Chapter 2: Lost Item

Chapter 2:
Lost Item

 

THE WORLDBUILDING of this otome game was decidedly unbalanced. The developers apparently wanted an excuse to build powerful items, so Lost Items were scattered throughout the game. These were artifacts from ages long past that couldn’t be duplicated by modern technology, and most sold for an exorbitantly high price.

Among these Lost Items was some equipment that only the protagonist could use, to make her special in the game world. One such item was hidden on this very island.

I continued through the unmaintained paths of the forest, wiping the sweat from my brow as I went. I used the sword from the sheath on my back to hack away at the overgrowth. It was difficult to move through this place; the ground itself was sludgy mud that nearly stole my footing numerous times.

“This would’ve been better with a hatchet.”

I had actually brought a hatchet with me, but the wooden handle had splintered during the crash. It was useless now.

“I’ve never used a sword outside of training,” I grunted.

I was technically a noble, after all. After waking up before the crack of dawn, I practiced the sword with my dad. Richer nobles had retainers who were masters in the martial arts to teach their children, but poor families like ours had no such resources.

I headed toward the center of the island, but unlike in the video game, it took me hours to get there. Unsurprisingly, reality differed greatly from the virtual world. Beyond the unkempt paths, the mosquitoes and other insects around the ponds were nothing to scoff at either. However, the most dangerous thing was actually…

“Here it comes again,” I grumbled under my breath, and I fell to my hands and knees.

This enemy wasn’t a monster, but rather a spherical armored robot. It had no legs and seemed to drift about, floating through the air. Two long arms hung at its sides, and a pointed, hat-like helmet sat on its head. It was one of the robots that patrolled this island—or base, rather. They periodically made their rounds through the forest.

I held my breath and remained completely still, praying it wouldn’t find me. Once it was gone, I lifted myself up and moved away at speed.

“Good thing it was broken.”

The robots were, by and large, rust-eaten and on the verge of falling apart, but they continued to operate as they had for centuries, defending this place. I suspected the only reason they hadn’t found me yet was because they were in such poor condition. It was a bit depressing that the robots continued to protect the base in spite of there being no humans left on the island, but they were a pain to deal with if they caught you.

“I need to hurry and reach that base.”

Within the base on this island lay the Lost Item the robots were protecting. In the game, this was the pickup location for anything bought from the game’s shop. The protagonist had a few opportunities to leave the school, and during those times she could make her way here to retrieve her loot.

I remained vigilant as I continued through the forest, walking several more kilometers before I discovered a building on the verge of collapse. Ivy encased its outer shell and trees grew inside, jutting out of the broken ceiling; it had obviously been abandoned for a long time. It was even more vivid in person than it was in the game.

“Well, now at least I have proof that I really did reincarnate.”

I had doubted myself numerous times: Maybe those weren’t memories I’d regained. Maybe they were delusions. Perhaps I’d led myself to think I was living another life. Maybe I was desperately hoping my reality was nothing more than a fantasy.

I felt more at ease now that I knew I wasn’t losing my mind, and I took a moment to observe the surrounding area before slipping inside. Electric control panels were embedded into the concrete walls, but none of the base’s defenses worked. All in all, the futuristic vibe was oddly nostalgic. Everything had long since been swallowed up in tree roots and vines.

Similar structures were located on other floating islands, and adventurers scoured them for treasures with which they could build their fortunes. If other nobles found an undiscovered island like this, they treated the ruins as a dungeon to conquer, earning all kinds of praise for carrying out the legacy of their ancestors.

“Though you could also say they’re just pillaging archaeological sites.”

After all, adventurers showed no care for the integrity of the local architecture if it got in the way of plundering. From a less self-aggrandizing perspective, they were scavengers, looters, and destroyers.

“Well, I am doing the same thing, so it’s not like I have room to judge.”

I continued down a corridor and discovered an open door. Inside the room, a patrol robot drifted through the air, advancing in my direction. It trembled and juddered, miraculously still moving despite being on the verge of breaking down, just like every other robot I’d seen. Really, their dedication to guarding a ruin no one would ever come back to made me feel an entire three feelings.

