kscans

Chapter 39 - The Empire, the Storyteller, and Kobito-san

"............."

"I’m home?"

Upon arriving at the outer wall of the royal palace, Kobito-san was escorted to Romel’s office without even having time to go home. The king’s younger brother, sitting there, stared with fixed, damp eyes at the Kilfan person standing behind Kobito-san. In Arcadia, where Caucasians made up the majority of the population, the yellow-skinned people of the empire were a rarity. Ivory skin and lustrous black hair. Obsidian-like eyes and thin lips. Over the past few hundred years, interaction with other countries had progressed, and Kilfan, too, had become predominantly mixed-race. And yet, the person standing before him now was a pure-blooded Kilfan native. The flat features and slanted eyes were the unmistakable symbols of an imperial native.

Which means, she is.......

"I received the report by fast horse. But why... why do you have to bring back problems so quickly?"

"Huh?"

Kobito-san had no idea what was going on.

"It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time. My name is Sakura Hiwatari Kilfan. I look forward to our acquaintance."

Sakura, dressed casually in a cotton kimono with a half-width sash, greeted him gracefully. Not with a curtsy, but with a normal bow.

Kilfan? Huh?

Only the one who sits at the pinnacle of the country, and their successor, can attach the country's name to their own.

Which means.......

Sakura glanced mischievously at Kobito-san, who was staring blankly with wide, round eyes, and stuck out her tongue slightly from between her thin lips.

"Surprised? I’m an imperial princess, you know. For now, at least."

In the room where even the knights were speechless, only Romel, who knew the situation, held his head in his hands and groaned.

"The current emperor doesn’t have any children?"

"That's right. So they can’t afford to lose me, his younger sister and second in line, so they’ve locked me up in the brothel. If the succession passes to another relative, I could be assassinated. I thought I had renounced my claim, but due to their circumstances, it seems it remains as is."

Once she explained, the story was simple.

In short, it all started when the previous emperor, on his deathbed, named Sakura as his successor, and her enraged older brother, the crown prince, tried to kill her. However, besides the emperor’s siblings, they were the only two in the direct line. In the empire, which had repeated a history of bloody usurpations, the only family with the correct ancestral blood was the emperor's own bloodline. This was because successive emperors had slaughtered those close to the throne. The others had become mixed-race, and in a sense, the yellow-skinned people were a rare breed. They couldn't let that bloodline die out with this generation, so the emperor, noticing that a female emperor could take multiple husbands and leave children, named her as his successor. In the empire, with its strong discrimination against women, a pure-blooded imperial woman could only be born into the emperor’s bloodline. As is common with noble families, repeated inbreeding had resulted in the problem of few women being born into the imperial family. Sakura was born into such a situation. It was inevitable that the men, led by the emperor, would look at her with changed eyes, seeing her as a womb that could preserve the pure-blooded imperial line.

The emperor’s brothers, and their children. Even her own brother was no exception.

If they could get Sakura pregnant and have her bear a child, the emperor’s throne would automatically fall into their laps.

Men who truly saw women as nothing more than objects.

Due to matters of the imperial succession, Sakura was about to be forced into marriage with her older brother, the crown prince. She fled from that mire, devoid of any ethical sense, slapped her brother with a notice of abdication, and with the help of her supporters, reached Frontier. She knew of the Manmaden's existence and used the fact that Frontier was a country governed by law with the power to repel Kilfan to secure her peace.

That was about seven years ago, she said.

It was a tremendous story.

"Well, I’ll be. You’ve been through a lot, Sakura."

Stroked by a small hand that showed genuine sympathy, Sakura’s face couldn’t help but break into a smile.

"They won’t lay a hand on me as long as I’m in the Manmaden. I’m sure that was unexpected for them, too."

Indeed. The empire had not expected the Manmaden to become such a powerful, extraterritorial entity.

They only realized it recently.

When the Manmaden gained acceptance in Frontier, built good relations, and established self-sufficiency, no longer needing aid from its home country. Only then did the empire realize that the balance of power had shifted. But they couldn't withdraw either. The foreign currency earned by the Manmaden was too attractive. With the profits from the farm and ranch included, it was over a thousand gold coins a year. Unwilling to lose this, the empire had no choice but to continue sending women and maintaining the Manmaden. They couldn't use force against Frontier, with which they had a non-aggression pact, so Sakura's situation was tacitly accepted.

