. Seeing as he was so young, he declared, he would like to mature alongside the young Yamano County.

Yep, we’ll grow, all right. Anyway, I needed a merchant with ties to the capital, and Petz is clearly a trustworthy guy.

Huh? You’re saying I’m a capital merchant, too? Hey, I need a guy who sells goods from this world. What’s the use of me trading Earth stuff between here and the capital?

“Very well, Petz. Please do so. And if you can, please buy our county’s products and sell them in the capital. We have much more than dried and pickled fish. I have plans to develop new ones as well.”

“Oh, that would be just splendid!”

“I’m new to this, so do you think you could visit me again in a few days? We’ll discuss the details then. In the meantime, I’ll talk to the servants and villagers to find out more.”

“Very well. I will stay in the villa—I mean, the town’s inn for the time being.”

Yeah, I can totally understand calling it a village.

“Now, Mr. Mercenary, why are you here?”

“My name is Willem. A mercenary, of course. I grew tired of the city life and wanted to relax in a peaceful countryside, but fighting is all I’m good for. As I thought about what I could do, I heard about this place.

“This county is even more rural than the Bozes’ land, has barely any people, and lacks a single skilled vassal, knight, or mercenary. It’s completely defenseless, so I thought you might hire me until you gather some vassals and a proper defense force. And don’t worry, I’m not looking to become an official vassal myself.”

Well that’s some honesty, Mitsuha thought. He’s right, though. If I wasn’t here, this territory could be destroyed by just a single decently large bandit group. We need some defense ASAP, and for that, we need some key employees. A refined middle-aged man like Willem will fit the role just right. He’s a real man among men.

“Very well. Just like I told Petz, we’ll revisit this in the near future.”

“I’ll look forward to it, milady.”

“Lastly, we have you... the one who tried to hand me over to the bandits. I’m all ears.”

“Wha—?!” the man was taken aback by her frankness.

Hey, man, that’s just how I know you! I don’t know your name or what you do, and it’s weird to go just by looks and call you, like, “twenty-ish lookin’ guy” or something.

Anton and the other servants silently shot daggers his way, making him sweat.

“My name’s Yorck,” he said. “I’m a scientist.”

What a name.

“Well, Yorck, I’m listening.”

“We scientists are seekers of truth. We study and research under Platidus, our teacher in the capital. Upon hearing of the advent of the new lord, he sent me here with the hopes that the young, malleable mind in charge would be open to learning new things and give support to our brand of knowledge. If you could take me on as a temporary guest lecturer, I could bestow upon you fragments of wisdom from Platidus’ school of thought.”

Now this piqued Mitsuha’s interest.

“What kind of wisdom?”

He thought for a moment, digging through his mental archives for the right piece to tantalize her. “Hmm... Well, what would you say if I told you that it’s not the sun that revolves around this world, but the other way around?”

Just look at that smug face.

“Oh, the heliocentric theory,” Mitsuha replied. “You’re about to tell me that this land is actually a sphere that spins around its own axis and that’s what gives us night and day. But that’s obvious, isn’t it?”

“How did you—?!”

“Anything else?”

“Then, err, how about the reason rainbows appear in the sky?”

“When light hits water droplets in the air, they’re split into different colors depending on the angle at which they enter, right? That’s why rainbows only happen when there’s sunlight during and after rain.”

“Ngh!” Yorck frantically mopped his brow.

“Is that all?”

“Why you...! The mystery of the moon, then! Why does it slowly disappear, only to come back later?”

“Oh, it doesn’t actually disappear. It orbits this world, and it only looks like it vanishes and comes back because you just see the part of it that’s not blocked off, right? That’s enough, we’re wasting time here.”

“This can’t be!” Yorck grasped his head and he fell to his knees.

“Honestly, even if there was something I could learn from you, I’d refuse it just because you’re someone who’d abandon women and the other fellow passengers just to save his skin. As long as it came from you, I feel like it would defile me.”

Mitsuha called for a maid.

“You can go now. Take him outside.”

“I can tell you know a great deal. It boggles the mind, in fact.” Willem trembled with agitation. “But you... you’re a merciless devil!”

Petz nodded in agreement to his words.

Hey, flattery will get you nowhere!