I steadied my rifle. “Sorry about this,” I apologized, then pulled the trigger.

Electricity discharged as the bullet hit its mark dead center. A short pulse of light, and the machine crashed to the ground. The light in its eyes flickered a couple of times before extinguishing.

I waited with my rifle trained on the robot, but it showed no more signs of movement, nor did I detect any others approaching.

“Just like in the game. Glad I remembered their weakness. Now, I think it was this way…”

So these magical, electric bullets were indeed effective against the robots. Thank god. Considering these were supposed to be security units, it would have made sense for whoever built them to equip them with some resistance to electricity attacks. Alas, this was a fantasy otome game. If you started fussing about every plot hole, you’d be whining all day.

I relied on my memory to guide me through the building, and once again, I found a half-open door. Overgrowth had wrapped around it, forcing it ajar.

Inside, a skeleton was slumped over to one side. I pressed my hands together to say a short prayer, then combed through their decomposed clothing. I pulled the initial key card from one pocket. It must have been an ID, because there was a faded picture with someone’s name written beneath it, though the ink was so faint with time that I couldn’t properly read it.

“This is the roman alphabet, right? That’s kinda…odd.” I never dreamed I’d be seeing those letters in this other world.

I pocketed the card and resumed my search, heading deeper into the building. I’d been here numerous times to retrieve various things to help me clear the game. Still, it had been ten years since I’d regained my memories. Some things I was a bit less confident about, so I needed to be careful. I was still beyond grateful for what little I remembered. Never again did I want to experience the anxiety and fear that came with drifting through the sky all alone.

I searched for a door I could access using my new key card. When I found one that seemed likely, I pressed the key to an electric monitor and watched it open.

The room inside resembled a rest area, complete with two derelict vending machines. One had fallen over, its contents spilling out. When I tried to pick up one of the cans, it crumbled like dust in my palm. Two skeletons were seated on a nearby sofa.

“I didn’t care when it was just a video game,” I muttered, “but now I have to wonder what the hell happened here.”

This base was a decaying ruin, but part of it still functioned. Why had a civilization with this much technical ingenuity perished? It worried me a bit.

“Never mind. My first priority is taking whatever I can from this place.”

One of these two skeletons had a second item I needed to proceed further into the building. I put my hands together in prayer again before I dug out the necessary key. Then I headed down a different corridor, until my way was blocked by another security robot. Although, this one was different than the others I’d encountered so far.

“Oh yeah.” I grimaced. “I forgot about these.”

This robot originally had quite a number of legs, but it had lost a few and didn’t seem capable of moving anymore. It was still blocking my way and equipped with weapons to prevent potential intruders.

I kept hidden behind the corner of a wall, then stuck my rifle out just enough to shoot it. When the bullet struck, light flashed through the room, but that wasn’t enough to take the thing out. It had a Gatling gun in either hand and began firing in my direction. Only one of the guns was functional, though that was more than enough to make it a threat.

“That was close!”

My one saving grace was that the machine couldn’t aim properly anymore. I pulled back behind the corner for safety and loaded another bullet before launching the next attack. This time, I used a mirror to help me aim instead of peeking out from behind the safety of the wall. This might have been cheating a little, but if I stuck my head out like an idiot I’d have more holes in me than a block of Swiss cheese.

If this robot had been properly maintained, I would already be Swiss cheese.

“Dammit! This thing is too tough. Not to mention my aim is—shit! I missed again!”

I calculated how many bullets this endeavor had consumed already; the money lost was insane. My stance was completely wrong, which was why my shots weren’t landing, and even when they did land, the robot kept firing anyway.

I buried almost thirty bullets in the robot before it finally stopped. Game-wise, I should have been able to take it down within ten shots.

“Guess real life is totally different.”

I pulled myself together and kept a lookout as I dispatched the other security guards on the way to the center of the base. When I finally reached my destination at the end of a dimly lit corridor, I was down to only a handful of bullets. I used the second key card to open the door and descended a set of stairs into the basement.

