I had a rather unexpected boost to my military, and really, having more friends was something to celebrate. I decided to promptly meet with Diablo to discuss how to put these demons to work, and I'd have Testarossa and the other top demons join us as representatives to get their feedback.
"So there are three posts I'd like to assign as soon as possible. I need a diplomatic attaché to make decisions abroad on my behalf, a chief prosecutor to investigate the evils unfolding within Tempest, and a chief judiciary official to provide fair and balanced judgment over disputes. I just happen to have you three here, so what do you think about taking those jobs?"
I kept my tone casual, knowing full well just how insane this was. None of these jobs were particularly easy, and my cabinet may object to these appointments anyway, although it'd be Diablo's job to shut them up. Besides, these posts emphasized fairness; I didn't want people trying to curry favor with them, so I thought naming people as close to me as possible was the best bet. If any of them tried anything rebellious or illegal as part of their posts, I could just call upon Diablo to purge them. It made things easier for me, in a way.
"I would be honored to serve as a diplomatic officer."
"Wow, evils even bigger than me? That sounds exciting!"
"My judgments are always fair. I will do everything I can to live up to your expectations!"
Whoa. They accepted them without even listening to the job descriptions. "Are you sure? I think they're pretty tough jobs…"
"I am eager to begin, my lord."
"Yeah! I'm good at investigations and stuff!"
"I will provide equal measures of death to all."
Um, I don't think that's how the jobs work, exactly! Now I was even more nervous. I glanced at Diablo. He had a smug smile, telling me all I needed to know about his thoughts. Here was a man thinking Thank god I palmed this trouble off on someone else. Yeah, he'd never agree to being a diplomat.
"Listen to me. Being a diplomatic attaché means speaking for me as a member of the Council of the West. Once we deploy our military across the West, you'll also be responsible for commanding them all. It's an important job, you understand."
"Yes, I do understand."
Testarossa softly smiled at me.
"Testa is a wise woman, you know. I guarantee you that she'll never do anything to harm your position."
No, Diablo, you just don't wanna do the job, do you? Diablo's guarantees weren't worth much in my mind, but maybe Testarossa did have a lot of wisdom.
"Well, with the laws we're writing for our nation as well, she'll need to understand and explain them to other nations…"
"Do not fear, Sir Rimuru. I have memorized them all."
Testarossa then began reciting the in-progress version of the laws of Tempest, stuff we were still trial-and-erroring our way through. She even pointed out some of the flaws in the current version.
"Okay, you're hired! I got no complaints now, that's for sure. It's gonna be easy for you to lose your temper in the Council, but remember—you have our nation's good name on your shoulders. Whatever you do, do not let anger get the best of you. Okay?"
"I am ready to serve, Sir Rimuru. And should push come to shove, I will leave no evidence of my involvement."
No, um, that's not the problem, exactly… But there was no denying Testarossa's talent. Nobody else was as qualified, and given my antics at the
earlier Council meeting, I wasn't exactly a good role model. Let's see how this shakes out anyway.
So I had now appointed Testarossa as my councillor, but the other two had their own talents.
"Okay, me next!"
Ultima immediately began rattling off the parts of the legal code we were in the midst of enacting. She was every bit Testarossa's match in intelligence.
"My lord," Carrera continued, "we are a race that respects our contracts. We are gifted in finding loopholes in regulations, and I guarantee we will never miss anything a common person could discover. We will also never be swayed by bribes. Anyone who wishes to subjugate us must do so by force, and only a small handful of demon lords stands a chance at that."
She couldn't possibly lose to anyone, huh? The fact that she didn't say that outright indicated that some demon lords really were more powerful than her. I could name one off the top of my head easily—that redhead—but that's her problem, not mine. What mattered was that Carrera seemed dedicated to judging all criminals fairly.
"Okay, you're hired. I'll be expecting big things from all three of you!" """Yes, my lord!"""
Thus, I had three Demon Peers assigned to three important posts. Luckily, it was a smart move on my part. Soon, Tempest would become a constitutional state like few others, its systems and procedures providing an example that spread across the land.
These laws apply to me as well, by the way. I'll have to be careful not to get arrested for giving or taking bribes.
So now we had a constitution, part of the elite club of nations that made one. It was still in the testing stages, but our government was divided into three sections and functioning. Ultima and Carrera were dedicated to their work— and I have to add, they had some talented people working under them as well. They organized their respective departments in the blink of an eye, exercising
the full extent of their powers.
