kscans

Chapter 50 - The Ocean Forest and the Kobito-san ~So Far Away~

"Wahooooo!"

The Kobito-san ran around, her face beaming with joy. Pochiko-san clung to her shoulder to keep from falling off. Following behind them were Dolphen’s escort squad and the magical beasts. The people of the Kilfan Empire could only stare, taken aback by the slightly chaotic scene.

This was a farmstead. The Kobito-san was running freely through one of the largest farms in the Kilfan Empire. She peeked into the granary. Inside, countless hemp sacks were piled high, almost groaning under their own weight. They were filled not only with rice, but also soybeans, adzuki beans, dried fish, dried gourd shavings, shiitake mushrooms, dried bonito flakes, kelp, and so on. The treasures the Kobito-san had dreamed of were packed tightly within.

"Wooooow…"

It seemed she had run out of other words. Dolphen and the others watched the Kobito-san, whose language center had apparently ceased to function, and smiled wryly. Then, someone spoke to their party.

"We are honored that you are pleased. Please, take as much as you like."

Smiling gently with the kind eyes of a benevolent old man was an elder with salt-and-pepper hair. His name was Sakakibara Hitoshi. He was one of the elders who had served long in the Imperial Palace.

In Kilfan, under the Emperor, there were five Regents and twelve elders. Each had a designated role, and Sakakibara’s was the management of the Inner Palace.

And so he revealed the secrets of the Inner Palace. Secrets disclosed only to an emperor upon their ascension. The Emperor Rikuto had been a provisional ruler, so he had not been informed.

It turned out that Rikuto and Sakura shared no blood connection.

The current imperial family was a different clan that had taken over just two hundred years ago. This was a country where bloody usurpations were commonplace. It was not unusual for the emperor’s family to be replaced. Ancient China and Japan during the Warring States period were much the same. However, there was one difference here. The family of the previous emperor, which should have been eradicated, was allowed to live. To introduce new blood into the imperial line, which had been suffering from a low birth rate of females, the former emperor’s lineage was maintained in a secret Inner Palace, where they were made to breed exclusively for the tazunebito.

Of course, the princesses born there were invariably taken by the emperor and married to either the emperor of the time or his son. Sakura was one such princess.

In a way, it was a human farm. One can imagine the fate of any male children born, other than the princesses.

It was enough to make one sick.

Sakura’s mother was already deceased. The decline in the female birth rate was severe, and with only a few tazunebito visiting now, the secret Inner Palace was apparently no longer functional. This meant Sakura was the last princess of the legitimate former imperial family. Her father was the previous tazunebito, the one Sakura despised. The very man who had created the Manmaden. The irony was almost too much to bear.

And so, the Kobito-san locked this secretly shared story away in her heart. There was no need to bring new sorrow or despair to Sakura, who had finally been freed from the shackles of her past. Sakakibara agreed with her on this.

She then promptly forgot the story she had just heard and was now wandering about, following the whims of her desires. Sakura also wanted to meet with the relatives she was curious about, so she went off separately with an escort. Meanwhile, Romel was cooped up in the Imperial Palace with the Regents in charge of political and financial affairs, trying to sort out future arrangements.

There had been a brief moment on the brink of disaster. Zett had found the captured children of the Forest Master tied up powerlessly at the port, suffering from magic depletion. Enraged, Zett nearly caused a catastrophe, but the Kobito-san quickly healed them with her magic, averting the crisis.

However, Zett’s anger still smoldered, and he remained off the coast, fuming.

The relocation of the Kilfan people was scheduled to happen when the Kobito-san next visited Merda. Those who wished to move were to be notified of a specific date and time, and told to have their belongings ready. Since only people could be transported, they could not bring anything they were not holding. Having heard this from the gods, everyone was apparently busy preparing for the move.

After all the commotion, the Kobito-san and her group had moved the people to a separate room and asked them for the details of Kilfan’s situation.

Given that they had been in that hall, they were likely individuals of some standing.

They had apparently overheard the conversation with the gods. When the Kobito-san entered the room, they all bowed their heads deeply in unison.

"We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for saving Sakura-sama."

