Investigation

Some days later, I called a certain person to the governmental affairs

office...

Liscia and I worked together for a while until there was a hesitant knock

at the door.

"Excuse me." A woman entered. "Did you call for me, Sir Souma?"

Standing on the other side of my desk, bowing her head slightly, was

Ichiha's elder sister, Sami Chima, who was now the librarian of the castle

library. However, her duties as librarian were something I'd temporarily

given her in order to ease the pain of the emotional wounds left by the

political struggles of the Union of Eastern Nations. She wasn't formally one

of my retainers or anything.

I set down my pen and turned to Liscia, saying, "Let's take a break. Ask

Serina to prepare tea."

"Okay."

"Follow me, Madam Sami, we'll have a seat over here."

I headed over to the sofas with Liscia and Sami. Some time later, our

maids Serina and Carla arrived with everything needed to prepare tea. I had

them do so, and after a break, I got straight to business.

"I've called you here today because I have a favor to ask, Sami."

"Hm? A favor?"

She looked blankly at me, inclining her head to one side.

I nodded. "This is regarding something I'd discussed with Hakuya

recently..."

◇ ◇ ◇

The other day, I told Hakuya about what had happened during my

meeting with Fuuga.

Now that he's married to Jeanne, he's Hakuya Euphoria now, and also

my brother-in-law due to my own marriage to Maria...

As I was thinking about that, Hakuya frowned, saying, "He's made

another troublesome request..."

"Yeah. But it'd probably be more dangerous for us if we let Fuuga go to

the Demon Lord's Domain alone."

"He might suddenly cause an all-out war with the demons, after all."

Hakuya and I were already on the same page about the risks here.

"So, that's why I want to gather as much information on the demons as

we can between now and the 11th month. I'm thinking that digging up

records from the officers who led the united forces in the former Gran

Chaos Empire would be perfect for that. And the one best positioned to do

so is..."

"The Euphoria Kingdom, yes? I agree. I will make a suggestion to

Madam Jeanne and have her begin a formal investigation into it."

"Thanks... Hold on, you're married, and you're still calling your wife

Madam Jeanne?"

"We make a distinction between public and private settings," Hakuya

said nonchalantly.

I could see he was enjoying the newlywed life in their private time. I'd

have loved to hear all about it, but Hakuya must have sensed the incoming

teasing and opened his mouth first.

"In order to help things along, I have a request for you, sire."

"Hm? What's that?"

"As much as we'd love to investigate for you, many of our personnel

here in the Euphoria Kingdom are occupied with moving over to the new

systems in the wake of the country's reorganization. In short, we don't have

enough people we can assign to the investigation."

"Oh, yeah. I get that."

The Kingdom of Friedonia was in a similar situation, after all...

"As such, I would like you to send people to handle the investigation,"

Hakuya said.

"I see..."

Being able to swap people and supplies back and forth was one of the

benefits of the Kingdom of Friedonia and the Euphoria Kingdom moving to

operate as a single nation. Sending Excel there to lead their fleet was part of

this.

"So, who do you want?" I asked.

"Sir Ichiha, given he's an expert on monsters...is what I'd like to say, but

I doubt that's possible."

"You're darn right it's not. It'd be too much for this country to lose both

its prime minister and his stand-in."

"Then please give us Sir Ichiha's elder sister, Madam Sami."

"Sami? Sami Chima?" I asked, just to make sure I had the right person.

Hakuya nodded.

"Yes. I helped her organize the library before, so I remember her. She

has a high degree of ability when it comes to organizing and sorting

materials. It likely comes from her academic interest in science and

mathematics. There are those who might think a librarian needs to be

trained in literature, but sorting and organizing call for skill in science and

mathematics."

"Ooh... That kind of makes sense."

I had specialized in literature and history, but hadn't been very good at

using software to sort through information. I'd heard that archaeology—

where they'd systematized ways of sorting the countless chips, fragments of

pottery, and stoneware they dealt with—was a lot closer to a science than

people who studied historical documents.

"I don't think there could be a better person to help us with this

investigation."

Since Hakuya said it so definitively, I was convinced he was right.

◇ ◇ ◇

"So, there you have it. Do you think you could help us?"

I explained what had happened so far to Sami and asked for her

assistance. While she might not have been my retainer, I did have custody

of her, meaning I could force her to do it—but I didn't want to be that

heavy-handed when she was still recovering emotionally.

