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Chapter 3: Capital Business
“Nia!”
“It’s nice to see you again, Hilde.”
I was able to meet with the third princess of Altoire, Hildetaura, at the floating island that Mirko took me to. The airship we had been riding on docked next to another airship that had arrived ahead of us, and the princess herself was waiting for me as I stepped off. Because of her status, she had a few plainclothes bodyguards surrounding her—probably knights, if I were to hazard a guess. But none of them looked all that strong.
That aside, though I hadn’t seen her for about a month, Hildetaura still looked as healthy as a child should.
“This is a new look,” I remarked. The red dots in the center of her green eyes that served as proof of her royal lineage were the same as always, but her hairstyle and clothes were very different. Her long blonde hair was up in a bun, and she was wearing cute pink overalls. With her Wellington boots and her thick gloves, she looked prepared for outdoor work.
Еn̊ üṁ а̌. іd
I had only ever seen Hildetaura in more proper attire before now, given that she was a princess from a long line of royalty, but since she still was a child, this sort of activewear suited her. In fact, she was basically wearing the same clothes as me—all that was different was the color—so she’d probably done her best to make us match.
“I will be helping out with some farmwork. You will be joining me, yes?”
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“Of course, as you can see.” I was, after all, wearing almost exactly the same outfit as Hildetaura currently was. I was ready and raring to go.
The island was small. Very few families lived there, and there were only about a dozen people taking care of the farms and fields.
Each floating island had its own unique ecosystem. Years ago, the infamous elite monster Vikeranda, in his rampage, had shattered the continent that sat in the sea, resulting in the creation of several floating islands. Rapidly changing atmospheric pressure, climate, wind, sun and moon exposure, as well as other changes in the surrounding environment, had resulted in the creation of new ecosystems on each island.
This island had become a prime location for growing vegetables and grains as well as caring for livestock.
We̊ bn о̆ v еl̃. Е ň ũm̀ ӓ
I’d once gone to a farm on a floating island near the capital and had the pleasure of partaking in premium beef favored by the upper classes, made from the meat of the Mooamoora cows raised there. The surprise I’d felt at how different the beef tasted based on the environment it had been raised in was still fresh in my memory. Of course, it wasn’t all thanks to the environment—it was also the result of the tireless efforts of the farmers themselves.
After doing some farmwork and clearing out the barns, we had a break. We washed our hands, took shelter under the shade of the trees, and spoke about our schedule as we rested.
“Isn’t this a little different from the work you usually do?” I was fairly sure Hildetaura had never done a recording like this before. Her work mainly consisted of royal duties such as visiting hospitals, introducing the knights’ training, and giving guides of nearby tourist locations. Her visits to hospitals and orphanages were especially frequent, which was how she became so popular among the common people.
“The Surprisingly Approachable Princess”—that nickname was not just for show. She really was quite the popular princess in the capital. That was why watching Hildetaura do farmwork was quite the refreshing sight. She had said once before that no matter how much she wanted to get her hands dirty with this kind of work, being royalty meant that dignity and grace were always expected of her.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Incidentally, I had done physical labor several times on Occupation Observation,and recently I’d been visiting farms a lot because of all the dog episodes they were wanting to record.
“It is, yes. I wanted to broaden my scope of work a little this summer.”
Еn u̇mа̀ . і d́
Well, that was interesting.
“The daughters of the Liston and Silver families are working very hard, after all. It would not be good for me to slack off.”
It was out of a sense of competition, then. It wasn’t all that surprising—Hildetaura was the one out of our little trio that wanted to promote magivision most. It didn’t seem like work that the princess should be doing, but on the other hand, it was precisely because she was the princess that she was being proactive and putting her all into it.
For all intents and purposes, magivision was a state-owned initiative. It was only functioning because of the massive investments that had been put into it. Honestly speaking, the current profits were far from sufficient. If magivision didn’t start showing satisfactory results, the one who would be held responsible was the one in charge of deciding national policies in the first place—in other words, the ruler of the country: Hildetaura’s father. For Hildetaura, this really was a personal matter.