"We have no words for our shame, having failed to prevent Rikuto-sama’s foolishness."

"We are filled with nothing but shame for having troubled outsiders. We are truly sorry."

It seemed they were decent people after all.

The Kobito-san gave a slight nod in response to their apologies and began to speak of what was to come. Those they had tied up would be taken away as criminal slaves, but she had promised the gods to spare Rikuto. However, his type would surely start plotting something new as soon as the danger passed. When the Kobito-san asked if there was any way to handle him, a man who said he was one of the Regents raised his hand.

"Rikuto-sama has abdicated the throne. He no longer holds any power. Therefore, how about we allow him to live out his days peacefully on the top floor of the tower?"

There’s no way that’ll be peaceful, right? That.

A broad grin spread across the Kobito-san’s face.

The people responded with gentle smiles of their own.

Once the rotten ones are gone, you can do whatever you want, is that it? They have a promising future. It would be a waste to use them up and throw them away here. Honestly, I don’t really care about Kilfan.

"Why don’t you all come to Frontier?"

For a moment, the people stared in astonishment, their faces growing serious.

"It may be warped and rotten to the core, but… it is still the country where we were born and raised. We cannot abandon it."

"But proper governance is impossible here. It is full of people who do not see others as human. If it is for the sake of saving the weak, fleeing may also be an option."

"Isn’t it our duty to correct it? We can give up anytime. Shouldn’t we at least try first?"

"Are you certain our efforts will bear fruit? It may end with us only bringing more suffering to the people living now."

The people debated back and forth.

Yes, this is how people should be.

They objectively look at themselves in the present and find possibilities from all angles. Whether for good or ill, it is important to think. People who can do that are precious. The conscience of Kilfan was gathered here.

"That’s why you’ll create a new Kilfan Empire… no, a Kingdom of Kilfan."

The people’s eyes widened at her unexpected words. The Kobito-san grinned at them and began to explain in detail.

In Arcadia, countries were scattered across a vast continent. Most of the land was wilderness or desert, and nations were built in the few green regions. There were borders for convenience, but few countries considered the wilderness or desert part of their territory. As proof, even though the Manmaden in Yarmouth had created a vast farm in the wilderness on the border, the neighboring country of Flawers paid it no mind. The Kobito-san proposed they use this to their advantage and create a new Kilfan in a large stretch of wilderness on the border. It was unused land, after all. Other countries would surely find it helpful to have a prosperous nation midway, rather than having to cross a vast wasteland.

"There’s a perfectly good wilderness north of Frontier. You’re experts at greening and cultivation, right? Why not give it a try?" The Kobito-san spread a map on the table.

It was a world map said to have been made by the Golden King long ago during his pilgrimage. On it, north of Frontier, lay a wilderness three times the size of the current Kilfan. They could have this place. A region that belonged to no one.

"I don’t think it would be difficult if you start cultivating from the part adjacent to Frontier. I can help out, too. What do you think?"

To build a new country from scratch. What a captivating idea. Moreover, they could cut ties with the worthless rabble and create a paradise of their own.

Unable to give an immediate answer to the unexpected offer, they asked for some time. The Kobito-san readily agreed, and was now, in the present, running wild, driven by her instincts.

But even as she ran about, something was nagging at her.

She was forgetting something. What was it?

The god who sowed the seeds. A miniature garden to correct a mistake… Cultivate? What about the harvest?

The gods protected Rikuto and ignored Sakura.

Thinking that far, the Kobito-san had a sudden realization.

Wasn’t it the opposite? They captured and confined Rikuto, and freed Sakura from Kilfan?

…What was the point of that?

I still don’t get it.

However, the answer lay in the Kobito-san’s previous life. That night, at Sakura and Sakakibara’s suggestion, she stayed at the Imperial Palace and had a dream about a story her father told her long, long ago.

And she shot bolt upright.

"Ei-sa… isn’t that the nickname of the pitcher from the folk tale that became the origin of the word ‘ace’?"

The legendary pitcher said to have led his team to victory in sixty-four out of sixty-five games.

If I’m Ei-sa, meaning ace… then Queen and King. Zett… isn’t that another way of reading Zehn?