Liscia, who was standing next to me, added, "Obviously, you can refuse

if you don't want to do it. If having Ichiha nearby is helping you feel at

peace, we can understand why you wouldn't want to go to another country."

"No... That's fine," Sami said before nodding silently. "He already has a

fiancée. I wouldn't want her to feel too constrained by her sister-in-law."

"Don't say that," Liscia replied. "Tomoe and Ichiha aren't bothered by

you at all."

Sami shook her head. "But it bothers me. I think...it's time I face the

future."

"Madam Sami..."

"So I'll take on this task," Sami said, looking me straight in the eye.

It was like she was saying she was done hanging her head and letting the

past tie her down.

"You're okay with it?" I checked.

"Yes. I'm interested in the great library in Valois Castle too."

"Ah ha ha. You sound like Hakuya."

Maybe the great library in Valois Castle was the holy land for

bibliophiles. If Sami liked the great library there, maybe she'd settle in at

Valois even after her task there was done. She wasn't officially attached to

our country, so...if it happened, I wasn't in any position to complain. I'd

have to be happy that she'd found something new to live for.

"Well then, Madam Sami. I'm counting on you to gather information on

the Demon Lord's Domain... Try not to get so distracted by the great library

that you neglect the investigation, okay?"

"Yes. I'll be careful not to."

I exchanged a firm handshake with Sami.

◇ ◇ ◇

—One week later—

"Welcome to the Euphoria Kingdom, Madam Sami."

Jeanne and Hakuya greeted Sami as she disembarked from a Friedonian

royal gondola that had landed in the courtyard of Valois Castle.

Sami hurriedly bowed as she suddenly found herself in front of the royal

couple. "Um, thank you for having me, Lady Jeanne, Sir Hakuya."

"Oh, don't thank us. We're the ones who should be grateful you came.

Right, Sir Hakuya?"

"Yes. I think we can have high hopes for Madam Sami's ability to sort

through information."

"Y-You're too kind..."

Sami shrank into herself a little, feeling awkward at the compliments.

She generally was an indoorsy type who'd only really talked with her twin

Yomi.

Hakuya smiled wryly at her reaction before raising his hand to give a

signal. When he did, a line of bureaucrats formed behind Hakuya and

Jeanne.

Sami blinked in confusion. Hakuya smiled faintly before explaining,

"We will be loaning you some of our country's bureaucrats. These fifteen

have been told to do as you command. Please, use them as if they were your

own hands and feet."

"If you need anything else, just say the word. I'll lend you all the help I

can as queen of this country," Jeanne said, causing Sami to shrink a little

more.

"Y-You're too kind..." she murmured.

Seeing this, Jeanne said, "Now, I'm told you're here to gather records

concerning the Demon Lord's Domain, and to ask about the memories of

soldiers who'd been deployed there. Is that right?"

"Y-Yes. That's correct."

"I see. I'm sure you can easily split the workload with the bureaucrats

when it comes to going through the records, but interviewing soldiers about

their memories from the campaign may be difficult for you all to handle

alone. Some of those retired soldiers can be real ruffians, after all."

"Th-They can?"

Oh... Collecting memories means having to sit down with those sorts of

burly men, does it? Sami thought, which hadn't occurred to her before.

Sami was a famous mage in the Union of Eastern Nations, so if it came

to it, she knew magic that could blow a dozen big men away all at once,

but...that didn't mean she wasn't uneasy about them. Sami and Yomi, who

hated their warrior brothers Nata and Gauche, had always gotten on poorly

with soldier types. Warriors who had a relaxed personality like her adoptive

father, Heinrant, were a rarity. If possible, Sami didn't want to be alone with

burly men.

"Hee hee, don't you worry," Jeanne said, clapping Sami on the shoulder

with a look of understanding. "I thought this might come up, so I've

prepared a bodyguard for you. Come over here."

At Jeanne's beckoning, a large man in armor made his way between the

bureaucrats. His full mail clanked with each step he took, but his steps

didn't sound heavy. He also didn't give off a feeling of self-importance. The

man stood tall beside Jeanne, snapping his hand to the side of his head in a

salute.

"You called, Your Majesty?"

"Indeed. Let me introduce you, Madam Sami. This is General Gunther

Lyle."

"Call me Gunther," the man Jeanne had introduced said, lowering his

hand and bowing to Sami.

He had a large stature while Sami was on the petite side, so he felt big to

her even with his head bowed. When Gunther raised his head, she came

face-to-face with his imposing visage. His face was scary at first glance, but

on closer inspection, his expression was a little tense, perhaps because he

was meeting her for the first time. He was likely unsociable, the type who

got nervous meeting people. Sami, who tended to be shy herself, felt a

certain sympathy for him.

