Welcoming All Who Come, Chasing None Who Leave

The 1549th year, Continental Calendar was a year of intense changes.

It began with the Kingdom of Friedonia and Nine-Headed Dragon

Archipelago Union's joint slaying of Ooyamizuchi, and the creation of a

maritime alliance based on bonds formed during that operation. This meant

the creation of an alternative force that could compete with the Gran Chaos

Empire and the Mankind Declaration in the west, and people must have

expected an era of East-West conflict was on the horizon.

However, that was forestalled by Malmkhitan and their leader Fuuga.

Fuuga went wild in a way that blew the slaying of Ooyamizuchi out of

the water. Externally, he invaded the Demon Lord's Domain to retake

territory, and internally, he wiped out opposing factions inside the Union of

Eastern Nations. As the world appeared to be heading towards an era of two

factions, he created a third.

Obviously, we weren't idle as that was happening.

There was the development of the new academic field of Monsterology,

the medical reforms led by Hilde, and the research undertaken by Trill and

Genia, all of which greatly increased our national power. There was also the

East and West Real Song Battle which pushed forward research into the

effect songs could have on visualizing magic, and this had a demonstrable

effect on increasing magical efficiency at an individual level. It was maybe

only a ten percent gain on average, but a ten percent gain in magic across

the whole nation was still a big thing.

Our population was also steadily rising, consequently increasing the

available personnel. The baseline for the common people's lives was rising

too. If the people who supported Fuuga, due to the harsh conditions of their

lives, were to try living in the Kingdom, they wouldn't want to return to

Fuuga's country. While his vision seemed very idealistic, the country itself

was by no means prosperous.

Still, it was hard for these kinds of results to be noticed, and Fuuga's

more showy accomplishments inevitably drew people's attention.

◇ ◇ ◇

It was now the end of the 11th month of that consequential 1549th year.

Kagetora's team sent a messenger kui to inform me that the dragon

knights had brought a total of about eighty asylum seekers from the

Lunarian Orthodox Papal State to the Kingdom. Of them, around fifty were

saint candidates.

I asked Queen Sill and her people to deposit them in the city of Randel,

which was the domain of Mio Carmine, situated in between the border with

the Orthodox Papal State and our capital Parnam. Mio and her aide Colbert

would take care of them for a time while I called Mary to speak with me

about what would happen from here. I had also summoned Souji Lester, our

bishop from the Orthodox Papal State.

With that arranged, I was meeting with them today, accompanied by my

first primary queen, Liscia; my prime minister, Hakuya; and my new

general, Julius.

I chose not to hold the meeting in the audience hall because I detest the

formality of it. Rather than waste time on pointless greetings, I wanted to

get right down to determining our policy. We sat at a long table, with the

people from the Kingdom on one side, and the two from the Orthodox

Papal State on the other.

"It's been a while, Madam Mary."

"Yes, it has...Lord Souma." Mary sat up straight and bowed her head. "I

must apologize for putting you through such trouble. Also, I could not be

more grateful that you have taken us in. I thank you on behalf of all my

companions."

Mary very politely expressed her gratitude. I shook my head.

"You don't need to be so reserved. This isn't an official meeting. We're

the ones who decided to take you in after hearing the story from Souji. Our

country guarantees your safety."

"Thank you." A weight seemed to have been lifted from Mary's

shoulders as she looked at Souji, sitting next to her. "Thank you as well, Sir

Souji, for speaking on our behalf."

"Well...saving those who are lost is part of my job, y'know."

Maybe because of how lackadaisical he was usually, it made Souji feel

awkward to get a straight compliment, and he scratched the back of his

head in dismay. I looked at Mary.

"Now then, Madam Mary, if you're here, that means..."

"Yes. They have decided to form an alliance with Fuuga's country. A

saint has already been chosen."

"Of course that was going to happen..."

I knew it was coming, but... My shoulders slumped and I let out a sigh.

