Chapter 122 - Chapter 23: Ordination
It was decided that we would go to Medioland once more.
This was because James-sama said he wanted to show his gratitude and insisted we come.
We parted ways with Henry-sama, Eleanor-sama, and Wilson-san here. It seems they intend to maintain their incognito status to the end.
Roberts-sama and the others remained at the fortress with Stephens-san, and only Paul-san and the Class of 175 went along.
When we arrived at the Medioland castle riding in the bowl, we weren't taken to a waiting room this time, but were shown directly to Gladys-sama's former room from the start.
While we chatted with the ladies-in-waiting for about two hours, preparations seemed to be completed.
The King and Queen arrived, led by James-sama.
"Father. With the help of these people, I was able to obtain the Spirit's Ring."
"Well done. Continue to maintain friendly relations with the spirits and serve the royal family."
"Yes. I intend to learn about the origins of this island and things we do not know, making them the foundation for the kingdom's prosperity."
This exchange had likely already taken place, but they must have reenacted it for us to hear.
"Umu. And, Priest Jeanne. Master Paul. And the three young ladies. You have done well. In the name of the King of Medioland, I offer my deep thanks."
"To have the King of Medioland bow and thank us is truly awe-inspiring, but we have certainly come a long way. We all couldn't help but feel bashful."
"A banquet has been prepared in the flower garden. Was it Dune-dono? And the new spirit... Mel-dono, was it? Could you please call them? I would like them to join us."
James-sama had already spoken to Dune and the others in front of the pond. They must surely be waiting expectantly.
Immediately, I called Dune, and James-sama called Mel.
Dune was wearing the clothes sent by the First King of Sertoria, and Mel was wearing a frilly, pale green one-piece dress that Stephens-san's wife had picked out in town.
"Oh, what a sight. Welcome, both of you. Mel-dono. The painting of your likeness shall be displayed near the flower garden as a painting of the spirit. Dune-dono, I also sincerely thank you for your assistance."
"Since I've been called, I can expect great things, right?"
"Of course. Our royal chefs have prepared dishes with all their skill, and we have prepared the finest honey, painstakingly gathered by the royal foresters, diluted with fresh water."
The flower garden where the banquet was held was on the south side of the castle, which had its main gate facing north. It was surrounded by walls of piled white stone, and normally only royalty could enter. It was said that the preservation of secrets was also perfect.
Although it was spring, it was still cold, so the tree buds were only just beginning to swell, and much of the ground was still brown, but in spring, flowers would surely bloom everywhere.
The resting area made of white stone had a luxurious red carpet spread out, and more than ten people could sit and relax freely. Since only four arched pillars supported the ceiling, the entire flower garden could be seen.
It was spacious enough to hold a simple party, so there was still room even with all of us and the King and Queen sitting there. Since everyone was equal here, the ladies-in-waiting and gardeners also sat and enjoyed the food piled in the middle.
Unlike the banquets in the Sertoria Royal Capital, there was a lot of seafood, and I ate sea crab for the first time.
The giant crab sitting on a silver tray in the center was so large that I had to hold the shell with both hands; when I first saw it, I thought it was a monster.
When the shell, which served as a lid and had some char marks, was removed, the meat, which had been grilled in the shell and then shredded, was mixed with a warm white soup. You scooped it out to eat.
The soup seemed to be made by mixing wheat and milk and seasoning it with herbs; it had a good texture and a refreshing taste, and was surprisingly delicious.
It was the same with the catfish; things that look bad might have delicious insides.
Looking at Mel, she was sitting on a lady-in-waiting's lap, drinking honey water.
The King of Medioland had prepared two dedicated ladies-in-waiting and one gardener to serve as spirit attendants, and the gardener and the three ladies-in-waiting sat in a row and immediately began chatting. It seemed they had chosen talkative people, and they were talking happily.
Seeing that, Dune also seemed relieved.
"It seems to have gone well."
"Thank you for everything."
"It's fine. On this island, there are not only humans but various living things, including monsters and spirits. It's best for people to live while understanding such things."
"I think the King and Crown Prince of this country will be fine."
"Yes."
Medioland is a country with the oldest history on the island, unlike other nations. I have heard it is a country that most strongly inherits the spirit of coexistence and co-prosperity, which is the essence of the doctrine, and is devout in its faith in the Goddess.
In fact, the headquarters of the Sertoria State Church is also in the Medioland Royal Capital, so we are the ones who should look up to them. They would not lightly neglect the existence of spirits like Dune or Mel.
When I said that, she hugged me, saying, "That's why you called me from the start."
When the banquet was in full swing, there was an announcement of our rewards.
Everyone stood up once and lined up before the King and Queen.
Dune and Mel were observers along with the ladies-in-waiting.