"Ah— I'm Sami. It's nice to meet you, Sir Gunther."

It took a moment for him to reply, "As it is to meet you, Madam Sami."

The two exchanged an awkward handshake.

Jeanne said, "With General Gunther at your side, those rough-andtumble ex-soldiers wouldn't dare look down on you. General Gunther, I'm

counting on you to look out for Madam Sami."

"I ask this of you as well, General," Hakuya added.

"It will be done, Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness."

Gunther saluted in response to Jeanne and Hakuya's request. He looked

akin to a big dog or a friendly horse to Sami.

And so, this odd couple's search for information on the Demon Lord's

Domain began.

"Wow..."

Sami let out a wide-eyed sigh of admiration as she first witnessed the

great library inside Valois Castle.

The library in Parnam Castle had been like a forest of books, the

innumerable volumes it housed making it the stuff of bibliophiles' dreams,

but the great library of Valois Castle was even better. This place was a

genuine forest of books—an untamed jungle, one so fantastical she

wouldn't have been surprised to find unicorns in. The size of the collection

was impressive, and the design and decorations of the room were so stylish.

The carpets were thick and soft, there were spiral stairs to the upper levels,

and paintings on the walls.

Perhaps because Souma and Hakuya were so utilitarian, the library in

Parnam Castle had worked on growing its catalog and organizing it

systematically. It was functional, but not stylish. In contrast, the great

library in Valois Castle exuded elegance, as if to say that the only action

with any merit in a person's life was reading books.

You could tell it was the library of the once greatest nation on the

continent.

Sami was overwhelmed for a moment, but...

"Ahem!"

"Ah!"

Sami jumped a little as Gunther cleared his throat, bringing her back to

reality.

Oh, right. I have a mission to accomplish. Sami turned to the gaggle of

bureaucrats behind Gunther and said, "First, I'd like you to gather official

records from around the time of your invasion of the Demon Lord's

Domain."

"They've already been prepared for you. This way, please," one

bureaucrat responded before leading the way.

Did Hakuya already give them some instructions? He's always so well

prepared... Sami thought as she followed the bureaucrat to a single table.

"Huh?" Sami looked at the table with blank amazement. There was only

one book, and maybe twenty to thirty pages of reports on it. Hesitantly, she

asked, "This is really all we have?"

With an apologetic bow, the bureaucrat said, "Yes... We searched all

over the great library, but these were the only official records we could

find."

"There are no other records? But the destruction of the combined forces

of mankind inside the Demon Lord's Domain was a major debacle, wasn't

it?"

"Yes. We suspect that may be why there aren't many records..."

It seemed the higher-ups in the Imperial government of the time were

afraid of being held responsible after cheerleading a campaign that led to

such a massive defeat, so they hadn't been eager to keep records of it. On

top of that, Maria's father, who was emperor at the time, was rendered

bedridden with despair over the many lives lost and passed away not long

after. Maria ascended the throne following this, and used her natural

charisma to advance the Mankind Declaration. This caused the chaos inside

the country to subside, but there likely weren't the resources to keep

detailed records.

Sami gazed up to the ceiling.

"Rulers are always like this..."

History is written by the victors of the next era.

If you look at the history of Souma's world, the Han Chinese—like the

Romans—left behind many records. However, Chen Shou had written the

Romance of the Three Kingdoms under the Jin Dynasty in the following era.

The task of making records of a defeated government is the job of the

government that defeats them. Naturally, that means events are often

twisted in ways that are politically advantageous to that new government.

In order to secure the legitimacy of the current government, the rulers of

the previous governments are often depicted as tyrants to a degree, where it

was only natural they should have been destroyed. They do this without

taking into consideration the country's situation in that earlier era. This is a

wall that you are guaranteed to encounter in historical studies.

It was the same in this world.

"Is something the matter?" Gunther asked hesitantly.

Sami slapped her own cheeks in an attempt to change gears. Then she

turned back to the bureaucrats.

"If we can't rely on official records, then so be it. Let's gather private

records," she said. "There may be mentions of it in diaries and letters from

the time. Hopefully, we'll find letters conferring honors for actions taken in

the Demon Lord's Domain, or perhaps reporting damages and requesting

assistance..."