"We’ve been getting requests for her extradition to the palace, you know. They’re just a formality, but. We’ve been able to feign ignorance until now. .....Why did you have to bring her out?"

In front of Romel, who looked utterly weary, was Kobito-san with her hands clasped together as if in prayer.

"I’m so, so sorry! I didn’t know, though I know that’s no excuse!"

The little girl apologized to Romel with a desperate expression, looking as if she were about to perform a full prostration. Sakura, watching this with a smile, threw her a lifeline.

"I kept quiet about it too. Don’t be so angry with her. Besides, they shouldn’t be asking for my return right now."

"Huh?" Romel and Kobito-san both looked at Sakura. Sakura nodded and continued her explanation.

"I only heard this from the girls who arrived recently."

So saying, Sakura spoke of the events that were likely happening in the empire right now. It was a story that confirmed a suspicion Chihiro had held for some time.

For a long time, people called "seekers" had appeared in the empire.

Whether on the imperial mainland or the surrounding islands. In any case, these seekers, who appeared every few decades, were polite, possessed a great deal of knowledge and technology, and enriched the empire. The seekers were also all yellow-skinned, and their language was the same as the empire’s. In Kilfan, which still lacked the power to cross the sea, they apparently said strange things, like they had traveled back in time, or were people from the future. However, once Kilfan began to cross the sea, the reactions of the visiting seekers changed. They were surprised by the existence of magic, grew indignant about why Kilfan had no magic, and began to behave arrogantly. And another such seeker had recently appeared.

"Seekers are always welcomed into the imperial family. The one who appeared this time is a man, so if I were to return, he would automatically become emperor. My brother wouldn’t be able to stand that."

That's why Sakura had left the Manmaden as well. "Even if I said I was returning to the country, they would just turn me away, for now," she said, laughing dryly.

A person of the same yellow race who was not a close relative. This was what had always reset the emperor’s bloodline, which was why, despite repeating so much inbreeding, the only negative effect had been that women were difficult to bear.

Unless Sakura's brother, the current emperor, gave up on her and had a child with another woman, he risked being ousted from the throne. As long as the emperor had no children, Sakura's claim to the succession would not be lost. That would implicitly give an opportunity to those who wished for the seeker to become emperor.

Seeker. An Isekai transfer.

Kobito-san gazed into the air with a suspicious look.

She herself was reincarnated here. It wouldn’t be strange if transfers happened too. And from the sound of it, the visiting seekers were Japanese. The existence of these continuous visitors. Had that created the Kilfan Empire of today? But only around the empire, wasn't that too convenient? She felt there was some kind of intention behind it.

Furthermore... the Kilfan Empire itself was......

This is in Merda’s domain.

Kobito-san nodded repeatedly with a solemn expression.

Little did she know that the eyes of Romel watching her were murky and stagnant.

"Was it alright to tell them that story, Sakura?"

"It’s fine. You all won’t leak it to the outside, right? Besides, it’s not like it’s a secret. It’s just that Kilfan has sparse dealings with other countries, but it’s something every citizen knows."

I see.

So it's something that can be found out if one tries to investigate. Other countries probably know and are turning a blind eye. It's someone else's problem, after all. As long as it doesn't inconvenience them, it's none of their business.

There was no way Frontier, the country most likely to be inconvenienced, would be unaware of the situation in its volatile neighboring country. Today's story merely confirmed it.

"Then, shall we hear the story from Merda?"

"Merda?"

Chihiro took the puzzled Sakura with her and they boarded the carriage again. With a flustered Dolphen in tow, she headed straight for the forest.

At the baron’s mansion, a bear-like father was pacing the entrance, waiting anxiously, but the single-minded Kobito-san had completely forgotten.

"Merda, I’m home!"

Faster than the little girl’s high-pitched voice could rise, a large shadow circled overhead. A human-sized honeybee appeared with a gust of wind, turning Sakura’s face pale. She had been surprised by Pochiko-san, but this was beyond surprise, it was freezing.

《Welcome back. Thank you for saving the King’s forest.》

Kobito-san looked at the smiling Merda with a serious gaze and asked.

"Merda, you’ve inherited the memories from the first generation, right? Do you also know about the Kilfan Empire?"

