Chapter Prologue

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Chapter Prologue
Rizelheim

Rizelheim — A venerable kingdom with a rich history going back over 400 years. It is also the country in which I reside as a member of the Grances family.

For the past five days, I had been in a carriage that left north from the Grances territory to the capital city of Rizelheim. The capital city was built alongside a river in a large plain.

We heard that there is a huge festival there at the beginning of every year — That’s why Alice, Claire, Sophia, and I are travelling there, along with a few maids.

Even if I say that that’s not the only reason we’re travelling here. We’re doing research on the festival and on the layout of the city in hopes of further improving the Grances territory.

And we’ve now reached the outer limits of the kingdom.

The majority of the roads are just packed and flattened soil, stone houses are built all across the landscape, and the cityscape is similar to that of an early European medieval city.

The streets are packed with hundreds of people. I’ve seen national festivals before, but this seems to be a bit too flashy.

“There are so many people here. Is it like this every year?”

“This year is also a celebration of Liselotte-sama’s twelfth birthday.”

That doesn’t tell me anything……Who is she?

“Liselotte von Rizelheim, do you not know who that is otouto-kun?”

“Rizelheim….it’s the name of the kingdom. So, is she a princess or something?”

“The youngest daughter of the King. She’s beautiful with a gentle personality. It’s rumoured that she has the most beautiful voice in the entire country. She’s adored by the King and the Prince and is also loved by everyone in the capital.”

“I see. So she’s also turning twelve today.”

In this world, kids age must faster than on Earth. That’s why when a child turns twelve they are considered to now be in adulthood. Because the festival coincides with a popular princesses’ birthday, the size of the festival is even bigger than normal.

By the way, because it has been two years since the issues with the Marquis of Gramp, Sophia will be turning twelve at the end of this year, but I was born around the same time as the Princess.

I think I’ve gotten used to the idea that at such a young age the people of this world consider you to be an adult, but someone that young still looks very young to me. Apparently, someone aged twelve is about the same as a junior high or high school student in j.a.pan, but most people of that age are still treated like children.

“Apparently, the Princess will be singing in the town square today.”

“Oh……singing. That should be interesting.”

“It may not be worth going. She’ll most likely be singing from a second-floor balcony of the castle. On top of that, we’ll be in a large crowd of people. Good luck trying to hear her voice in all of that.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It’s not like she’s singing in a concert hall. You won’t even be able to tell she’s singing from so far away.”

…..I see. She’s performing outside.

I was interested in hearing her voice, but it seems like it would be rather pointless to go knowing that. Let’s give up on the idea of hearing her sing and instead we can go visit the shops and stalls of the capital.

We continued along the main road that led the to the royal castle in the heart of the city.

“Fuaaaa, it’s amazing! It’s so amazing, Leon onii-chan! The stalls are lined up as far as I

can see!”

“You can look around, just don’t get lost~”

Sophia ran off with her hands waving in the air and Milli quickly chased after her. I showed a wry smile as I watched this sight.

Sophia just turned eleven during the last few days of the year. In the time she’s been in school she seems to have become much happier.

She’s no longer even scared of meeting new people but I guess that is a good thing.

“Sophia sure is energetic.”

“She is…..Alice, what is that?”

Alice was currently holding several meat skewers in her hands. I could tell the meat was juicy and smelled quite good.

“Ah, this? It’s horn rabbit meat. I bought them at one of the stalls.”

“Horn rabbit?”

“It’s a type of monster that lives around here.”

“……Is it safe to eat the meat of a monster?”

I’m afraid that would cause some stomach problems.

“The monsters of this world are mutated by the mana in the atmosphere. It makes them even more delicious than an ordinary animal.”

“Seriously? That’s the first time I’ve heard that.”

“That’s what I’ve heard from everyone. The magical power they absorb into their body makes them incredibly delicious.”

That’s kind of surprising to hear, but if Alice says so it must be true.

There are a few different types of monsters that inhabit the Grances area but I didn’t know this at all.

“It reproduces a lot and is very easy to hunt due to its low combat ability. Because the meat is so delicious, I’ve heard that it is incredibly popular. There are some hunters who specialize in horn rabbit.”

“Well…..it does look delicious.”