"But won't those tend to exaggerate the facts?" one of the bureaucrats

asked. "Such as saying they killed far more monsters than they actually did,

or inflating the damage inflicted by a demon attack in order to demand

compensation."

"That's true." Sami nodded. "We'll need to make up for that with

numbers. If there are many similar reports of monsters or demons, that

makes it more likely they reflect the reality of the situation."

"I see. Understood."

Gathering and sorting through information to get a look at the big

picture—this was exactly what Hakuya had hoped Sami would excel at.

"Will you be involved in gathering private records too, Madam Sami?"

Gunther asked.

Sami shook her head. "Let's leave that to the bureaucrats. We'll go meet

with the people who actually participated in the combined force and hear

their stories."

"Understood. Please, follow me then." Gunther nodded and began

walking.

Sami tottered along after him. Despite starting a little slower, she soon

caught up. It seemed he was matching her stride and walking at a relaxed

pace. If he'd walked at the normal gait of a man of his height, Sami

would've had to jog to keep up.

His awkward kindness reminded her of her adoptive father, Heinrant, in

a way. Though Heinrant was always all smiles, while Gunther had a scary

face and was hard to read.

Maybe deep down...they're both kind in the same way? Sami thought as

she followed Gunther.

The two of them boarded a carriage. Apparently, the ex-soldier they

were interviewing lived in the castle town.

"I had expected it would be someone in the military," Sami said, but

Gunther shook his head quietly.

"I hear that those on the front lines were nearly annihilated. It must have

been hell. Anyone who managed to make it back has emotional scars.

Those linger, even after the physical ones heal..."

"And those emotional scars were bad enough that they couldn't keep

serving in the military... Is that it?"

When Sami lived in the Duchy of Chima, she had seen people so badly

scarred by the demon wave that they were always worried monsters might

attack them at any time. Emotional scars were difficult to heal. Sami knew

this all too well, having not fully recovered from losing her adoptive father

herself.

"Talking about this means dredging up painful memories... It's an

incredibly cruel thing to do to a person," Sami said, a hint of self-derision in

her tone as she reflected on her position.

"And yet, do it we must..."

"Sir Gunther?"

"In order to prevent repeating past mistakes, we must learn the lessons

of our predecessors and put them to use. That is our duty. I am here, serving

as your shield because I believe it will be vital to this country's future."

That was a lot of words coming from the usually taciturn Gunther. He

must have been trying to comfort Sami.

He's awkward, but truly kind, Sami thought.

"Thank you, Sir Gunther."

"A mushroom?"

The carriage had stopped in front of an inn and tavern, the owner of

which was apparently the ex-soldier they were looking for.

Standing at the bar was the other, who scowled when they asked him

about his memories of the campaign. But when he heard it was an important

request from the new queen, Jeanne, he'd reluctantly started to talk.

"Yeah...one the size of a mountain. We were making good progress

across the Demon Lord's Domain, wiping out monsters as we went, when it

appeared. Though, I don't know if it really was a mushroom. It was just

shaped like one."

"I... I see..."

Sami and Gunther stared at him wide-eyed, not knowing what kind of

expression they should make in response. The owner laughed at himself a

bit when he saw their reaction.

"No one ever believed me though. I've even been told I must've been so

disoriented that I started seeing things. But I know I saw it. That massive

mushroom came towards us, making the ground shake under it, and crushed

man and horse alike. And after that..."

"After that?"

"After that...the inside of it shone, and then a moment later, there was a

blinding flash of light... My comrades, everything, all in an instant... Ngh!"

The owner clutched his head and groaned. It must have been painful to

remember.

"It all vanished. But I'll never forget that smell. The scent of burnt

meat...hanging in the hot air... Urgh...ghh..."

"Um, I think that's enough. Thank you for your valued opinion."

"Ugh..."

Seeing the way the owner was clutching his head, Sami and Gunther

gave up on getting anything more out of him.

Was there something in the Demon Lord's Domain that had tormented

people so badly that it lingered in their memories even now? Sami

wondered what the massive mushroom he had spoken of might be.

Gathering and sorting through information—these are the fundamental

tasks of all research.

If enough "hazy" or "worthless" facts can be arranged into a single

group, it may lead to the discovery of a principle or truth. In that sense, you

could say a researcher is someone who sorts through the data they gather,

which may not appear that valuable, in order to find hidden treasure.

Consider the boom of "reborn in another world" novels in Souma's old

world. Imagine gathering as many as possible and thoroughly categorizing

them.