It was so dark I couldn’t see anything, so I pulled a lantern out from my kit and lit it.

“They’ve got electricity. I wish they had flashlights,” I grumbled as I started along the lower level. Light bulbs, yes, flashlights, no, whatever—at least I had the lantern.

The occasional skeleton lay toppled over here and there, ratcheting up the fear that coursed through me. I had no idea what had happened here, but I wanted to get what I came for and go home.

As I followed the path from my memories, I came to a large room blanketed in yet more roots and vines. This spacious area was an airship dock, and here, my purchased items were supposed to be held.

I held my rifle in both hands and shuffled forward with caution. Most of the dock was swallowed up by overgrowth, with tree roots breaking through the ceiling and dangling overhead. What airships remained rotted under moss and ivy and were clearly inoperable.

In the midst of all this sat one conspicuously large spaceship. This was my objective. Even at a glance, it dwarfed the others.

“No doubt about it. This is it.”

This ship was the only one that hadn’t fallen into disrepair, even though it, too, was tangled in vines and branches. The moss seemed to give its surface an emerald sheen, though part of its gray armor peeked through. A bona fide battleship.

A tremor ran through me. “It’s really here. This is really it!”

I gingerly edged up the ship’s gangway, making sure it wasn’t broken. Its hatch was knotted in such a thick layer of vines it looked impossible to open. I pulled out my sword and hacked away, then I used my second key card to open the door and enter the battleship.

The interior was much different from the exterior. No vegetation to speak of; it was entirely pristine, its design highly futuristic. Admittedly, the aesthetic ran a bit strange for the world it was in, but then again, all the ruins were futuristic, too.

“The interior was never shown in the game. Huh. So this is what it looks like inside.”

It was ridiculously huge, about seven hundred meters in size. I was almost skeptical that a behemoth like this could actually fly, but this world had floating islands and continents. Some small islands were refashioned into airships themselves, and some of those were easily over a thousand meters and moved around like floating fortresses, or so I’d heard. I’d never seen one myself, so I couldn’t draw much of a comparison. But knowing that, it wasn’t far-fetched to think this thing could fly, too. So to others, it might look sizeable, but not especially weird.

The ship’s two boxy engines were astern, while the bow was more aerodynamic, with a neck tapering into a sharp point. In the game, it had looked more like an isosceles triangle with two boxes fastened on either side at the wide end. The shape itself was rather simple, without any propeller or sails.

The airships in this world came in all shapes and sizes, but the most common looked like seaworthy ships and rugby balls. These were simplest to make, and the physics of this world made them easy to get into the air—fulfilling the game’s purpose of getting players to go out adventuring.

As I made my way through the interior of the aircraft, lights flickered on automatically, so I stowed my lantern. Only one hurdle remained.

I made my way to the center of the ship, the only sound the echo of my own footsteps. I stopped in front of a door at the end of a long corridor to wipe away my sweat. Nervous, I checked my rifle; there were bullets ready in the magazine. I steadied my breath. “Time to go in.”

I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

This was the central facility of the spaceship. A pilot controlled everything from its spacious core. In the very center, growing right out of the floor, was a robot with a humanoid shape, about six meters tall. Its torso was enormous, its head a simple helmet with red camera lenses glaring out from behind its visor. The sound of it powering up echoed through the room.

I steadied my rifle.

“Intruder located,” said a robotic voice. “Exterminate… Exterminate…”

The robot moved slowly, its enormous hands reaching for me. I fired, but the only result was a flash of purple lightning that rippled over its armor. My shots were useless against it.

“Guess you’ve got some tough defenses.” I loaded my next shot, letting the empty shells drop to the floor with a metallic clink that reverberated through the control room. “Don’t suppose you’d forgive my intrusion if I showed you my key card, huh?”

It was a feeble hope, but—

Its tone was synthetic, electric…and, somehow, ice-cold. “The key card in your possession belongs to a base employee. Your physical features are not a match to the employee in question, nor any other employee here. Furthermore, the likelihood of their survival is astronomically low. Therefore, you are an intruder. I will eliminate you.”