First, the investigation reward promised at the beginning was ten gold coins for me personally. Next, the dragon subjugation reward, following Sertoria's example, was two hundred gold coins split among the participants... since eight people participated in the battle, with a generous bonus, it was thirty gold coins per person. And for the restoration of interaction with Mel, each person was awarded a Medioland medal and ten gold coins in reward money, plus the right of free passage through checkpoints within Medioland, and then a certificate for free commercial rights within the country.
"In particular, for Priest Jeanne, because her contribution to the Medioland Royal Family was so great, I shall grant her the title of Knight."
And so, I ended up being appointed as a noble...
"Is this okay? There's no such rank as Knight for a priest. Won't everyone be mad when I get back?"
"I don't know. Besides, is it okay for someone like you, who can't even ride a horse properly, to call yourself a Knight?"
"It's fine, we're getting it, so let's just take it. Ufufu. If you're invited to a dinner party, invite me too."
"Jeanne is amazing. Give me a share."
When we were whispering, James-sama seemed to hear us.
"Don't worry. It's just a title, so there's no problem continuing as you have been."
It seemed it was a needless worry.
I heard later that there are many priests with such titles, including in Sertoria, and the Headmistress who defeated the Demon Lord is also a knight of various countries. Naturally, there is no land or anything, and it's only for one's lifetime.
"Pull yourself together. People will think you're some country bumpkin."
I was even scolded by Paul-san.
Even if you say that, I really am a country bumpkin, so it can't be helped...
"Just say, 'I humbly accept,'"
"Ah, yes. I humbly accept."
When I repeated the advice James-sama whispered, I was awarded a medal by the King and Queen, and I specifically received a staff called a Knight's Staff with the crest of the Kingdom of Medioland on it.
"Just because I gave you this doesn't mean you've become my vassal. I won't tell you to swear loyalty or go to war, so just think of it as a commemorative gift to decorate your room."
Perhaps it was the first time he had said such a thing at an award ceremony; the King said it with a laugh.
Do I look like a noble?
After the ceremony, when I held the staff I received and looked closely, it wasn't just the crest; there were carvings of swords, shields, and so on. The materials apparently used things like magic beast fangs.
"I'm sorry, but it's just a title. However, it might be convenient in various ways if you live within Medioland."
James-sama explained, but I didn't really understand. In the first place, I have no plans to live in Medioland for now.
"Is Jeanne a noble?"
"Only for one generation. But even if you go to other countries, if you show the staff and call yourself a knight, you'll receive appropriate treatment. For example, you can enter places commoners can't. However, since you're originally a priest, the treatment might not change that much."
When I looked at Beatrix, she was smirking. Lyudmila and Mary were too.
"Give me a share, Sir Knight."
Well, since I received ten more gold coins than everyone else, I'll have to treat them.
In the subsequent consultation, it was decided that James-sama would call Mel on the morning of the beginning of the month. However, I was told that if he didn't call her, she would make the stone on the bracelet glow, so I should call her instead.
James-sama doesn't seem to be trusted much, but he is someone who has to go to other countries or go to war. I was asked to look after her.
On the way back, we took a royal-use post carriage that was as fast as the wind. We had an escort as far as the border.
We stayed overnight on the way, but was it okay? It was such a luxurious inn. Of course, it was free.
On the way, we decided to stop at Stephens-san's fortress and stay there.
At the report meeting, when I said I had received an honorary title of knight, Roberts-sama and Gladys-sama teased me mercilessly, calling me 'Knight Jeanne-dono.' The attendant knights, who were high-ranking land-owning nobles, treated me as a colleague and teased me, saying I must practice horse riding.
"The protection of the wind spirit in addition to the water spirit. That's amazing. If fire and earth are added, it'll be a complete set."
After the report meeting, which also served as a banquet, was over, Beatrix said something lighthearted while we were resting in the room prepared for the Class of 175.
"The remaining two are in foreign countries. This time was just luck... like Mel's whim, so any more is impossible."
By the way, Mel's bodyguard fee is apparently sightseeing and someone to talk to, but since there are eight girls gathered, that's not a problem.
"Including this time, money has been circulating well lately, so you must have saved up quite a bit, right?"
I realized it when Beatrix said so.
Come to think of it, that's true. I earned fifty gold coins all at once this time. Combining the original ten gold coins and the savings from the money I've earned so far, it should exceed eighty gold coins. It's a rough estimate, but if the relief measure passes in the autumn honors, another two or so will be added.
"In another ten or so coins, it might exceed a hundred."
"If you work a little harder, Jeanne will achieve her quota."
The quota is a hundred gold coins per person. Since I'm a stray priest, I don't need funds to open a shop like Beatrix and the others.