“Besides, this work is not as different as you would think,” she said.
“Really?” For me, this was like an episode of Occupation Observation,but that didn’t apply to her.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
After we finished the recording of the physical work, a table filled with food made from local produce was set up underneath the blue sky. It looked delicious.
“We’re currently looking for some young farmhands to work here.”
“We’re getting on in years now, and physical labor is taking its toll. But we’re so shorthanded that there’s no way we can stop what we’re doing...” The final scene involved Hildetaura interviewing the old couple who owned the farm, who took that opportunity to appeal to the viewers about their current predicament.
I see now. This doubles up as a help wanted ad. For the Surprisingly Approachable Princess, who was kind to her citizens, this was a way to collaborate with them.
After the interview had concluded, the popular princess closed out with her own comments: “The work I did today was tough. You have to wake up early in the morning, it is tiring work, and since you are dealing with living animals, you cannot let your guard down. However, it is thanks to these people who work tirelessly in the fields that food is produced and we can live without starving. Farmwork is difficult. The pay may feel low compared to the effort put in. But I believe it is a job that people should be proud of. There is nothing to be ashamed of. If you are interested in taking up the farm life, please consider finding a job here.”
Everything was slotting into place. Hildetaura might have been a bit of an oddball, but her sincere words and earnest expression worked well together. Her persuasiveness at moments like this always felt befitting of royalty.
Еn u m â . і̃ d
Things did not end there, however.
“Now, Nia! It is time for our match!”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
The recording of the farmwork had finished, and we’d chosen to have an early lunch with the food that the workers had so kindly prepared for us. After that, we’d moved on to the next stage of my work.
Yes. The dog.
This was a farm with livestock—and therefore, they had a sheepdog. It was often energetically running around the fields, so it seemed fast...for a dog, anyway. And then, just as I had been thinking to myself that it seemed as if I would win easily again today, Hildetaura, for some reason, chose to jump in as well.
“Despite how I look, I have been learning the royal court’s secret traditional form of martial arts for self-defense since I was young. I am quite confident in my athletic ability.”
Е nŭ mа
A traditional form of martial arts? Well, I already knew that she had been training her body, at least.
“Do not think you are the only one who can win a race against a dog!”
Sure thing, Princess.
“In that case, are you prepared to be hated by the dog?” I asked. The medium-sized dog with its black-and-white coat was currently excitedly licking Hildetaura’s hand, getting saliva all over her. It was a very cute dog, fluffy and friendly to all.
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But these matches always ended with the dog hating me. It’d bark and howl very aggressively at me, as if saying, “You, hurry up and go home already!” It was as if that friendliness it’d presented beforehand had never existed. Could she handle it? Suddenly being hated by a dog that had warmed up to you only a few minutes before could be a shock.
“Heh... It is lonely up at the top.” Hildetaura smirked, and I could agree with that. “Allow me to be the one to smear mud over your undefeated record!”
Е̃nû ṁ ӓ. i d
As a result, I ended up being hated by not just the dog but Hildetaura as well.
My recordings in the capital continued. Today was a recording with a few familiar faces.
“It’s nice to see you again, Nia.”
“We’re excited to work with you.”
“You should come and see more of our plays!”
It was a reunion with the actors of the Ice Rose Theater Company, as had been discussed back home. I would take a tour of the royal capital with the Twin Ice Princes, Julian and Lucida, and Sharro White, their up-and-coming lead actress. I had wondered why they’d chosen sightseeing as the topic, but it wasn’t as if all our viewers lived in the capital, and foreign tourists would have the opportunity to view magivision on their visits as well. Furthermore, there were apparently many native residents who had not actually gone to see the sights of the capital because they weren’t tourists.
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Basically, there was some level of demand for this kind of show, so if they wanted me to do it, I would. But just making it an episode of us going on a regular tour was boring, so more was added to the concept: since everyone except me was a real actor, we would let their personal character shine and change their outfits and makeup every scene—we had them bring their costumes from some of their productions to help with that.