“Thanks for the thesis?!” On one hand, I’d never dreamed this thing would engage in a serious conversation, but on the other hand, now was not the time.

My next shot was another bullseye, but I wasn’t doing any damage. I had to run when a long arm came sweeping toward me.

I pulled a grenade from my belt, yanked out the clip, and chucked it. The robot knocked the weapon away with one hand—or at least, it tried to. The moment the arm connected, the bomb exploded. A torrential current of electricity rolled across its armor, and for a moment, the robot froze. Smoke billowed out of its joints.

“I did it!”

But as I rejoiced over my small victory, light flashed inside the robot’s visor. “Magical attack detected. Threat level increased. Activating magic barrier.”

Light emitted from the robot, enveloping it protectively. I shot another bullet, but its new barrier repelled the attack like it was nothing. The electricity in the bullet didn’t even activate, and it clattered to the floor, inert.

“Oh come on, that’s cheating!” I snarled.

“Thank you.”

“Excuse me? You broken piece of crap.” I switched out the magazine before taking aim once again.

The robot’s movements seemed to slow after my next few rounds hit their mark.

“Being called a cheater in battle is a compliment,” the robot informed me. “I have learned this. Is this not correct?”

“Of course that’s not correct!” I barked. “More importantly, why the hell can you defend against magical attacks?!”

No enemies in the game had ever used a magical barrier like this against me.

“A simple answer for a simple question,” the robot explained. “We cannot claim to fully understand magic, but we did analyze it; we prepared countermeasures. This is natural.”

“You’re pretty intelligent! And chatty, too!” I dodged around the room, firing blast after blast. I searched for a weak point to exploit, but I was coming up short.

Wonder if it’d be so kind as to enlighten me if I asked?

“It has been a long time since I conversed like this,” the robot went on. “I may be elated.”

I had no idea what this blasted thing was talking about, but it—and the cheat-tier space battleship we were in—was a Lost Item. This robot was ancient technology, an item I’d purchased in the online cash shop for a thousand real-life yen. Actually, it sounded kinda cheap when I put it that way, but there was no doubt this was an incredible weapon.

The fact that it possessed artificial intelligence wasn’t entirely surprising, but I never thought it would be capable of conversation. That part hadn’t been in the game.

I reached for the other grenade dangling from my belt.

“A hand grenade imbued with offensive magic? It will be ineffective against me in my current state,” the robot said.

I flung it at him. “Idiot!” I ran for cover.

My opponent didn’t even try to defend itself. The grenade hit, and an enormous blast sent me sprawling, but I leaped quickly to my feet. Black smoke billowed from where the robot stood, making it difficult to see the aftermath.

“Even a normal explosion has some power to it, doesn’t it? Hope I didn’t damage the ship.” That was why I’d been hesitant to use it at first. After all, this battleship would soon be mine. I wanted to leave as few scratches as possible.

Smoke hung thick in the air. I lowered my rifle. I was certain victory was mine. “Phew. That was my only one of those, but even in the game, it was kind of overpowered—”

An enormous hand shot out of the black cloud and seized me. In shock, I dropped my rifle. I did manage to whip out my sword and thrust it into the robot’s fingers. Sadly, my attack only damaged my blade; not even a dent for Robo-Kong.

My enemy strengthened its crushing grip.

“Let me go!” I demanded.

“I was surprised,” the robot said calmly. “That was simply a powerful grenade, wasn’t it? Your kind seems so obsessed with magic. I never thought you would carry a weapon like that in your arsenal. Your strategy intrigues.”

Part of its armor had peeled away after the blast, revealing the infrastructure inside—motors and wires and gears.

It kept me in its grip as it leaned forward, peering into my face. “Your kind’s martial strategy has changed. A rifle certainly is an unusual choice, and I’m fascinated by those bullets you were using, too. Imbuing them with magic is a novel idea.”