So far, the only one who has achieved it is Will, who has assets, but she apparently has to sell heirloom jewels and the like.
According to Lyudmila's estimation, with eight hundred gold coins, they could line up eight houses including farmland and livestock where eight people could live, and calculate that they could live for ten years while paying land tax. Of course, they would have to develop wasteland that they don't know if it can even be made into farmland. In other words, that amount is the absolute minimum, and unless they buy cheap wetlands, it would be many times more to buy land that is a bit easier to develop.
"But there's nothing I can do alone."
"I know. That's why, let's all think of a way to make money using this free passage right and free commercial right."
"First we have to start in Sertoria..."
"Mary, come here for a bit."
"What is it? Talking about the next dinner party?"
"Don't dream with your eyes open. Come back."
I called Mary, who was lying on the bed staring at the new dress she received in Medioland hanging on the wall.
She seemed to be immersed in a world of fantasy.
Lyudmila, who usually wakes up early, was already asleep. Since she was smiling, she must be having a very good dream.
"The 'Sertoria Brand' project is moving forward, right? I wonder if we can use our free commercial rights to sell that in this country. Beatrix and I will do the design, and Jeanne will dye it."
Why do I have to dye it alone? In the first place, that's for war widows and people in need, not for us to make money.
"That's why we can expand the sales destination for that relief measure to this country. We'll mix in the items we made there."
"That's good. But since it'll be an export, we'll have to get the King's permission. Besides, even if we handle the design, how much will come into our hands?"
"We'll have to discuss and decide that... but even if it's just one copper coin, it's fine as long as it's income, right?"
"Whether it can be sold with the crest is a matter for after passing the screening."
"We don't have to sell it with the crest. That's the relief measure. We'll aim for the Class of 175 brand. That way we can sell it cheaper."
I see. Is that how it is? If we have the right of free passage and free commercial rights, we can transport things from Nakanohara or open a shop without taxes. A strategy to hitch a ride on the crest guaranteed by the Sertoria Royal Family. But will it really go that easily?
"If we open a Sertoria Shop and handle both the crested items and the things we made, I think we can do quite well."
"Let's try consulting Gladys-sama once. Then she might contact the Queen."
The magic tool shop clerk and the pharmacy clerk are making a rather grand plan. Beatrix might be dreaming too.
"Wouldn't 'Honorary Knight Jeanne's Shop' be a good name for the store?"
"Yes. I want that much impact."
Why does it turn out like that? 'Class of 175' would be fine there.
The next morning, as a result of consulting Gladys-sama, this talk fell through. To open a regular shop handling imported goods, past achievements trusted by peers are necessary, and the shop structure must be grand and multiple clerks must be hired, so those costs and salaries are not to be trifled with. Even with the King's guarantee, the turf wars between merchants colluding with nobles seem to be fierce. Being a peddler is apparently easier.
"More than that, I think it's better to first become famous within Sertoria and have foreign customers who definitely want it. Besides, far from not being able to sell items with another country's crest, you might be treated as a traitor and, at worst, have your shop burned down."
I was confronted with a terrifying reality. Even if they are allies, trying to hitch a ride on a crest is apparently a shallow act.
"But there should be no problem selling your own marble-dyed items in Nakanohara. The relief measure is the relief measure, and shouldn't you sell your own things yourselves?"
In the end, it was decided to sell steadily, but...
"But it's a pity. I thought I'd have either Beatrix or Mary help with the design of things made in the Eastern Plains, but you'll be rivals."
There's no way Mary would stay silent after being told this.
"I want to help Gladys-sama."
She sidled up to Gladys-sama.
"She defected so easily."
"It can't be helped. Originally, our talk was just a second-hand idea. Besides, I'm the only one dyeing, right? I'll have my hands full dyeing what Beatrix designed."
Gladys-sama also looked troubled by the sudden change of heart, but we aren't that free either.
During the winter, we hunted bears and wolves, but foxes and boars have been left untouched. Since they apparently increase in spring, we have to hunt them at least by the time the wheat ripens.
"Um, is it okay?"
Gladys-sama also seemed somewhat perplexed.
"Please, go ahead. We'll just do our thing modestly in Nakanohara."
In the end, Mary ended up helping Gladys-sama and was to submit one design a month.
She'll surely submit two or three.
"Thank you, both of you. I'll treat you when we get back."
She's quite calculating.
Anyway, since it starts with making field uniforms at first, she shouldn't have to work too hard.
I returned to Nakanohara with the dream-filled Mary.
Just in case, when I reported to Adolf-san, he showed me his Knight's Staff, saying, "I have one too." He apparently received it from an ally in the previous war. He had three. If someone from the country that gave it to him comes as a guest, he apparently displays that country's staff.