Ultima had also taken a shine to Rogurd, calling him Rog and following all his instructions. Rogurd even reciprocated, calling her M'lady and treating her almost as nicely as his own daughter. Rogurd, in fact, had no idea who Ultima really was. He was a bold, courageous man, but if he found out she was such a powerful demon, even he might start acting all sensitive around her. In consideration of that, I only told him that she was "scouted" by Diablo. It's her work that counts anyway, so I saw this as harmless.
Carrera, our new chief justice, was also doing well. Rugurd, our attorney general, was back in our administrative office; our department of justice was now its own organization, so it'd no longer be affiliated with that branch. That didn't mean it could do whatever it wanted, though. The administrative, legislative, and judiciary branches of the government all kept an eye on one another now.
Rugurd, in his role, was observing and supporting Carrera, my appointee. From what I heard, despite any eccentricities in her personal behavior, she was a talented worker. She'd never fall to bribery or violence, so I suppose Rugurd accepted her. Good to see. There's no such thing as a perfect political system, so we just need to solve problems as they come up.
Now we had to provide the Council with draft copies of our relevant legal codes.
"So, Testarossa, are you all ready?"
"Yes, Sir Rimuru. Moss has made all the necessary arrangements."
Testarossa, that living beauty, was elegantly relaxing in front of me. She poured out some tea, offering it to me. It was good. Shuna's tea was always first-class and Shion's was up there as well, but Testarossa's was surprisingly delightful. The aroma had depth to it, the taste thick and rich. There was no bitterness, and even though I took it without sugar, there was a hint of refreshing sweetness to it.
"I did not know you brewed your own tea, Testa. Color me surprised." I felt Diablo's eyes open wide behind me.
"Hee-hee! Well, this is a special gift for you, Sir Rimuru. None for you, you understand."
"…That is fine. As long as you understand that my post is above yours, you may live your private life as you like."
Diablo prepared his own tea as he said this. I wasn't sure whether they were bitter rivals or just bickering friends. It didn't seem very strained between them, but I wouldn't call them good buddies, either.
"It's interesting, though, isn't it? The way other nations are reacting to us. Some are trying to curry favor, and some are trying to use us to their advantage. I'd say less than half are openly welcoming us; the majority are still rather suspicious."
Such was Testarossa's sudden evaluation of the scene. It was almost like she was there to see it, which was odd.
"Where'd you get that info from?"
"Oh, my pardons, Sir Rimuru. I enlisted Moss to investigate for me, so I may better serve you."
Moss again, huh? Pretty talented dude. One of the guys who evolved into a Demon Peer; stronger than Veyron and second in power only to the trio of ladies here. He was good at intelligence gathering, too?
"How accurate was the info he got you?"
Was it acquired via magic, or did he ask around more directly? If it was trustworthy, then fine, but if not, it'd just get in the way. I decided to check with Testarossa.
"Well, Moss has a special ability where he can deploy a large number of small, discrete Replicants across a wide range. To Moss, collecting and analyzing information across the world, all at once, is like child's play."
That's…pretty amazing. I gave myself a mental pat on the back. He was a nice pickup.
"Ah. Sounds reassuring, then. I'll introduce him to Soei sometime soon, and then maybe they can work together on intel. Together, I'm sure they can make
up for each other's deficits, you know? That'd be good to see."
"My! All those complimentary words… I think I'm going to be jealous of Moss."
Testarossa smiled.
"Ah, enough joking…"
Now a figure I hadn't noticed before was standing behind Testarossa, breaking into a cold sweat. He didn't really stand out much, but this must be Moss. Veyron cut a very gentlemanly figure with his handlebar mustache, but Moss looked like the kind of cute-as-a-button kid you'd see anywhere. By appearances, he'd seem to be in the fifth or sixth grade (?) maybe. Strong would never be how you'd describe him. Was he really that much of a talent?
"Hey, um, about the information you picked up— Can we trust it? I mean, we just got done kicking out a bunch of councillors plotting against us. I can accept it if people are wary, but are there still nations out there seeking to take advantage of us?"
Not to brag or anything, but I think our nation was kind of badass by this point. Trying to hoodwink a nation as badass as ours made me wonder about the mental skills of the leaders running them. Honestly, I'd be far more likely to believe Moss had it wrong here.