The lenses inside its visor zeroed in on me, then zoomed back out again several times, as if studying me intently.

I had nowhere to run, and its grip was growing tighter and tighter. I flailed to escape, but then it suddenly asked, “I have a question. What year is it in the new calendar?”

“Ugh! New calendar? How the hell would I know? If you mean Holfort Kingdom’s calendar, then—gaaaah!”

A jolt of electricity shot from the robot’s hand and into my body. I screamed, and my body convulsed; I thrashed, numb and terrified, but I couldn’t wriggle free.

“That answer was sufficient. I’ve asked this same question numerous times, but it seems our kind has lost.”

My body slumped as the current receded, and the robot ceased to move. My jaw trembled, and I couldn’t close my mouth, so I used my sword hand to wipe away the spittle dribbling down my chin. “L-Lost? ‘Your kind’? What are you talking about…?”

What kind of opponent could possibly defeat a cheat-tier battleship like this?

“We lost to the new humans. Our ancient civilization was annihilated by the overwhelming power of the magic that they possess,” the robot explained.

New humans? I didn’t remember that from the game’s lore. Well, this was balls. I’d been hoping for an easy victory here. The last thing I needed was some new story twist.

Whatever. All I needed to do was find some way to escape.

“And you are a descendant of the new humans,” the robot went on in a low voice. “That makes you my enemy.” Its intentions were clear.

“Y-you sure sound emotional about all of that. Okay, for now, let’s calm down and talk this—hey, w-wait! Aaauuugh!”

Its enormous hand squeezed around me; I could hear my bones creaking.

“Enemies must be exterminated…” the robot chanted. “Exterminated…”

Peace talks are over, got it. The damage I had inflicted hadn’t been enough to destroy the robot, but it had weakened it so it couldn’t crush me instantly. Unfortunately, that meant it would drag out my pain instead.

Was I the luckiest man in the world, or fate’s punching bag? The next few moments would tell.

“Y-you bastard…still clinging to a war that happened who knows how long ago…”

“Our mission is not yet a failure,” the robot insisted. “We must exterminate the new humans. We were ordered to stand by in this base, but now that your key card has reactivated us, we can at least send off this one ship and obliterate what is left of you. Many of your ilk have made their way to this base before. From the state of you, it’s clear the new humans have weakened considerably. Once I finish with you, I will take this ship and cleanse the world of their descendants.”

So other adventurers had come to this island before?

More importantly, this bastard was about to go berserk on the outside world—and possibly massacre my family in the process! I didn’t care if he killed Zola, but my parents, Nicks, and Colin were a different matter.

I lifted the pommel of my sword to my lips and ripped the pin on the end out with my teeth. I turned the sword toward the robot. “Choke on this, you pile of scrap!”

The blade flew from the hilt and pierced the visor, sending purple lightning rippling across the robot’s frame. It penetrated deep.

A small explosion forced the robot’s head back with a jerk. The visor shattered, and one of the shards grazed my cheek, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

The robot’s grip loosened, and I slipped through its fingers to the floor. The landing shot pain through my knees, but at least now I could breathe. I choked on relief as I crawled over to my rifle.

The robot was going haywire, its movements choppy and unpredictable. I hauled myself to my feet and managed to clamber back up its frame, finding purchase where I could, the rifle hooked under my arm. At last, I jammed the barrel of my weapon into the broken visor. “Not gonna say I don’t get where you and yours are coming from, but I got my own agenda here. So you’re gonna shut up and do what I tell you to do.”

I pulled the trigger. Then I loaded another round and pulled it again. Each time I did this, the robot tried to reach up to peel me off, but to no avail. “It’s over.”

A few more shots and I was out of bullets, but thankfully, the robot had stopped moving. Parts of it hummed with electrical discharge. It was quite clearly damaged beyond repair. Black smoke poured out of the gaps in its outer plating.

And yet I could still hear its electronic, inhuman voice speaking to me. “You are trying to use me, aren’t you? It’s futile.”