Then, I asked my advisors Hakuya and Julius, "Do you think Fuuga will

accept the offer?"

"Without a doubt, he will." Hakuya was the first to answer. "Fuuga

Haan's expansion is supported by his own personal popularity. His country

will benefit from the backing of an authority like the Lunarian Orthodox

Church. It will help him to unify the Lunarian Orthodox adherents inside

the territories he's annexed."

"Ahh... If it helps him to pacify the people after the war, that's definitely

advantageous."

"Yes. On top of that, his rapid growth has led Sir Fuuga to be labeled an

'upstart.' With the recognition of the god Lunaria, he will be able to silence

all the people who sneer at his nation for having been a 'backwater minor

power.'"

"I see..."

"I agree with the prime minister," Julius concurred. "If I might add, it

comes with considerable military advantages as well. This country has

declared a maritime alliance with the Republic and Archipelago Union. If

Fuuga intends to expand his faction going forward, he'll want to prevent us

from working with the Empire at all costs. That means he'll most definitely

want the countries that form a wedge between us, the Orthodox Papal State

and Mercenary State Zem, as his allies. That is what I'd do, and he has a

sharp man like Hashim at his side. He must be thinking the same thing."

"True... I guess that settles it, then."

My two brains had come up with the same prediction. It was more or

less a sure thing that Fuuga would strengthen ties with the Orthodox Papal

State. I didn't really want their predictions coming true, though...

"Souma." Liscia pulled on my sleeve under the table. "I know it's

important to think about the future, but you need to decide what we're

doing with Madam Mary and her people first."

"Oh... Right."

Mary didn't say anything, but I saw a look of uncertainty on her face.

She was a lot more human than last time we met, and I found myself

wanting to do something for her.

"It's going to be okay. I won't treat the saint candidates or the priests

badly. We will have to check for any spies hiding among the group, though.

Once that's done, I think I'll split you up to work at churches around the

Kingdom..."

"U-Um! It's hard for me to say this, but..." Mary interrupted me.

"Hm? Do you have something to say?"

"Well... The priests will be fine, but the saint candidates have been

educated to be loyal to the kings that Lady Lunaria sends them to. Because

of how they were taught, they know little of the world, and I cannot

imagine them being able to form ordinary human relationships."

"Oh, there was that kind of problem too, huh?"

"Yes. In fact...there were especially zealous candidates who wouldn't

listen to a word I said when I tried to warn them of the dangers of staying in

the country. I...wasn't able to bring them with me..."

"Oh..."

She probably wasn't able to just write that off as their own choice, and

their own responsibility...

Mary shook her head, as if trying to muster her courage, and looked

straight at me. "I worry that if we split up they will be isolated. If

possible...could we not separate the fifty saint candidates? Please."

Mary bowed deeply again.

The people from the Kingdom all looked at one another. We all smiled

wryly.

"Raise your head," I told Mary. "It's true we planned to split you up, but

there was that story about you singing hymns while casting Area Heal,

right? I'd like you to help with our research on that."

"On Area Heal...?"

Lunarian Orthodoxy had a magic spell known as Area Heal which could

heal a large number of wounded people at the same time. When they used

it, the casters and targets all sang hymns. It seemed that they were

increasing the efficiency of it by having both the healers and healed

visualize the effect. Our experiments during the Real Song Battle had

shown that songs other than hymns could have an effect too.

"I want to study Area Heal in our country too. I had been planning to put

together a choir for that, but... What about the saint candidates, can they

sing? I have this mental image of nuns singing love songs to angels."

I was reminded of a movie my grandpa liked with some powerful nuns,

but obviously, there was no way Mary would get the reference, so she just

looked at me in confusion.

"Um... I don't know about love songs, but..." She placed her hands over

her chest and smiled. "We have been trained in the arts in order to make

rulers like us. I believe we can live up to your expectations."