Realizing this, the Kobito-san was stunned.

Unable to stay still, Chihiro jumped out of bed. She had Pochiko-san, who had been in bed with her, carry her and fly her from the palace window to Zett, who was waiting offshore.

She glared at the surprised Zett, who was startled by her sudden arrival, and asked with a serious gaze.

"By any chance, is the name of the Forest Master in the west Joker?"

Understanding the question, Zett looked down sadly. His silence said everything.

What they had in common was their golden magic. If that was the case, then Chihiro and the Masters were…

A hand that’s completed by my joining? How cunning. But what’s the point?

Queen, King, Joker, Ace, and Zett. In German, that’s Zehn. It represents the number ten. If the golden magic is the common suit, the hand you can make is a royal straight flush. The best hand in poker.

The gods’ hand? Why us? Because we’re reviving the Masters’ forests? But…

The Zett before her didn’t seem to welcome this. Something Chihiro didn’t know was stirring beneath the surface.

"Zett. Do you know something? Tell me."

Zett shook his head weakly and bowed his head even lower.

《By my covenant with the gods, I must not tell anyone. Not even the Golden King… I never thought you would see through it.》

No, the gods must have realized. Poker is a game from Earth. There’s no way Chihiro wouldn’t know it. Why did the final piece have to be the Golden King? What are the gods hiding?

Zett gazed at the child who was frowning suspiciously and couldn't help but speak.

《The gods’ covenants are absolute. But… King, you have broken one corner of it. We have been spared from ruin.》

"Ruin? What’s that, is it bad?!"

Zett began to shed silent tears at the Kobito-san’s horrified expression, and nuzzled against her affectionately.

《I cannot say. I cannot say, but… thank you, my King.》

The Kobito-san gently stroked the childlike Zett’s head, feeling confused.

It wasn’t just Zett. Merda and Molt also looked sad at times. She had thought they were just worried about the decline of the Masters’ forests, but seeing Zett like this, another possibility emerged. Just like Zett now. Do they know something and have resigned themselves to it?

Something they can’t talk about. The Masters’ ruin, involving the gods. Are the gods not on our side?

Hugging the nuzzling Zett’s head, the Kobito-san whispered forcefully.

"It’s okay. No matter what happens, I’m on your side. Even if our opponent is the gods!"

Moving from the sea to the shore, the Kobito-san stroked Zett, who was coiled on the warm sand, and began to drift off to sleep herself.

Needless to say, the next morning, the Imperial Palace was in an uproar searching for the missing Kobito-san, and Romel gave Chihiro, who was found sleeping on the beach hugging Pochiko-san, a harsh scolding.

The seeds of doubt sown by the gods caused a sliver of unease and a dark bud to sprout in the Kobito-san’s heart.

When would that flower bloom?

It would not be in the distant future.

"Auu."

With most of the cleanup finished, the Frontier knights set off on their journey home. Each ship was loaded with heaps of agricultural products, and about eighty percent of the people scouted at the castle had agreed to participate in the founding of the new Kilfan. The remaining twenty percent would stay at the Imperial Palace to make sure no one did anything foolish. The Emperor Rikuto was confined to the top floor of the tower as planned, becoming an emperor in name only, while the remaining Regents would handle the governance.

"I’m kinda tired. I want to see Daddy."

Using a bee as a cushion on Zett’s head, the Kobito-san grumbled and whined.

"You know… to say that in front of me…"

Romel’s hair was tousled by the sea breeze as he looked up at the sky. Dark circles had clearly formed under his eyes in just one night.

Yeah, sorry. I know it’s my fault, yeah.

Feeling awkward, the Kobito-san quietly averted her gaze and fluffed the bee’s fur.

Ah, this feels so good. I might be getting sleepy. I woke up late last night, after all. I should sleep…

The next moment, the Kobito-san was fast asleep with a little snore. Pochiko-san immediately grabbed her under the arms. Noticing this, the members of the Frontier knight order let out a scream.

The surrounding clamor was like the whistling wind to her. Surrounded by an impenetrable wall of fluff, the Kobito-san is doing great today♪