The robot wasn’t moving anymore, so I climbed off its carcass and booted up the control panel in the middle of the room. In the game, this allowed you to register yourself as master of the ship.

“Put a cork in it,” I told the robot. “I’m here to collect an item I paid for. Stop complaining and obey me.”

Well, I wasn’t sure my old-world payment necessarily conferred ownership, but I needed it regardless or I’d have no future in this world.

“I would rather self-destruct than allow one of the new humans to commandeer me,” the robot said defiantly.

“You’d be better off serving me than self-destructing. Blowing us both up would be a pain in the ass. I don’t want to die.”

Just then, I realized the control screen allowed me to change from the roman alphabet to Japanese. “Suspiciously convenient,” I said, switching to Japanese—my good old mother tongue, “but you won’t hear any complaints from me! Much easier this way.”

The screen lit up, indicating I should place my hand on it to be scanned. Mastery of the ship was almost mine. I was on a high from the adrenaline.

“Japanese?” the robot queried. “You can read it? Your kind shouldn’t be able to use Japanese at all.”

But wait. That voice was coming from the control room’s speakers. It wasn’t the robot at all.

Apparently the ship’s AI had taken an interest in me.

I set my hand on the control panel and jokingly replied, “Well, my soul is pure Japanese. Rice and miso soup every morning—two staples of a good Japanese breakfast. Haven’t eaten them in a while, though.” I paused and switched back to the common tongue. “Not that you’d understand any of what I’m saying anyway.”

Would the robot get it if I told it I’d been reincarnated? If I told anyone else, they’d smile awkwardly and flee.

“Your soul? Are you referring to a cycle of death and rebirth?” the AI asked.

“Huh, so you do understand me? Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. Probably.”

I didn’t know if it could speak the language too, but it had understood when I described the state of my soul. …And it had been a long time since I talked to someone in Japanese like this. It was nice.

The control panel finished analyzing my genes and began scanning my entire body, washing me in a beam of red light. As soon as that finished, the AI resumed its questions.

“Judging by your genetic information, you do indeed have traces of Japanese in you. However, you are still one of the new humans. You just happen to have some of the old humans’ genes. Curious. That shouldn’t be possible.”

“You don’t say. Anyway,” I said, again reverting to Common, “now this ship belongs to me, right?”

“Yes. As of today, you are the owner of this ship. Do you have a name for it?”

I stopped to think. The game didn’t allow you to name the ship. “I can’t think of anything good. In the game, the ship was just ‘Luxion.’”

“Very well, the name has been registered as ‘Luxion.’”

“So you’re not gonna blow yourself up, huh?” I asked. “Works for me.”

I was feeling pretty ragged at this point, so with the ship’s registry complete, I sank to the floor. Fumes still hung in the air from my battle with the humanoid robot. I examined my rifle; the wooden stock was cracked. I’d have to repair it before I could use it again.

“My parents’ present is looking a little worse for wear.” I breathed a sigh and looked up at the ceiling.

“If your soul is Japanese, then you have memories of the war, yes?”

“War? Nope. The period I lived in was peaceful, and I was merely a salaryman. I’ve never experienced any war before. Huh… Now that I think about it, I guess my previous life was pretty sweet.” I felt a sense of longing for my old world. If I had been able to go back right in that moment, I would have.

The control room gradually cleared of smoke. Some ventilation somewhere, I suppose.

“Did you know?” I babbled in Japanese. “This world is just a crazy, bizarre otome game world.” I wanted someone, anyone, to hear my story.

“What is an otome game?” the AI asked.

“A dating simulation-type game.” I told it everything—what era I was from in Japan, what led to my reincarnation. When I was finished, I asked, “So, are you surprised?”

“I admire the depth of your delusions. However, if they were mere delusions, you wouldn’t be able to speak Japanese as you do. Thus, I can only say this is…very intriguing.”

“Hey, I’m surprised, too. Plus, your very existence is proof. The fact that I knew about you and sought you out shows I’m telling the truth about this being a game world. Right?”

“It sounds as if you’ve lost your mind. Perhaps your brain merely wants to believe this all just a game?”