Thanks to the gaudy appearance of the actors along with my presence, people couldn’t take their eyes off of us as we walked down the streets of the capital. I was excited to see what effect this would have on the ratings.
“What do you think, Nia? I totally pull off a male role, right?” Sharro twirled around, showing off her outfit from when she had played the role of the male heir of a poor noble.
“Yes, well...”
I don’t think it’s bad. Yeah. I think it’s good... Yeah. It’s fine, I guess.
“Hey, you were comparing me to Lucida just now, weren’t you?” As I’d nodded vaguely to myself, Sharro’s eyebrows pinched together. I understood why she was mad, but I couldn’t help it.
Е̇.nū m̀ а. і̂ d
“I’m sorry. She’s right beside you, so...”
Next to the poor noble son was a dazzling prince. It was hard not to see how much more naturally Lucida pulled it off than Sharro when they were side by side like this.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“Well, this is my specialty,” Lucida chuckled. As expected of one half of the Twin Princes, her radiance was something else.
“Though you wouldn’t struggle with female roles either, you know,” Julian said, joining us a little late in a magnificent dress. Given they were twins, it meant they were identical, and it meant both could fulfill roles of the opposite gender.
Apparently, the dress Julian wore was from a play called One Day. The main character was a princess who fell in love with a poor baron’s heir. I had no doubt it was a boring story that went around in circles before reaching its conclusion. You know, the kind of conflicts that could be resolved by them just saying they liked each other, and yet they didn’t. It seemed the twins had decided to have a little fun and swap roles—usually, Julian took the prince’s role.
“Oh. My. Goodness! The Twin Princes in the flesh... They’re so stunning...” As a magivision fanatic who had seen plenty of their plays, Lynokis spent the whole recording from start to finish letting out enraptured sighs. Her face was melting in adoration the entire time.
Ėn̂ ù m̆ а̀_
I really hadn’t had the chance to train with her properly in recent weeks. I’ll train you for real once we’re finally on our real vacation. I’ll even put you through those ascetic practices that you love. Just wait a little longer.
After that recording, the morning schedule was complete, and I boarded Hildetaura’s airship that was decorated with the crest of the Kingdom of Altoire. We’d both be in the same location for the afternoon recording. We decided to have lunch on the journey there.
“At this rate, we should be able to get our days off as planned, Nia,” Hildetaura said.
Hildetaura, Mirko, and I all sat down together at the table. It seemed Mirko was permanently by Hildetaura’s side during this summer’s recordings. It made sense—there was no way you could leave royalty unattended as their supervisor.
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When we sat ourselves down, we had an aperitif... No, we had only water poured into our glasses and then food served. Even if Hildetaura was royalty, she was still too young to be having alcohol. The only exception that should be allowed was myself, as someone who was internally much older than their body. Though...as long as Lynokis was present, that would never happen. She was right behind me at the moment too. She was always with me.
Mirko took water as well. Naturally, she wouldn’t drink during work.
Е n ům á . ì d́
There were two more days on our work schedule before the summer work was over, and if Hildetaura was to be believed, we would be able to go on our vacation as planned.
“Yes. There have been some slight deviations, but otherwise, things are very much going according to schedule. It was a five-day holiday, right? You should be fine.” Mirko was the one in charge of organizing the schedule, so if she said we’d manage, then there was no way we wouldn’t.
“I’m glad. This is all I’ve been looking forward to this summer.” This really had been the summer from hell. Well, I supposed it had really only been hell while I was in my home territory. The other territories were actually somewhat considerate! I didn’t care that they were my friends and relatives—the staff in the Liston territories showed far too little restraint with me!
Eighty percent of my time in the capital involved me doing work with Hildetaura. Unsurprisingly, they didn’t make a schedule intended to murder me like that blasted Bendelio had. I still managed a good amount of work while here, though. Hildetaura’s recordings usually consisted of her royal duties, but since she was collaborating with me, she decided she might as well do activities that were more my style as well.