"Moss, can you explain the situation to Sir Rimuru?"
Surprisingly, it was Diablo ordering Moss, not Testarossa.
"Y-yes, sir. The region south of Tempest, focused on the Kingdom of Blumund, is generally friendly to us. However, our intelligence does not extend far into the north, and with many of the nobles there, it is unclear just how much we know about them is true. As for the councillors pushed out recently, it seems that even if they told the truth to their benefactors, their stories were not widely believed. This is speculation based on rumors, so I cannot attest to its accuracy very much, but I can state that certain members of royalty from several nations are plotting against us."
Moss's power involved being able to listen in on conversations, so it was up to him, and us, to judge how accurate those conversations are. It was still really
helpful, though.
"If we can pick up on suspicions before they spread, that can help us take countermeasures fast."
"Yes, my lord."
"Testarossa, can I leave this matter to you?"
"Of course, Sir Rimuru. Are we in agreement that the relevant nations need to be thrown into ruin?"
No, we are not.
"That's going too far! Just force their rulers to take responsibility for it." "I understand."
"And try to avoid bloodshed while you're at it, please?"
"As you wish. I will not do anything that gives Tempest a bad reputation, at least."
Despite her flowery smile, Testarossa was really giving me the creeps. I worried a little over whether assigning her this was the right idea, but you need to test out these things. Still, if we acted too nice to our rivals, it could send our whole nation crashing down. Being seen as a pushover will just lead to more needless damage in the future.
"All right, then! Proceed so our nation retains its current dignity, but don't be afraid to show them the full brunt of Tempest's gravitas!"
And so Testarossa was my new Council representative.
That took care of the biggest problems. Those had been giving me headaches for the past few months, but starting today, my mind would be much more at ease.
Huh? Was I retreating the lab to do a lot of whizbang research? Well, you know, I need to at least look like I'm trying down there, or I'll come off like a charlatan dropping in for fun.
Being a grown-up is knowing how to balance social responsibilities like that. In
a way, you want to avoid making a one hundred percent effort in the workplace, because then that'll be expected of you every time. A real performer knows how to execute a "full effort" they can provide on a regular basis. Work's supposed to be fun anyway.
…Of course, I can try to sound like I know it all here, but that's still just an ideal. And I guess that if I'm satisfied with myself right now and have an environment like that to work in, I must be truly happy.
Anyway, today I decided to check out our new school building, which we recently completed construction on. The children I brought in from Englesia will study here, together with our own. Like I said to Yuuki, the best way to prepare children for adulthood is to get them interacting with one another—and in a school with nothing but monster children, I worried my kids would have trouble adjusting to human society later.
With this school, there'd be no worries. We now had a lot of adventurers and other people coming here for work, many of whom brought their entire families, children included. In many low-income families, children were obliged to work as well, but I prohibited that by law. A child's job is to play—and to examine and study whatever they were interested in. I wanted to have humans and monsters learning together, in the same classrooms, and in the future I wanted to see this grow into races and species working together. That was the theory behind this setup.
Plus, we didn't only have children learning in this school. Grown adults were mastering the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic here, too. They were highly motivated, given how these skills were rapidly becoming necessary in Tempestian life. Remaining illiterate would narrow their work options and potentially lead to errors that'd cause trouble for their coworkers—and adults understood that, which is why so many were studying now. One common refrain you hear in the classroom is "Am I ever gonna use this stuff in the future?" Not here, though. The sight of grown-ups studying so hard actually seemed to inspire the children watching them; they didn't want to get left behind.
Addition and subtraction were one thing, mind you, but literacy is another. Those classes were difficult even for me, and it seemed like Masayuki was in the
same boat. We were fluent in conversation and could read just fine, but writing was a challenge. In my case, I could set Raphael to autopilot and cover for that, but without its aid, I wasn't sure I could pass even a basic literacy exam here. I had been shamelessly putting off addressing this—if I'm good now, why bother?—but for this, at least, I felt like I was cheating a little.
My kids, of course, were doing great. I gave them some manga translated into this world's language to motivate them, and that wound up being a huge success. They were carrying it around with them all the time, and it was getting popular even with students outside the reading classes. Kenya and the others, being the first kids to possess this manga, were uber-popular in class. Between those comics and his natural talent for winning fights, Kenya was already kind of the boss of the schoolyard.