"It works as a bluff," he said with a laugh.
The decorative plates depicted Roberts-sama and the others' dragon-revenant subjugation, and the Crown Prince stood in a position where his face was slightly hidden and couldn't be seen.
Beatrix and I were firing magic at the masked man, and Lyudmila and Mary were added in a way that they were cheering from the shadows.
When I finished reporting and arrived home, the first floor of the Ghost Mansion had been transformed.
"How is it? Amazing, right? Since I got a high-quality plow, it's a small return."
When Beatrix asked, Matilda, holding a hammer, puffed out her chest proudly.
Even though it was only the beginning of April, she was drenched in sweat.
"Hey, you're back."
Beowulf carried in some wooden boards.
"What on earth are you planning to do?"
Since it was originally an office, the first floor had a reception counter right after entering, and the back was empty. Fortunately, it had a fireplace, so we had made it a room for everyone to lounge in... but before I knew it, product shelves and chest-like things for clothes were placed there, and tables and chairs were lined up by the window. Apparently, Matilda made them.
"Well, look at this."
When Beowulf flipped over the board she brought, it said 'Class of 175 Shop' in large gold letters on a white background, and the Star of the Class of 175 was also drawn in gold on the left end.
"Next time, you're going to sell the clothes Jeanne dyed, right? So, I remodeled this room into a sales area. Since clothes alone won't be enough, I thought I'd sell the silverwork I made and the accessories and tableware Bonnie made from wood and leather too. It's a shop exclusively for the town's women."
Where on earth did that talk come from?
"Let's make it so people can have simple meals with the vegetables Lyudmila grew. For drinks, simple things like milk or cider will do. Since we're not thinking of making a profit from eating and drinking, if we offer it at cost, the price will be cheap."
"Right now, Will is in the room with Hanna-san, writing the application to submit to Mayor Adolf. The talk is already settled, so we can open once the products are ready."
While Matilda, who swings a hammer daily, and Beowulf, a charge-in specialist in the guard, opening a women-only shop is one thing, Hanna-san is apparently involved too.
While the four of us who had just returned were dumbfounded, Bonnie brought out leather scraps and tree branches from the back.
"They said we're all going to run a shop. Let's do our best."
Anyway, moving things along quickly is Matilda's specialty... um, it's such a sudden talk that I don't quite understand. In the first place, even if we say we're running a shop, everyone has a job. As a stray, I frequently go out for monster subjugation.
"It's fine. Since we don't have everything ready to sell, we won't do it every day. For now, it's only on Saturdays, so it should be enough for us to take turns showing our faces on our days off. Let's try to make it last for half a year for now. You guys got medals in the capital and ten gold coins in reward money, right? We'll definitely pay you back, so could you lend it to us for a while?"
Certainly, I have more than just ten gold coins on hand...
"Even though we're renting this place, it's where the eight of us live. We'll try actually making money here and use it as a reference for later. This Ghost Mansion is the beginning."
I finally understood Beowulf's words.
I see. This is what Jennifer-sensei was talking about. Going out to earn money is working away from home. Not just that, we have to invite customers to the place where we live and earn money.
"It can't be helped. Jeanne, teach me marble dyeing next time. I've forgotten, so I'll relearn it. Since they're this fired up, we have no choice but to do it."
"I'll help too. Besides, once the designs to give to Gladys-sama are done, I'll think about the portion to sell here."
"If we're serving drinks, maybe I'll buy a goat."
Everyone is motivated.
Alright, let's do our best!
"Good work. I'm home."
"Oh, welcome back!"
Protagonist's Subjugation Reward: 53 Gold Coins (Silver coins and below omitted) 9 months
End of Chapter 5
Chapter 5 has ended.
Thank you for reading this far.
During the posting, I received bookmark registrations and reports of typos and violations.
Thank you very much. I offer my gratitude.
Bonnie, who appeared at the beginning of this chapter... lost to the dice I rolled, and from the middle, her appearances completely vanished.
As a result, Mary's appearances increased, and a story not in the plot was created where she takes charge of clothing design. I hope to do my best to develop it somehow in the future.
As a result, I thought it would be Mary's turn to shine, but Beatrix, who kept losing the second dice roll (the order of participation in cave exploration), ended up in the lucrative role of participating in the dragon subjugation.
As expected of Beatrix. The protagonist's ally surely has something going for her.
Opportunities like this might happen again in the future.
Who will shine where... it would be good if I can weave the story without it breaking down. Truly.
Next, regarding Chapter 6, without changing the posting pace, I will post one side story on Friday (an added, revised, and revived version of an episode that was posted but then largely deleted in subsequent editing), and post the first episode of Chapter 6 from the following Monday.
Thank you for your support.