I waved my hand dismissively. “Eh, I don’t like bothering with complicated things. Besides, puzzling over it isn’t going to give us any answers. It’s a waste of time.”

I started coughing and covered my mouth with my gloved hand. It came away with a splatter of blood across my palm. “Was I wounded? Crap. I have to get back home…”

As my body slumped to the floor, I heard a voice call out, “Master Leon Fou Bartfort’s vital signs are weakening. Prepare for immediate transport to the medical bay.”

 

***

 

Three months had passed since Leon set off.

Zola was back at Bartfort House, berating Balcus in his workroom about the whole ordeal. She wasn’t the only one; that wretched Luce was there, too, blaming him for their son’s continued absence.

“I went to all that trouble to secure him that engagement,” Zola huffed, “and now it’s wasted. Honestly, what a foolish child, to go off on his own like that and get himself killed.”

Balcus’s hands closed into fists. His mood had been sour since morning, when Luce had flounced in to fret aloud that their son might be dead. Well, fine. All the more reason why he couldn’t defend himself against Zola now. He’d allowed this knowing the possible outcome.

“Now we’ll have to give her your other son,” Zola went on. “Even at his age, he can at least do some chores around the house.”

Balcus balked. “Colin? The boy’s not even ten years old. And Leon might still come back.”

Zola couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter. “Do you seriously believe that? It’s been three months since he left this island. Three. Months. It would be more than odd if he were still alive after this long. Ah, but I suppose it’s possible. Maybe he ran away to save himself. Honestly, this is precisely the problem with you rural nobles and your children. You don’t understand the chivalric code.”

According to Holfort’s Code of Chivalry, one swore fealty to their master. In the case of knights, that meant fealty to His Majesty. In turn, vassal knights swore their loyalty to regional lords. Also per the code, one lived a noble and righteous life; daily training and frugality were virtuous. Finally, it was a knight’s duty to put their life on the line for their liege. The truest honor came from fighting for Holfort Kingdom. The ideal knight was therefore compelled to act as sword and shield for the powerless.

More simply put, the code was a convenient moral structure for those in power to mold the behavior of their followers. In more recent years, the code had expanded to include protecting women and putting your life on the line for their sake. As it should.

Balcus strode across the room to put a hand on Luce’s shoulder while she sniffled. He almost looked like a loving husband beside her. That irked Zola.

What nonsense, she thought. I’m the one who was kind enough to marry a backwoods liege lord like you! How dare you rub your relationship in my face like this!

Luce was such an eyesore. It made the idea of selling off her sons and daughters to men and women in the capital that much sweeter.

And besides, this house already has an heir, Zola thought smugly. My son, Rutart. We don’t need any other children here.

At that moment, the young boy, Colin, flung open the workroom door with as much strength as he could muster. He was panting, gasping, trying to get words out.

“Colin, go back to your room,” Balcus ordered. “You know better than to enter without knocking—”

Colin thrust a finger at the window, still speechless.

As one, Zola, Balcus, and Luce hurried to peer outside. A shadow covered the fields, as if something was blocking the sun.

Balcus yanked the window open and leaned out. He gasped. “What in the world is that ship?”

Zola’s body seemed to shrivel in on itself. An enormous ship was hovering over their estate. “Wh-what?! A ship from where?!”

Was it air pirates? Or maybe another region had come to launch an attack? Possibly another country? She started panicking.

A smaller craft descended from the larger one, about twenty meters in length. Leon was riding inside of it.

Zola’s mouth gaped. The aircraft was loaded to the hilt with mountains of gold and silver treasure.

The ship landed, and Leon waved with both arms at all of them gaping in the window. “Dad! I came back just like I promised. Look at all this treasure!”

He was beaming, standing proudly in front of piles of wealth—not only precious metals, but heaps of jewels as well. It was impossible to guess how much it might all be worth, but if they were the real deal, they would net a ludicrous amount of money.