"Come on, boys! Quit playing around and help me clean the classroom!"
Oops. Now Alice was mad. She had comfortably settled into the class president role, I see.
"Huh? Why do we have to do that stuff? "
"Whoa, Ken, you don't want to make Alice angry!"
"Aw, shut up, Ryota! Today I'm gonna whup Alice and become the real boss around here!"
Eesh. What are you, children? …Oh, I guess you are.
Apparently, Alice was the true boss of this clique—maybe that was why Kenya kept flaring up at her. I suppose it's like a lovestruck boy wheedling a girl in order to get her attention. It usually has little effect…or typically, the opposite effect. You need to be nice to the people you're trying to court, and if Kenya doesn't get that yet, he has a lot to learn. All he's doing right now, at least, is pissing her off.
"I told you, y'know! I told you I'll show you just how scary I can be!"
Alice, for her part, was acting less than her supposedly mature self. But she's only eleven, of course, and I wouldn't expect anything else from a sixth grader. Plus, everyone was already used to her act.
"Hey, who do you think will win this time?"
"Oh, it's gotta be the Empress."
"Yeah. She's the youngest and the strongest out of us all. Kenya's pretty good, too, but he's a bad matchup against the Empress."
"Like, he's in love with her! No way he could ever beat her."
Pretty cruel.
"Hey, Gail! Quit sayin' all that crap over there!"
"Yeah! No way Kenya has a thing for me. Are you crazy or what?"
Gail had no qualms about revealing Kenya's secret. But despite Kenya's objections, Alice just laughed the whole thing off. Hmm… Maybe they were still a little too young for love. Or maybe they were just fine, actually. The children, monster and human alike, all looked on with big smiles; they must've understood there was no bad blood involved. Gail, being the oldest, kind of took a leadership role with the others anyway, so I assumed he'd put a stop to matters before they developed into problems.
I could've just kept my mouth shut and watched them, but not today. Hinata was due in later. "Okay, kids, that's enough!" I said as I entered the room. "No horseplay in the classroom, all right?"
"Mr. Tempest!"
Chloe all but tackled me from the side as I entered. I never saw it coming; she must've improved her skills as of late. In fact, she must've noticed my presence long before I came in.
"M-Mr. Tempest?! No fair, Chloe!"
Alice was almost as quick to respond, hugging me with just as much force as Chloe. Good. They're still at that "cute" stage.
Then someone else dog-piled on me from the rear.
"It's great to see you again, Mr. Tempest!"
A charming little girl with a bowl cut leaped in front of me. She wore an elegant kimono and seemed about as young as Alice—but what really made her
unique were her fox ears.
Hmm, I don't remember meeting a girl like this before…but I feel like I ought to know her. Could it be…?
"Are you…Kumara?"
"That's right!" came her peppy reply.
Oh, right. Kumara was an upper-level monster who evolved after I named her, and I guess transforming into a human was among her new skills. I'm pretty sure I granted custody of her to Hinata, alongside Kenya and the rest. They were attending school regularly now that the building was completed, but I figured Kumara was manning the labyrinth or something in the meantime. In fact, she joined the others at school, and it looked like she had friends as well, so it appeared that things turned out fine.
"Whoa, Mr. Tempest is here?"
Now Kenya and Ryota noticed me, lagging a little behind the girls. They were drowned out by the other children.
"W-wowwww! Mr. Tempest!!"
"It's really him! Whoaaaa!"
"Wait'll I tell Dad back home!"
It was a big event, causing such a clamor that now the other teachers were coming in to see what was up.
"M-My lord?! You should have let me know in advance! I would have guided you around!"
"Are you kidding me?! I'm the vice-principal! If anyone's giving Sir Rimuru a tour, it's me!"
"Nonsense! Sir Rimuru named me the principal, and this is one responsibility I'll never palm off on my staff!"
Another big furor.
These teachers were mainly retired adventurers, along with a few merchants Mjöllmile recruited from Blumund; we paid them a monthly salary. Our principal was one of the elders from the goblin villages. He was no good as a teacher, but he was great at settling disputes fast, and I wanted him to keep an eye on the kids and ensure the monster students weren't being ostracized. The rest of the staff was all human, including a paladin we brought on as a special lecturer, and Hinata stopped in to look after Kenya and the others when she was free.