Is the protagonist sent to the other world through reincarnation or

transportation? Alone or in a group? Do they gain abilities, and are those

abilities powerful or weak? Are there gender differences? Do they turn into

another race? What is the world they are sent to like? And so on. By

thoroughly categorizing them, sorting the information into charts and

graphs, and comparing the results with trends in society at the time, you

might achieve some insight into the writers or the readers of such works and

how they have changed over time.

Value can be found in anything. It might even be said that gathering and

sorting are the keys that allow any phenomenon in existence to be a subject

of research.

And Sami Chima was a specialist in both.

"Divide eyewitness reports of monsters from eyewitness reports of

demons," Sami commanded.

Having expanded their search for reports of monsters and demons from

just official documents to private ones such as letters, they were confronted

with a mountain of paper.

"That said, even a specialist like Ichiha can't perfectly distinguish

between demons and monsters. And these are the imprecise recollections of

people that we're going off of too. For now, we will define a demon as

those that use tools and language. You'll be categorizing them into monsters

and demons based on the presence or absence of sapience. I'm counting on

you people."

"""Yes, ma'am."""

The bureaucrats all started moving on Sami's orders. The people who

had supported the former Empire could sort documents quickly and

efficiently so long as they had clear instructions.

Meanwhile, Sami was looking through the papers detailing the

interviews they'd had with ex-soldiers.

"Does it bother you still?" Gunther asked and Sami nodded.

"Many of the ex-soldiers mentioned an enormous mushroom. Its

existence is hinted at in the few official documents we have, and there is

also the armored giant mentioned in rumors...the demon god. These two

seem bizarre and out of place."

"There are quite a number of accounts of them though."

"Right. Which is why I'm thinking they probably exist, but..." Sami

rested her cheek on her palm and sighed. "I can't decide if an enormous

mushroom and an armored giant are classified as monsters or demons. It's

hard to imagine a mushroom moving around, and the giants seem more

likely to be demons, but Ichiha's monster identification system assumes

monsters are warped in some way. And a humanoid seemingly that gigantic

is way too warped."

"It satisfies the conditions for being monsters then."

"Yeah. But if it's really wearing armor, that shows it's sapient."

"You said to categorize those with sapience as demons."

"I don't even know where to put it. Some of the reports even say it

flew."

Sami groaned as she stretched herself out over the table. Gunther picked

up one page and looked over it.

"Monsters are warped to begin with. Could it just be that some are like

that?"

"If we say that, I feel like our investigation loses all meaning..."

"If I had gone on the campaign, I could have been more helpful—but I

was just a fresh recruit back then, left behind to defend the home front. It

still eats at me."

"If you'd gone, you might have died."

"I suppose I might." Gunther looked at the reports of the armored giant

as they talked. "Could it be that this giant is the one they call Demon Lord

Divalroi?"

"It's not impossible, but...that's something I'm curious about too." Sami

picked up a number of reports. "I used to think that the Demon Lord's name

was Divalroi, but after investigating the reports, it's inconsistent. Different

soldiers heard different things, such as Deeroy, Valloid, and Dilroma."

"Hmm... We don't even know if Divalroi is the right name then?"

"It's hard to make out words in a different language. You can't blame

them for mishearing."

For instance, in Japanese, Machiavelli might be rendered as Makyaberri,

Makiaverri, Makkyaberi, Makkiaberri, and so on, depending on which book

you're reading and when it was published. They have to fit Italian words

into Japanese phonetics, so it's natural for the way that's done to change

depending on who's doing it. It was possible the same thing was happening

with Divalroi.

Seeing the troubled look on Gunther's face, Sami shrugged.

"There's no point dwelling on questions we can't solve. We should set

aside Divalroi for now and quickly gather material on monsters and

demons."

"Yes, that makes sense... What about the mushroom and the giant?"

"I can't see us coming up with answers to either of those now, but..."

Sami smiled a little. "I have a reliable little brother. Let's have him decide."

◇ ◇ ◇

"So there you have it, Ichiha."

"You can't just say 'there you have it,' Big Sister." Ichiha sighed on the

other side of the broadcast, exhaustion clear on his face.

Having received permission from Queen Jeanne to use the jewel, Sami

and Gunther were now having a broadcast call with Ichiha who was in the

Kingdom of Friedonia.

"The Empire isn't our only source for information. We're asking all the

countries in the Maritime Alliance that took part in the combined force, and

Yuriga's getting the Great Tiger Empire to send us info too. My hands are

full sorting through all of that... Are you really going to dump this on me

too?"