Luce sank to her knees with ugly sobs. “That boy… He didn’t contact us at all, and now he shows up out of nowhere… Thank goodness he’s okay.”

Zola couldn’t stand her happy smile.

Balcus scrambled out of his workroom and into the hall, clearly intending to run straight to Leon. Zola peeked back out the window and tried to get a better view of the treasure.

Leon spotted her and smirked triumphantly. I win, he mouthed.

Zola’s grip on the windowsill tightened, and she knew her expression was bitter. “That disgusting little runt.”

She watched Balcus fling himself at his son, wrapping Leon in his arms as he sobbed. “You damn moron!”

Zola slipped out of the room, annoyed. No matter. Every penny of the treasure he brought home is now mine. This works out in my favor. He’ll continue serving me, and I’ll reap the benefits. I’ll be the one with the last laugh.

Her elven slave was waiting for her in the hall. He followed behind her as she headed outside.

 

***

 

I wore a big grin as I took in Zola’s sour milk expression.

The first thing she did when she came outside was demand I hand over all of my treasure and my spaceship—or, airship, as she called it.

“The contract you made with my dad has nothing to do with me,” I said, the picture of reasonability. “At fifteen years old, I’m officially an adult. I’ve even registered as an adventurer. You know what that means, don’t you? Anything I found belongs to me, not my dad.”

This silenced her idiocy for a moment. My dad seemed to have something to say, but my mom stopped him from interfering.

Eventually, Zola responded petulantly, “You used your parents’ money to earn these treasures! And now you flaunt them before us and claim they’re yours?!”

I knew she would say that. But Holfort Kingdom had a strictly enforced rule that adventurers could claim any treasure they found. After all, this country had been founded on that basic principle.

“If my parents want to shame me, that’s one thing,” I said casually, “but you have no right to say anything to me. Hmm, why don’t you take this?”

I tossed her a leather bag full of gold bars. Honestly, those were insanely valuable on their own, but I was sure they wouldn’t please her, given the piles of treasure behind me. I offered her the gold precisely because I knew it would insult her.

Naturally, Zola refused to concede. “You can’t honestly think anyone’s going to accept your nonsense! Balcus will be the one in charge of managing your treasures, yes? I have every right to them!”

Before landing, I had consulted Luxion about this and knew exactly how to counter.

“That would only work if I left my fortune here. But I’ve struck out on my own, as an adult and an adventurer. I can handle my assets by myself.” I shrugged. “Though, I do still have to contribute to Bartfort House. So I’m thinking about investing in our territory. Our harbor could use some fixing up, don’t you think?”

Her brows furrowed, leaving deep wrinkles in her forehead as she glowered at me. It filled me with joy.

If I handed over any part of my fortune to Balcus, I was sure she’d immediately snatch it for herself. But she couldn’t swipe anything if I invested it directly in our land. She couldn’t pick up a road or cut off a chunk of the harbor and take it home with her.

Realizing she was at a disadvantage, Zola backed off. She marched back to her quarters in the manor, dragging her elf lover along with her.

I cackled as I watched her retreat.

My dad slapped me on the back. “Dummy, don’t egg her on. What good is pissing her off going to do?”

“That’s the woman who tried to sell me off to a perverted old lady,” I reminded him. “She owes me. Anyway, what do you think of my loot? Incredible, isn’t it?”

My parents gazed at the glimmering piles, genuinely surprised. “It really is,” Dad agreed. “Did you report it to the guild?”

The Adventurers’ Guild was an organization that took about twenty to thirty percent of an adventurer’s findings. Fortunately, the remaining amount belonged solely to me. The country called it a guild, even though it wasn’t privately owned and run like most guilds would be. This world’s arbitrary elements really did grate on my nerves.

I nodded. “Of course. And they took a huge chunk of my treasure. But the rest is all mine. And I want to replace the boat I destroyed. In fact…” I was feeling generous “…maybe I should just give you guys a real airship.”

My mom looked exasperated. “Don’t you think you should keep some of it for yourself? For the future? With this much, surely you could live on your own.”

I straightened my back. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you both about that.”