Hildetaura’s royal status no doubt limited what she was allowed to do. As much as the class system was losing its meaning, there was a big difference in how the public viewed a simple aristocratic child, compared to a member of royalty. There was the possibility that she would be criticized for not acting like royalty, or she might even be having pressure put on her to act appropriately for her station. That was an issue related to her goal—the revival of the authority of the ruling class. It might be that she felt that she couldn’t participate in anything that would undermine said authority.
Being royalty seemed like such a difficult task.
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“I must say, though, you’re a very calm girl, Nia,” Mirko suddenly said as I was picking away at the appetizers. “Hilde is already far more composed than a child should be, but you’re even more collected than her.”
Naturally. I wasn’t even really a child, after all.
“You’re so brave,” she continued. “No matter what location we go to or what kind of people we’re working with, you’re never afraid or nervous around them. I almost forget that you’re still a child sometimes.”
Naturally. If worse came to worst, I could just beat them up. Why should I be afraid of them?
“As you can see from my hair, I have already faced death once. Because of that experience, nothing fazes me anymore.” My hair color still hadn’t returned to normal. During the mana evaluation before the school semester started, I’d learned that my mana receptors had been destroyed. “I’m lucky enough just to be alive.”
Honestly, I wished that the real Nia Liston had gotten to survive rather than an old fogy like me.
Е̃ńů ḿ а̂
No... I shouldn’t think that way. I could be as angry as I wanted about someone’s death, but it wouldn’t bring them back. Whatever twist of fate had led to this situation, living a full life in this body would be the best offering I could give to Nia. My goal right now was to rebuild the Liston family.
“Are there any new proposals?”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“Looking at the sales statistics, most buyers of MagiPads are still on the wealthy side...”
“Preferably something we could make long-term...”
Even today’s lunch naturally drifted to us discussing work, drifting from topic to topic.
“Our dog at the castle is really quite fast,” Hildetaura boasted.
Ŵ ё_b̈ n̆ о̌ v̈é l̄ Е n ûmа̇
Mirko shook her head. “But it’s a big dog... Nia’s so small, the contrast would be quite mean.”
“I don’t mind the size of the dog. I was never all that obsessed with winning in the first place. In fact, I think there are times where losing might make it more exciting...”
“Wait! Then why did you not lose in the race against me?”
“You were even slower than the dog. If I’d lost against you, it would’ve been blatantly obvious that I’d deliberately held back.”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“Blatantly obvious?! I-I feel so ashamed...”
We came up with various ideas for new projects but nothing that particularly struck as a winner.
Ěn̄ um̈а̃ ._ī ḋ
Two days after we spoke about the particulars of our vacation, we finally reached the end of our work schedule.
“Sorry, Nia. Circumstances have changed a little.”
When we met up at the port, Hildetaura uttered the most ominous words she ever could have, and with a troubled face to boot.
“Wait, Hilde. I don’t want to hear any more.”
Is it impossible for us to go on holiday, after all? Has it been canceled? Please don’t say it.
How hard had I worked specifically so I could greet these last five days without worry? I’d finished an impossible recording schedule, settled for unsatisfactory training, and steadily worked on my summer homework every day.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
All of that!
All of that had been for the sake of my last five days of vacation!
And yet!
And yet!
Let me aim this anger right at Bendelio!
“No, Nia, it’s not canceled.” The princess herself held out a hand to tell her bodyguards to stop when they suddenly stepped forward. I don’t know if they’d seen my change in expression, sensed my change in emotions, or perhaps felt my overflowing anger and bloodlust, but they seemed to have reacted instinctively. “We will have our holiday period as planned. We will leave tonight and have a full five days starting tomorrow. We will be able to rest and relax to our hearts’ content.”
Е̊ n.u m̊ӑ
Hearing that alone was already enough to calm me down. I had no complaints if that were the case. Naturally, however, there was a “but” attached to this.