Mary took the job. She sounded awfully confident despite her humility,

so it sounded like I could look forward to the results. It might be good to

have Juna direct the choir.

I smiled and nodded. "That should be good, then. I'll arrange for the

saint candidates to do that."

"Yes."

"Ha ha ha! Good for you, Little Miss Mary," Souji replied with a

cheerful cackle. He wouldn't be laughing for long, though...

"Now then, with the saint candidates taken care of... Souji."

"Hm? What's up?"

"You are to become an archbishop."

"Come again...?" Souji looked at me slack-jawed, as if he didn't

understand what I was saying.

"This was Hakuya's idea. Explain it to him, would you?"

"Understood." Hakuya nodded. "With the Orthodox Papal State having

joined with Fuuga Haan, and us sheltering Mary and her associates,

relations are bound to deteriorate. It will get bad enough that we can't just

have Sir Souji lazily dodge the issue."

"You...could be right..." Souji said, coming back to his senses.

"Now that things have come to this point, I want to completely cut off

the believers in the Kingdom from the Orthodox Papal State. If they were to

go over your head and incite their adherents to action, it would be real

trouble, after all. To that end, I want you to become an archbishop leading a

new sect of Lunarian Orthodoxy."

"You're telling me to go independent...?"

"Ah! It's not like we're telling you to change what you worship. There's

no need to stop worshiping Lunaria or alter how you carry out services.

Only the person at the top of the organization will change," I added for the

frowning Souji's benefit.

The idea was to imitate the Church of England from my old world. They

created a new denomination, Anglicanism, to shut out the influence of the

Roman Catholic Church. I think we learned in school that, "The king

created a new religion because his old one wouldn't let him get a divorce."

There are a lot of popular embellishments that make their way into that kind

of story, so I don't know how true it is.

"Still, I don't know about calling myself an archbishop..." Souji sounded

reluctant, but I needed him to make a decision.

Hakuya turned to Souji with a cold expression. "Now that they have

escaped here to the Kingdom, the Orthodox Papal State will no doubt

condemn Mary and the others as heretics. If the connection to the Orthodox

Papal State remains strong, they will still be in danger. We can't be sure that

they won't have their adherents in the country attempt to assassinate them. I

believe, as the one sheltering Madam Merula, you should understand that

well."

"Merula... The high elf they say snuck into the temple..." Mary's eyes

widened in surprise.

Souji scratched his head, but eventually gave up and let out a sigh.

"Well...if I become archbishop... You'll protect the little miss and the rest,

right?"

"Of course," I said with a firm nod to show I was not taking on the task

lightly.

"As far as our country is concerned, this will be a new Lunarian

Orthodox religion... Let's call it Kingdom Lunarian Orthodoxy for now. If

Kingdom Orthodoxy will not incite its believers, carry out festivals, and

work to provide emotional support for the people, then I think we can build

a good relationship."

"Sigh. It's a pain in the butt, but I'll have to do it."

"You'll take the job, then?"

"Yeah," Souji reluctantly accepted. "So don't you go back on your word

to protect the little miss."

I gave him a big nod. "I'll take on that task as king of this nation. But I

don't think this will be all that bad a deal for you. If you become an

archbishop, you can nullify Merula's status as a heretic. She'll be free to

walk the streets in Parnam, where public order is maintained, at least."

"Ha ha ha, that's just great. She'd better be grateful." Souji cackled.

I looked at a bewildered Mary.

"Madam Mary."

"Y-Yes."

"Though things have turned out this way, as you can see, Souji doesn't

have a shred of dignity. If we let him act as archbishop, there's going to be

people who take him lightly. I'd like you to watch him and ensure he acts

with dignity."

"Ah! Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Souji cried out hastily.

Having been chosen as a saint once, Mary seemed to have the respect of

the devout followers, and she could make up for Souji's lack of dignity and

charisma. If anything, it seemed likely that Souji would be leader in name

only, while she took control of the church internally. Effectively, the secret

boss of Kingdom Orthodoxy.