It all seemed to be going well, really. The paladin looked out of his comfort zone at first, but now he was instructing our monster and human students as equals, with no prejudice involved. That was a huge help.
"Yeah, um, call today a kind of stealth meeting. I had some business with Kenya's class."
"Oh, is that the case? Well, I hope you'll be interested in sitting in on a class
next time!"
"Indeed. Just let us know a date and time, and we'll show you a perfect class!"
The teachers and students all nodded at one another. But hang on. What did he mean, a perfect class? I didn't need them putting on an act for me. What was the point?
"Whoa, whoa, don't put Sir Rimuru on the spot!"
This chaos would've continued awhile longer were it not for Fritz, the paladin in charge of my class today. Having a captain of the Crusaders preside over a class is pretty amazing in itself, I thought.
"You're teaching today, Captain Fritz?"
"Aw, Sir Rimuru, no need for that captain stuff. Just Fritz is fine." "Oh? Then you can drop the sir stuff with me, Fritz."
"I could hardly do that. Humor me with that much, if you wouldn't mind. I might get dirty looks."
Fritz smiled at me. He struck me as the last person to care about honorifics like that, but not even he could get that informal. And neither could I, really. Calling the heads of other states by their first names would be pretty stupid unless I was a real big shot.
"Ah yeah. If we were alone, sure, but not in a place like this, huh?"
"Thanks for understanding," Fritz said with a wink and a smile. Getting winked at by a man wasn't all that gratifying to me, but I did like his approach.
"But anyway, thanks for helping around this school."
"Oh, stop! Compared with Lady Hinata's harsh training, it's like heaven around here. There's free food; the children respect me… People in our group are fighting for this job, lemme tell you."
I see. Not sure I really wanted to know about that. I appreciated how Fritz was being upfront with me, but I didn't want to adopt his knack for creating awkward scenes…especially given that my Magic Sense had just picked up something.
"Oh? Well, that's good, Fritz. My harsh training, huh? With your talents, I thought I was going easy, but maybe I shouldn't have bothered."
The cold voice was pointed straight at Fritz as Hinata appeared. A wave of anxiety coursed across the room, as both the children and the grown-ups stood up straight and froze. Even the faculty did, which I didn't know whether to laugh at or be concerned about. Fritz, of course, had it the worst.
"G-gehh… L-Lady Hinata?! That, um, you misunderstand me! It was just a figure of speech, you could say…"
He tried to defend himself—in vain, I thought. This is exactly why situational awareness was so important. I prayed for his future happiness as I promptly hightailed it out of there.
We moved into the labyrinth. Hinata was here now, so I also took along the five kids and Kumara. Fritz—well, let's not talk about him.
"I've been expecting you, Sir Rimuru…and you as well, Lady Hinata." "Ah, it's the elder himself! Glad to see you're well."
We were greeted by Hakuro, who apparently had kindled a friendship with Hinata at some point. They were both smiling as they greeted each other.
"Sorry to make you take time out of your busy schedule."
"Oh, it's perfectly fine. We've taken care of all our major problems for the moment."
"You did? Did you figure out who you'll send to the Council?"
"Yes, Diablo attracted some new talent to our group. She's been named Testarossa, and I'll be glad to introduce you next time."
"…She's 'been named'? There's a lot I want to say about that, but we don't have any time to waste, so I'll hold my tongue."
"Um… Sorry?"
"It's fine. I already know how much you're lacking in common sense. Asking for more details will just give me another headache."
She may've been whining a little, but pretending not to hear what Hakuro just said was probably the best thing for her, yes.
"Anyway, I'm here today because I wanted to show you how these kids were progressing. I've been teaching them alongside Sir Hakuro, but I want you to see what they're capable of, too."
Hmm… Not sure how I felt about that, but let's play along.
"If you're phrasing it like that, I guess they've kind of grown?"
"'Kind of' is one way to put it. Once you see them in action, you'll get it. This labyrinth is so useful, isn't it? You can fight at full blast without worrying about dying."
Hinata grinned, projecting as scary an image as always. She always had this streak of intimidation that bordered on the sadistic.
"All right. How about I summon some Replicants to take them on?"
With some choice jiggles, I spat a body out of me. This was a human-shaped clone, me remaining in my original slime self.