“Do you want a bite?”

I silently grabbed Alice’s arms and pulled it close to take a bite.

“Wai-, Leon?”

…..It really is quite good. It’s very juicy, but not greasy. It may be because this is so fresh, but I think this is probably the best meat I’ve had since coming to this world.

“Mo~u…..You have bad manners. You’re supposed to say ‘Ah~’ at a time like that.”

“I thought that would be your plan. So, I acted before you could. It was very tasty though.”

“It’s Rizelheim’s speciality.”

“Hee~….Horn rabbit, huh? Do you think it would be possible to raise them in our territory?”

“I don’t think it would be possible. The Grances territory is too warm and the gra.s.s the horn rabbit feeds on does not grow there.”

“Hmm……Then, could we import them from the capital….”

“I think that would also be impossible.”

“Huh, why?”

“Because it will take about five days on a carriage to reach our home. It may be fine during the winter, but during the summer it would definitely rot.”

“d.a.m.n….”

When I thought that there was no delicious meat in this world I could endure it. Now that I know such a delicious meat exists I have to have it. What can I do?

“—Hah, that’s it! Let’s rebuild the city in an area where the horn rabbit lives!”

“Do you really like it that much? What you’re saying is ridiculous; are you just trying to make me angry?”

“Of course not, Claire. Try some of this skewer. I may be joking about moving the city, but this meat is really delicious.”

“It’s just horn rabbit meat, right? It certainly is delicious, but there are several other types of meat that are equally good.”

“Eh, seriously?”

“At least that’s what I’ve heard. When it comes to animal monsters, there are several that are really delicious.”

……Huh? Alice also knows that? Or am I the only one that doesn’t know?

It makes sense that Alice would know; after all, she travelled all over the world before I met her. As for Claire, I guess she tried some monster meat when she was travelling to another territory.

There are no refrigerators in this world so the only way to experience a territory’s delicacy is to eat it locally.

And there are no monsters with delicious meat in the Grances territory so I have lived all this time without knowing about it.

What a huge regret!

“Alice, we will develop a refrigerator when we return to our territory.”

“Okay, but is that really possible?”

“Eeeehhhh!? The Alice cheat was able to put a temperature control system on the uniforms, but you don’t think it’s possible to create a fridge!?”

“I told you to stop calling me a cheat……Well then, the first issue would be using inscription magic to create the fridge. Inscription magic uses the trace amounts of magical power that exists in every living being. The effect that comes from inscription magic is usually minor.”

“Ah, I see….”

That does make sense. The temperature adjustment for the uniforms is only a couple degrees. Moreover, this temperature adjustment only affects the part of the uniform that touches the skin.

“Would it be possible with spirit magic?”

“The user would need to be constantly attending to the fridge to keep it cooled.”

“It wouldn’t be possible for the mage to just leave it after creating the desired effect?”

“Think about it like this, black magic uses the converted magical power as it is, so the effect is usually instant. Spirit magic offers the magical power to a spirit and requests a specific task of them. This type of magic has a short duration, but usually, it won’t last longer than a few seconds.”

“Is that the case for you as well?”

“Yeah. I think the effect would end a few seconds after I stopped using the magic.”

“I see…”

I thought it may be possible for Alice, but I guess I was wrong. It can’t be helped, I’ll have to think about this some more on the carriage ride home.

Maybe I’ll try to find a monster that can be raised in our territory. I continued thinking about this as we walked around the festival for a few more hours.

There were several more food stalls lined up along the roads and there were even a few stalls selling different types of folk crafts.

I thought about trading with someone if something caught my eye, but nothing has so far.

That’s when, as I was considering it about time that we left to go home, Sophia stopped in front of a tailor’s shop.

“Leon onii-chan, I want to go in this shop!”

“Eh, you want to go…….to that shop?”

“Don’t you see the name Wells on the shop? I was told by girls in cla.s.s that Wells clothing is the best in the entire continent!”

“Fumu…”

I’m guessing a girl that had heard rumours from the kingdom told Sophia about this place.

Wells is supposedly the finest clothing in the area, but Sophia is currently wearing a dress that is of a much higher quality than anything else that would be available in this world…..

What should I do? When I turned to Alice and Claire for advice, they both just looked away.

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