“Um... Actually, I have been informed that my father went to the island this morning.”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
What...?
“Are you asking if it’s okay that your father is there?”
“Well, to put it simply, it appears my father is also there...on vacation.”
Now that I thought about it, she had said that our destination was a private island owned by the royal family. In which case, it would make sense that royalty other than Hildetaura would make use of it as well.
E n.ü_m̃а. ĩd̆
Hmm, so the king will be there, will he?
“Is your father the kind to dote on children?”
“No, not at all. In fact, I would say he does not quite understand a child’s heart. He is immature enough to completely ignore them.”
“Then everything’s fine.”
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“What? Really?”
But of course. If he were the type to get too involved, I’d be a bit bothered. But if he was the opposite, that was fine. Besides, there would definitely be servants there for the royal family, so it was never going to be just a gathering of children in the first place. In that case, her father being there was as simple as one more adult added to the group.
Éňum̌а
“Is it really all right? There might be a king wandering around the area, or reading a book in a hammock underneath the shade of the trees, or having fun at a barbecue. Is it really okay? Would that not make you uncomfortable? You won’t feel disturbed by his presence?”
Well, I might feel a bit of the latter, but beyond that, no.
“You said he’s also there on vacation, right? He’s put in a lot of hard work and finally reached his holiday period. I understand exactly how that feels and that’s why I can’t really be too upset.” Besides, even though he was the king, I could deal with him the way I was prepared to deal with everyone else: if worse came to worst, things would work out. I would give him a good beating, and if he was in the way of something, I would simply knock him out. If he was there to rest, then I would let him rest as much as he liked. I would gladly lend him a hand.
“I’m okay with it. I am a little worried about Relia, though.”
“That was exactly what I was thinking,” Hildetaura replied with a sigh.
Could Reliared remain calm? If there was a king wandering around the area, or reading a book in a hammock underneath the shade of the trees, or having fun at a barbecue, could she really ignore him? She was still slightly nervous even around Hildetaura—and yet we were expecting her to be calm around the king?
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There was no way.
“Nope, nope, nope, no way, absolutely not! Meeting His Majesty is out of the question! Absolutely out of the question!”
We hadn’t been sure if Reliared would make the island trip due to the sudden influx of work from the Silver Broadcasting Station’s new paper play project, but for better or for worse, she’d made it. Perhaps I should say, unfortunately, she’d made it to our five-day trip to the royal family’s floating island where the king of Altoire was already vacationing.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?! Why would you tell me that after we land?!”
We had met up with Reliared in the capital the previous evening, and we had all boarded the airship for a pleasant night flight through the skies—and she had remained blissfully unaware of the truth the whole time. The next morning, all of us happy and with cheerful, bright smiles on our faces, we had disembarked from the airship while excitedly discussing the fun days that awaited us. And then, as the ramp to the airship was raised, I had dropped the bombshell. “Oh, I just remembered, Hilde’s father will be here too. What a coincidence.”
The sudden grim and downcast expression that overtook Relia’s radiant and energetic smile was enough to make me question my own conscience. Her face was like a sky abruptly overrun with thunderclouds.
Е n̂ ŭ mа .і́d
“What do you mean ‘I just remembered’?! You absolutely planned to tell me here, didn’t you?!”
Of course her reaction hurt my heart. It caused me great pain. I felt so incredibly sorry for her. Why would I be happy to steal a child’s joy? But forgive me, Relia. I had no other choice. Your family stole my paper play idea, after all. Allow me this little bit of revenge. I didn’t care much about losing the battles I was guaranteed to win, but I obsessed far more over the results of battles where the outcome was uncertain. Magivision was one of these battles for me. I would not let this end with such a one-sided loss.
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“It’ll be all right,” I said. “The king is human too. There’s no need to be that nervous. He isn’t here as ruler of the kingdom if he’s on vacation—he’s just some old man.”
“How?! How can you say that?! Why are you this calm?! This is the king! Now that I think about it, weren’t you calm when we met Miss Hilde too?! Who do you think the royal family are?!”