Merda's old tales that she had heard when they formed the pact. The story of the founding king, Sapphard, and Merda. When asked why she had the same name as her past master, she explained that it was because of the memories inherited continuously from the first generation. She also inherited the name as the storyteller of history.

The forests and their masters had existed since before humans were born. If Merda was the storyteller of history, wouldn't she know the circumstances of the Kilfan Empire? Merda seemed to let her gaze wander for a moment, but then quickly seemed to give up and opened her mouth with a sigh. Through her thoughts, that is.

《I cannot say much. Only that that country was something that was not.》

"Something that was not?"

《It is a seed that the gods sowed when they realized their mistake.》

"A seed?"

Merda’s answer was abstract.

According to her, several thousand years ago, around the time the various countries began to take shape as nations. Suddenly, the continent of the aforementioned Kilfan Empire appeared. On the small continent, about the size of Shikoku, there were several villages, inhabited by people with black hair and yellow skin. Merda sent out her children on reconnaissance to confirm the full extent of the small continent.

Were they new beloved children of the gods? Just as Merda was wondering if she should guide them as well, the gods, who had not descended once since giving magic and wisdom in the past, came down to her.

That is a gift from another. You must not meddle with it.

The gods said. We received an island and its people who were fated to die in another world. No forest is needed there. No master is needed. Magic is not necessary. The ones who should guide them, we will receive from the same world, those who are fated to die. We made a great mistake. This is a seed to correct it. You all shall protect the forest, and be at peace.

So saying, the two gods were absorbed into the heavens.

"Those fated to die... a seed to correct a mistake."

So Kilfan is a country the gods prepared for the Japanese. "Fated to die" means people who were destined to die, and they’re getting them from the gods of Earth.

It wasn't just involvement. It was a whole country of Japanese people, hahaha.......

What do they plan to do, creating another world within another world? I don’t understand. Something is nagging at me, but it's too vague to grasp.

Moreover, its location made it impossible to interfere with the people here until the last few hundred years when they became able to cross the sea. It’s obvious they were isolating the empire.

And then, suddenly, Chihiro's eyes widened.

"You’re talking about the empire, right? What about the surrounding islands?"

《Those too were brought by the gods.》

According to her, they also received islands that were scheduled to sink, or be lost to disasters.

Scheduled... I wish they’d at least say fated. To the gods, it’s probably no different from administrative work, but it’s too devoid of emotion.

So they took land and lives that were to be lost on Earth and transplanted them here. I mostly get it. Though I still can’t read their intentions.

Is it like the gods' miniature garden? No, if they said they sowed a seed, there must be some purpose. What was the mistake the gods made? That the masters were lost and the forests withered? No, that was a much later story, right?

"By the way, if a master is away from the forest for even a day, the forest withers, right? There should be magic, so why is that?"

《Because this forest is a forest created by the gods. Without a master to supply the golden magic, it cannot be maintained.》

That was a bolt from the blue.

So what you’re saying is, the master’s forest is different from other forests, it’s a forest created by the gods? In a way, this place is also the gods’ miniature garden. Do the gods here like gardening? We might get along.

Huh? But, does that mean......

Kobito-san scooped up some soil from her feet into her palm and tried to channel magic into it. Instantly, grass sprouted, and a small tree budded.

"Wha??"

Dolphen, speechless, stared at the little girl who had let out a strange sound. Sakura, equally wide-eyed, stood frozen.

Merda murmured with a triumphant look.

《That is the true power of the Golden King. The one who connects worlds and creates forests. When the Golden Ring is complete, please grant me a new forest.》

Merda, grinning slyly, looked like a demon.

Forcing the corners of her twitching mouth, Kobito-san also murmured. When she stopped the magic, the plants in her palm immediately withered and died.

"Gag order..... keep this a secret, okay....."

I see, so the first Golden King founded the prosperous Frontier with this power. A cheat ability at this stage, it’s meaningless, gods!! And this thing withers without golden magic, right? A power that can only create a forest for the exclusive use of a master, who benefits from that? Oh... the master benefits.

For now, Kobito-san handed the egg she received from Molt to Merda, and began the journey home with a rather mixed feeling.

Kobito-san trudged along, her carriage moving slowly.

She didn't know yet of the future that awaited her, where she would be clung to by a withered, bear-like father who had grown tired of waiting, and wouldn't even be allowed to stand on the floor.