Mary seemed dazed for a moment, but soon started to chuckle. "Hee

hee, that was my intention all along. I will keep a close eye on Archbishop

Souji and ensure that he acts in a manner befitting one addressed as 'His

Holiness' from now on."

"You heard her. Good for you, Souji. You've got a reliable right hand."

"Now I've got another woman on my back, nagging me! It's not good at

all!"

"Your Holiness. If you do not speak with the proper deference to those

who stand above you, it will set a poor example for those beneath you."

"And she's super into it already! Damn it all!"

Souji's shouting made everyone else laugh out loud.

◇ ◇ ◇

— One day in the 12th month, 1549th year, Continental Calendar —

It had been about a month since Mary and her people arrived.

On this day, I had come to the mountains in the southwest of the

Kingdom, along the border with the Republic. I was together with Liscia,

Aisha, and Juna with our newborn child. Roroa was still pregnant, and

Naden couldn't handle the cold, so they were holding down the fort back in

the capital. With us, we had also brought the science team consisting of

Overscientist Genia, Merula the high elf, and Princess Trill of the Empire.

The Republic team of Kuu, Taru, Leporina, and his newest servant Nike

Chima, were tagging along as well.

"Watch your feet, sire, Lady Liscia."

"Thanks, Aisha," Liscia said, taking the hand Aisha offered her.

We were currently walking through a large tunnel that had been built in

this mountain. This tunnel, reinforced with Roman concrete and magic, had

a road running partway through it, so we had been able to come that far in

carriages. However, the path was unpaved from there on, so we had to

disembark and walk.

Liscia let out a white breath. "Ah... It's warmer here in the tunnel than

outside, isn't it? It's still cold, though."

"It's so cold this time of year that Naden refused to come with us, after

all. But...it sure is dark in here, huh?"

"Well, we do have lamps," Aisha said in front of us, helpfully holding

up a lantern.

The tunnel didn't have lights that were on at all times like a modern one

would. The lightmoss we used in the streetlights in town stored up energy

during the day, so it couldn't be used to light the inside of a tunnel. But if

we tried to keep campfires or oil lanterns going, that would end badly. We'd

have to light our own way, like an old steam engine going through a tunnel

at night.

While we were talking about it, Kuu came up to us with a laugh.

"Well, you just have to live with it in this season," he said. "If we're

going from the Kingdom to the Republic in winter, there's going to be

snowy mountain passes to cross. Even with the right preparations, it's a

risky business."

"That's true...and the Roroa Maru hovercraft that we have traveling

along the coast is full of supplies. It'd be rough for ordinary people to get a

ride."

"Ookyakya! Hence the tunnel, right?"

This tunnel ran several hundred meters, and was a joint investment by

both the Kingdom and Republic. This was done in order to make travel

between the two in winter just a little more possible. Although, because of

the difference in financial strength, Kuu haggled me down a lot. Ultimately,

the Kingdom paid a much larger share of the cost, but...I would just

consider it as official development assistance.

Now, for constructing the tunnel, we were finally able to put the

complete drill to work.

"Trill's obsession can pierce mountains... That's pretty incredible, huh?"

Genia remarked.

"Heh heh heh, when we loaded the drill on Mechadra and tested it

against Ooyamizuchi, that helped us find some points for improvement. It

really cut down the time it took to complete," Trill responded gleefully.

This tunnel was built by boring with the drill machine, reinforcing it

with enchanted steel arches and Roman concrete. Honestly, I had left the

design entirely to the engineering team, so I had no idea how this tunnel

compared to the technologies in my old world. From the look of things, it

seemed solidly built, though.

"At this size, you could take a rhinosaurus through," Aisha said, looking

up at the high ceiling.

"Yeah. It will only fit one for now, but I'd like to lay another tunnel

beside this so that rhinosaurus trains can run back and forth."