You would think she would know my answer by now.
“Royalty are simply people who were born into a royal house. There is nothing superior about them. The king is nothing more than a silly old man of a family that likes to act like they’re special. Right, Hilde?”
Еń um̈ ǎ_
“I apologize, but from my position, I must disagree.”
Oh, of course. She was royalty too, after all. Hildetaura’s smile was...a little scary, so I decided to stop with the scathing remarks about the royal family for now.
“From what Hilde has told me, the king is not someone who is overly concerned with children, so I don’t think you need to worry too much. Let’s go.”
“Noooo! I don’t wannaaaaaaaaaaa!”
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I took the protesting Reliared’s hand and dragged her kicking and screaming out of the small port towards the house looming in front of us.
The island wasn’t all that big, but it was equipped with all the necessary facilities. Just as farming or agricultural islands had rich soil and good quality grass, this island had an excellent climate. The temperature changes from one season to the next were mild, which made it a great place to relax all year long. What was more, there was an abundance of water and greenery, which meant there was plenty of good food to eat.
Ẁеḃǹо̃v.е l̀ En̄.u m ӑ
Since the royal family owned the land, the place was well maintained and renovated to make it an even more welcoming place to stay. It was also used as a place of recuperation too, apparently. In other words, it was the perfect vacation spot if you wanted to relax.
In hindsight, the king’s presence actually turned out to be quite fortuitous.
A deck chair and a table were set up underneath a tree near the villa. There, a pompous-looking man in a bathrobe was lying reading a book—I could see him even from a distance.
“That is my father,” Hildetaura said, confirming my assumption.
I hadn’t thought we’d end up bumping into the king right off the bat, though. And...why was he wearing a bathrobe? Did he go for a bath and decide to stay dressed like that? Whatever the case, at least it looked like he was enjoying his vacation.
“Father,” Hildetaura called as we approached.
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“Imagine I’m not here. The last thing I want is to have to act like a king even on my days off,” he coldly responded, not looking up from his book.
“As if you ever acted like a king in the first place. Could you at least deem it worth your time to say hello to your daughter’s friends?” Hildetaura was usually so kind and cheerful to everyone she met, but her words now were laced with such venom. She really was different when interacting with her family.
“Like I care. Don’t bother me.”
Oh, so this was the kind of man the king was. But as bad as his attitude was, it was great for us. We would be allowed to enjoy our time here however we wished, and he could do as he wished. This was a much better scenario than if he’d been an overbearing father.
“As the man himself has clearly stated, you are permitted to treat him as if he does not exist. Pay him absolutely no mind. Let us be off.”
Good, let’s go. Reliared was already panicking at the sudden run-in with the king, so I wanted to hurry up and get to our rooms so she could calm down. We handed our luggage off to the servants who had come to greet us, and turned towards the large mansion.
Е̂ ń ü mа̊
“Nia Liston.”
What was this now? I turned around at the sound of my name to see the king still lying as he was. You know me?
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
His eyes did not leave his book as he continued, “When will you finally spread magivision far and wide?”
“Um... Excuse me?”
What was he saying?
“I feel a resolve from you—a resolve as if you’ve decided to live for magivision. So? When will you leave your mark?”
Ẁе b̈n̆о v ӗl̈ Ên̄ u m а
I had no memory of ever making a decision like that, but it was true I had decided I would put my life on the line for it—for the sake of the real Nia, and for the Liston family.
“Are you not being too passive? Too naive? If you’re truly serious, if you have resolved to live for magivision, then you need to see that through. Use whatever you have at your disposal. The end arrives without warning. Don’t think chances will always be available in such a money-grubbing world.”
Now this is interesting indeed...
“Father!”
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“I’ve said my piece. Now leave.”
Even at Hildetaura’s admonishment, he clearly had no desire to say much more.
Е́_ṅ ům̆ а
That was my first meeting with Hyurence Altoire, fourteenth king of Altoire.
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