"All right! It's been ages since we fought Mr. Tempest!"
"This is so great. Now he can see just how much I've grown!"
Kenya and Alice, the two main fighters of the crew, gleefully took positions in the front row. Next to them, the more taciturn Gail was doing a few quick stretches while Ryota, despite his usual reluctance, was looking just as excited —if he wasn't trying to run away, he must've had some confidence, at least.
And as for Chloe and Kumara, the last two:
"I'll head out front first!"
"Huhhhh? But I wanna fight Mr. Tempest, too!"
They were just as enthusiastic.
"All rarin' to go, huh? I can take you all on at once, but how about we try some one-on-one battles?"
Everyone smiled at me, excited to battle—and I certainly didn't mind humoring them now and then. With that ill-advised optimism in mind, we
began the mock fight.
...…
...
…
One hour later:
"Y-you've gotten way too strong, guys!"
My shocked voice echoed across the labyrinth.
Kenya was clearly stronger than a rank-and-file paladin. He formed a perfect combination with the light elemental spirit inside him, unleashing a litany of sword moves from his weird, manga-like stance. Ryota wasn't as good as Kenya with a blade, but with his mix of water and wind spirit magic, he demonstrated a nimble skill with battle. Gail was a steady presence in the fight, focused on defense and careful movement, and he handled his sword and shield well. He also had good control over earth-based spirit magic, making him a bit like fighting an iron wall.
Thus, the boys were surprising enough, but the girls were even more amazing. Now I could see why Alice was nicknamed the Empress. I don't know where she was taking them out from, but she now had several dolls of magisteel that resembled Beretta and seemed almost alive as they lunged at me. She was every bit the Golem Master she was, and she wasn't messing around with toy dolls today. If she faced anyone besides me, they'd be in real trouble.
But in addition to that, Alice had a finisher move where she willed a huge number of swords into the air and doggedly sent them flying my way. That was a surprise. Their paths were irregular and hard to predict; without my Predict Future Attack skill, I might've been run through several times. Another few years, and she could probably be an even match for a paladin captain.
As for Kumara:
"Okay, guys, time to show Sir Rimuru what we're made of!"
With that shout, she released her full force, nine tails shimmering behind her cutesy figure. The next moment, each tail transformed into a magical beast. I
kind of anticipated this, but still, having eight beasts to deal with at once was a surprise. Even two of those beasts boasted a lot of strength—I could see why Clayman treated them as a kind of last resort. And now there were eight of them.
The ninth one was apparently associated with Kumara herself, while the other eight were all magical beasts. Each one was over A in rank, so not even your average paladin stood a chance, and they all shared in one another's battle experience, so they worked well as a team. At this point, I think they could possibly beat Fritz, making Kumara a little girl with the power of one of the Ten Great Saints. It'd be hilarious, except for the fact that it was all true. If those beasts gained any more experience, the strength level would just be incomprehensible. A worthy guardian for Floor 90 of the labyrinth, no doubt about that.
So that brings us to Chloe.
"Heee-yah!!"
It was a cute little shout, coming from her, but there was nothing cute about how she held a sword. She was faster than Kenya—or really, it wasn't even something worth talking about on that level. I fought against six adversaries today, but Chloe was the only one I had to get real serious about. Or maybe I'm thinking about it the other way around. If I didn't get serious, then Chloe was now strong enough to be a danger to me. I wouldn't die if I went easy on her, mind you, but I didn't want to look uncool in front of all the kids. As a responsible grown-up, I couldn't embarrass myself around them. So that's why. Don't call it immature, all right? I'll throw all generosity aside if it means protecting what little pride I have.
"I can see why you did that."
"As can I. It is only with the young Chloe that I get serious in our mock battles, after all."
Really…? So Chloe was now tough enough to challenge Hinata and Hakuro, both above me in skill? It shocked me to the core. This innocent little girl was now making me shudder.
"No, dude, that was really great!"
"Right? Hearing Mr. Tempest say that gets me all pumped up!"
"Yeah, but Chloe totally stole the show today. I mean, you call me the Empress, but I still can't beat her in combat."
"Ah, Chloe's on another level. She looks all meek at first glance, but rile her and she's a menace. You're not scary at all when you're mad, Alice, but with Chloe, I'm cryin' uncle pretty much immediately."