It sounded like he was busy. He'd been gathering information on

monsters on the side ever since he took over the role of acting prime

minister, so he had to have a lot on his plate. That much was plain to see.

But Sami was Ichiha's big sister. And big sisters have a history of not

being fair to their little brothers.

"We need you to give it your best as an expert in monsterology," Sami

said with a smile, causing Ichiha's shoulders to slump.

"I get that... Still, it hurts not having Mr. Hakuya around anymore. I'm

using my connections, like the former chairman of MonSoc at the

Academy, to help bring in more people, but..."

"Hee hee, you're getting some use out of the time you spent at school, I

see."

"It's nothing to laugh about. Everyone is coming to help despite having

their own positions to consider."

Incidentally, "the former chairman of MonSoc" refers to the former

chairman of the Monster Research Society, the person who assisted Ichiha

and Hakuya during the Monsterology Symposium in the capital. After

graduation, he was passionately wooed by a young noblewoman, Sara,

who'd had her eye on him while they were at the Academy, and married

into her family.

It turned out that Sara had been told by her folks to find someone who

would be up to the Souma's personnel standards, and she'd been after the

former chairman all along. She was a super girl who had supported him in

school, backed his research after graduation, seduced him with love and

gratitude, and now had already blessed him with a child.

Ichiha scrutinized the information he had with the help of his old

research colleagues, including the former chairman and his wife Sara.

"I'll send you a messenger kui when we finish sorting through the

remaining information on monsters and demons in this country," Sami said.

"I'm both grateful and really not. It's a weird feeling."

"The bigger issue is the things that don't seem to be monsters or

demons."

"The mushroom and the giant you mentioned, right, Big Sister?" Ichiha

said, looking serious. "I don't know about the giant either, but I really don't

get the mushroom. It's enormous, it moves, and it crushes people. Then it

releases light, and burns them to death...?"

"Do you think there's a monster like that?"

"I can't say categorically that there isn't, but I've never heard of any like

that. If it's a monster, it needs legs or tentacles to move, and if it spits fire, it

needs some sort of internal organ that can produce flames. It seems

impossible for a monster—at least, as we understand them now—to do that

while shaped like a mushroom. And I can't imagine a being that warped

having sapience, so it's hard to imagine it's a demon either."

"Then...you don't think this mushroom-shaped monster exists, Ichiha?"

"No, if there are a lot of eyewitness reports, it may. But it's possible it's

neither a monster nor a demon."

"Hm? What do you mean?" Sami asked, cocking her head to the side.

Ichiha's expression grew grim.

"I suspect it might be a weapon the demons use."

"Ah...! I see."

Sami got what Ichiha was trying to say. It was plausible that a weapon

might come in a mysterious form that could be confused for a monster.

Trebuchets had a form that might look like a massive sauropod, the

Euphoria Kingdom had rhinosauruses that carried cannons, and there was

Mechadra in Genia's dungeon laboratory. If someone who didn't know any

better saw these things, they could be excused for thinking they were some

new type of monster.

"There's also the massive cube His Majesty encountered in the Star

Dragon Mountain Range. If we assume that products similar to what

Madam Genia studies in overscience lie sleeping in the Demon Lord's

Domain..."

"Then a massive mushroom weapon doesn't sound so unusual," Sami

concluded for him. Ichiha nodded.

"I'll need to report this to His Majesty."

"Yes, you will... You can do it, Ichiha," Sami said, showing him a

clenched fist.

Ichiha's eyes widened at how she made it sound like it wasn't her

problem.

"Huh? You're not going to help me?"

"I couldn't. I plan to stay here in this country, after all," Sami said,

shaking her head. "I fell in love with the great library at first sight. I want to

work here."

"R-Right... Well, you're not one of our retainers, so you're free to do as

you like, but I feel like you didn't have to decide that right this second..."

Ichiha said resentfully, earning a chuckle from Sami.

"Once I saw the great library, I couldn't resist. It's okay. I'll keep

gathering information for you here in this country. You can let Sir Souma

know that."

"Okay..."

Seeing her mind was firmly made up, and happy to see her more

positive about her future, Ichiha realized he should be supportive and

accepted her decision.

Then, turning to Gunther, who had been watching them, he said, "Sir

Gunther. My sister can be a handful, but please look after her."

"Understood."

The general was a taciturn man, and because of that, the sincerity of his

response was apparent. Beside him, Sami wore a peaceful smile. Ichiha was

relieved to see the two of them like that.