"Mm-hm," Kuu agreed with me, smiling. "There's only one line back

and forth now."

As we were walking, we came to a place deep inside. There was rock

blocking the way ahead, but a chill air blew past it. There was a drill with a

tunneling shield nearby, and the engineers were close. We seemed to have

reached the end.

"Now, let us put on the final touches, Big Sister Genia."

"Yeah. Okay, I'll leave that to you."

Genia raised her hand, and the waiting engineers moved into action.

They activated the drill and made the shield portion spin, then the

rhinosaurus tied behind it started walking to push the drill forward.

Rummmmmmmble!!! The drill loudly chewed through the bedrock.

We watched it move forward a while before eventually a cold wind blew

inside, and a light flooded into the tunnel. The drill had pierced through the

mountain, and we could see vast fields of snow on the other side.

"A long tunnel across the border into snow country..." I said.

"Yeah. It's our homeland, the Republic of Turgis!" Kuu rushed towards

the exit. "Taru! Leporina! Nike! Come on!"

"Good grief..."

"Wait for me, Master Kuu!"

Taru and Leporina raced out onto the snow after him. Nike followed

behind, spear resting on his shoulder, filled with dismay.

"Cold! Do I really have to live in this country from now on...?"

Nike shrunk into himself, and Kuu slapped him heartily on the back.

"You're my retainer now, so duh. Snow country's nice once you get used

to it."

"I'm starting to miss the northern heat..." Nike grumbled as Kuu made a

nuisance of himself.

From now on, huh...? I thought before asking, "You're going home,

Kuu?"

"Sure am. Thanks for taking care of me for so long, bro!" Kuu said,

rubbing the end of his nose.

Sir Gouran, head of the Republic, had already finished laying the

groundwork inside his country, and was awaiting his son's return. With the

tunnel to the Republic completed today, it was decided Kuu and his crew

would be going home. Incidentally, before he left the capital, I'd gotten my

family and comrades together to give him a big going away party, so today

he was just leaving.

Kuu walked over to me and extended his right hand.

"I've learned a lot from you in the last few years, bro. Like that there are

all sorts of ways to rule, and policies that seem pointless may have hidden

purposes. Thanks to that, I feel like I know the kind of head I want to

become for the Republic." Kuu sounded a little embarrassed.

I extended my own hand and took his.

"I think you're way more suited to being a ruler than I am, you know

that, Kuu? I always have."

"Ookyakya! You just don't seem like much of a ruler, that's all, bro."

And with that, we exchanged a firm handshake.

Next to us, Liscia and Aisha were saying their goodbyes to Leporina.

"So long, Lady Liscia, Lady Aisha, thank you for everything."

"Having you all leaving at once feels sad."

"Were you able to make fun memories in the Kingdom?"

"Yes. But...when I look at the two of you..."

""Hm?""

"I remember you chasing me around during the song battle."

""Pfft! Ha ha ha ha!"" the two laughed.

"It's nothing to laugh about! You traumatized me!" Leporina protested

with teary eyes.

They look like they're having fun, I thought.

Meanwhile, Taru was parting with Genia and the engineers. It made me

realize all over again how deep the bonds we'd all formed were.

"I'm going to miss you all..."

"We'll be talking weekly over the Jewel Voice Broadcast to share

reports, won't we? Besides, you'll come to our wedding, right? I'll send an

invitation."

"Of course, but try to choose some time a little warmer. Winter's pretty

rough."

Even just standing here chatting I could feel the chill. The Republic sure

is cold. Kuu couldn't help but chuckle at my shivering.

"Yeah, I know. See ya." Kuu lifted his cudgel with a grin. "Until next

time, bro! No, my friend, King Souma of Friedonia!"

"Yeah, take care! My friend, Kuu Taisei!"

Kuu didn't turn back again after that. They faced forward, returning to

their homeland. We watched them go, waving to their backs.