Ryota and Gail nodded next to the indignant Alice. The boys all seemed in agreement.
"Kenya's real good, too, though. It's just that his stance doesn't really match his skill set. If he worked on his stuff a little more, I think he'd be able to string some good combos together."
It was a very manga-like stance, but it wasn't inherently a bad one. It was just a poor fit for traditional swordplay, forcing him to take extra steps throughout his approach. If he could get rid of that, I think he could be stronger.
"That's the thing. No matter how much I instruct him, he's still sticking with that…"
Hinata must have noticed as well. She dejectedly sighed.
"So what? I learned this stance directly from Masayuki!"
Huh? Did that fool give Kenya a little uninvited advice? I mean, the stance looked cool and was effective in its own way…but as someone who knows just how powerful he really is, it just seemed so wrong for him. No wonder it looked like something from a fighting manga—Masayuki probably lifted it directly from one series or another.
"Well, I suppose just telling him won't work. Let's teach him so he gets rid of his bad habits and polishes up his combo strikes some more."
Unlike Hinata, Hakuro wasn't hung up about doing things the standard way. He had a few off-book moves of his own, so if Kenya found this approach effective, Hakuro didn't mind going with that. It wasn't absolutely the wrong thing for him, either, so I'll let Hakuro work that out over time.
More importantly:
"Chloe, your sword moves are exactly like Hinata's, aren't they? Very pretty. A good example for everyone."
She smiled brightly at the compliment. "Yeah! It's the same as what Shizu used, so I tried to copy them!"
"They're not the easiest things in the world to copy, you know. I'm still reliant on skills for them, but you learned them entirely based on your own talents. I think you should be proud of that."
"Indeed! I've instructed a great many students, but I've never seen so much raw talent from one person. It's nothing short of ominous, in fact!"
Hinata and Hakuro were both tough teachers, and they had nothing but praise for Chloe. I guess it really was talent. She was still young, but I couldn't even guess what would happen as she matured. I wasn't sure if I was fearing it or looking forward to it.
It turned out, however, that Hinata had some other business today.
"I called you here in part so you could see how these children were progressing. They all have talent, but they're still young. I wanted you to have an accurate gauge of how they are right now, to ensure we don't guide them down the wrong path."
That was always a consideration for me, of course, but I accepted the word of caution. Shizu had watched these kids, after all, so to Hinata, I suppose they were kind of like her own siblings.
"All right. We have a lot of people in town who can guide them, Hakuro included. Me too, for that matter. We'll make sure they don't go down any wayward paths."
"Hee-hee! I thought you'd say that…but just in case, you know."
She was such a worrywart. I loved how kind she really was, despite that cold facade she always put up.
"So did you have some other reason to be here today?" I asked her as the kids all play-fought against Hakuro.
"Yes. In fact, it's the main reason."
She stopped there, eyes turned toward the children. Even Hakuro had trouble dealing with five of those kids at once. He could keep up with their moves, yes, but if he delayed his reactions for even an instant, he'd suffer a lethal blow. In terms of pure physical talent, someone like Kenya was easily above him. He couldn't let his guard down for a moment.
Kumara, by the way, wasn't participating in this. If she really wanted to fight, she'd overwhelm Hakuro with pure numbers. But even without her, Chloe gave the kids a decisive advantage, so I thought this was a good pairing. It was, in a way, a grand demonstration of fighting skills, one boundlessly entertaining to watch.
"Isn't that amazing?" Hinata softly said. "Especially at her age."
She was looking at Chloe. The other four—Kenya, Ryota, Gail, and Alice— were all impressive enough in their own right, but Chloe was simply extraordinary. Without her, Hakuro could easily wrap up this battle without breaking a sweat.
The mock battle came to an end, all the children panting as Hakuro started giving them advice. If they were fighting this hard every session, I could see why they were advancing so fast.
Hinata then moved on to the main topic at hand. "Sorry," she said, focusing on me again. "I just got caught up watching them. But Lady Luminus, you know, she's pestering me about when we'll hold the music-exchange program. I figured she was interested in the idea, but she's even more enthusiastic about it than I thought. So I thought I'd let you know."
That was unexpected…or to be exact, I had been busy with so many other things that I kind of procrastinated on that proposal.
"Ohhh, right, she really liked our recital, didn't she? Well, Baton and the orchestra are still practicing regularly. They've been expanding their repertoire."
"Honestly, I'm amazed you remembered all those songs. I can't read sheet music or anything, so writing down the songs in my head just seems impossible
to me."
Wow, so Hinata actually admits to being bad at something? She didn't seem too enthused about the concert, either. Maybe she was tone deaf. A feeling of superiority washed over me, even though I was wholly reliant on Raphael for that stuff.
"Well, maybe we ought to stop by soon, then."
"Yeah. Transporting your musicians might be a pain, though. We could send over a few paladins and transport them via a Warp Portal, a few people at a time."
"I'd appreciate that, thank you. It's a big orchestra, and they have a lot of bulky instruments with them. A wagon caravan didn't seem practical to me."
Lubelius, if I recall, was protected by a large Barrier that prevented anyone from teleporting directly in. We'd need some other kind of rapid transport. A train system would instantly solve this problem, but that was for the future—no point pining for it right now. Plus, of course, this wasn't just about transporting the musicians. They all had their own instruments, which really complicated matters. If we used horse-drawn carriages, they'd have to traverse a highway that's not even completed yet, and traveling down unfinished roads could lead to bumpy patches and broken gear, so I'd like to avoid that if I could.
I was really starting to envy the dragon airships the emperor of Thalion used. A train trip would be fun enough, but if you really wanted to cut down travel times, air was the only way to go. Land and sea were your best bet for transporting goods, but for recreational and other travel, a plane flight was always the fastest and easiest way.
Thus, I appreciated Hinata's offer. I'd be helping as well, of course, so we began to make plans for the big travel day. As we went over all the details, the resting children gathered around us.
"Are you going somewhere with Miss Hinata, Mr. Tempest?" I explained to Chloe that we were holding a music concert in Lubelius. "I wanna go, too!"
"Me too!"
"I'd probably fall asleep during it, but if Chloe and Alice are coming, so am I!" "And me!"
"Guess I'll join you, then. If I let them go alone, no telling what they'll do."
Chloe led the fray as they all clamored to come along. Hmm… What to do? I supposed it'd help broaden their horizons and all that, but I couldn't guarantee that it'd be completely safe.
Kumara looked up at me as I pondered this.
"I—I want to go, too…"
Being the guardian of Floor 90, she had a job to attend to, but she just looked so forlorn to me as she asked. Maybe the logical part of her brain told her this wasn't doable. But it's totally natural for a kid to want to join her friends on a trip, and I wasn't in the habit of turning that down.
"Aw, there's no need to be so hesitant. Don't be afraid to say what you want. I'll indulge you at least a little bit."
I didn't want her turning out like Milim, but it wouldn't do for her to lose her childlike charms, either. I patted Kumara on the head as I spoke. It felt just as soft and fuzzy as she was in fox-cub form. I suppose the kind of warmth it gave you was something that transcended boundaries between monsters and people…although Kumara was in human form here, so maybe I'm just thinking nonsense.
"Whoo-hoo! And no school while we're on the road, too!"
"Why do you want out of school so bad, Ken? You have fun in there."
"What are you, stupid? School's fun, yeah, but getting to play around while everyone else is in class… It makes you feel special, y'know?"
"I get what you mean. I don't want people to think I'm like you, but I'm kinda excited, too."
"Right? That sort of thing!"
I had yet to say yes to anyone, but the kids were already mentally packing
their bags and openly talking about cutting school. I get it. I really do, but I never tried doing that when I was a kid…
"Ah, fine. But you'll have extra homework to do while you're out, all right?" "Huh?! Aw, c'mon, Mr. Tempest!"
I ignored Kenya's protests. He needed to learn early on that you can't always get everything you want. Life can often be unfair, so this was my way of toughening him up. Call it a rare parental gesture from me. I wasn't harassing or punishing them at all, so hopefully they would understand.
"I'm just happy being with you, Mr. Tempest," said Chloe, the original instigator, with a grin. Well, whatever. It'll make for some good memories.
"You're so easy on them."
"Oh, are you against it, Hinata?" I asked, frowning my disapproval at her. "Pfft. I didn't say that."
She looked peeved but put up no more opposition. We're good, then. So now we had our basic plan ready—a tandem music concert in Lubelius, a team of musicians headed over there, and a bunch of kids joining the fray.