Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Vol. 11 Read online

  Breathing a small sigh of relief, I turned to Lelillil.

  “Lelillil, how are the other girls?”

  “I brought them to the guest room and put them to sleep with the Sleeping Powder spell, as you requested, Lord Satou.”

  …Lord?

  That was strange coming from Lelillil.

  Maybe it was because I’d used the “Coercion” skill on her earlier?

  “What’s the matter, Lelillil?”

  “Lord Satou! I was wrong about you!” Lelillil gazed up at me, her eyes shining. “I should have known—the holy high elves were right about you! Your operation of the machines was just as magnificent as the stories Grandfather told about the Great Sage himself! And that alchemy was unthinkably fast!”

  She looked almost feverish as she pressed closer to me.

  “I vow from the bottom of my heart to serve you from now on, so I beg you, please forgive how terribly rudely I treated you until now.”

  With that, she held her breath and awaited my response.

  “Um, sure. You’re forgiven.”

  Feeling exhausted from the heat of her gaze, I simply nodded.

  “Huzzah!”

  Lelillil jumped for joy like a child, then seemed to remember herself and mumbled an apology.

  It was all a bit much, but it was still better than her constantly needling me. I decided not to worry about it.

  Glancing at my log, I found that I’d received all kinds of titles.

  > Title Acquired: Fire Rescuer

  > Title Acquired: Physician

  > Title Acquired: Surgeon

  > Title Acquired: Unlicensed Doctor

  I wasn’t sure whether the profession of physician or medical licenses even existed in this world, but it was a little late to be questioning the weird, half-baked nature of the title system at this point, so I decided to refrain from commenting.

  “Now, then…”

  Using “Item Box,” I produced the documents that had caught my eye while I was searching for a way to heal the two girls.

  Using my “Parallel Thoughts” skill, I kept an eye on Tifaleeza and Neru while scanning over the documents.

  The one that had intrigued me the most was “organic artificial arms.”

  I might be able to use it to make an artificial leg for Mr. Kajiro, the samurai guarding our mansion.

  “They’re not as responsive as the original limb, huh…”

  Sadly, this was written right in the documents.

  That must be why Cyriltoa the Songstress in the old capital had given up on her beloved musical instrument, since she was using an artificial arm made by the elves.

  It would probably still be better than what Kajiro was using right now, which was essentially a peg leg, but it wouldn’t be enough to help him return to his calling as a samurai.

  For now, I decided to put this technology aside in the Keep folder.

  Next, I started to read the documents about the “disguise mask.”

  “Lord Satou, Lord Satou!”

  As I was reading, Lelillil started tugging politely on my sleeve.

  “Hasn’t that girl’s hair gotten longer?”

  Sure enough, beautiful silver hair about the length of a bob cut had grown back on the right side of Tifaleeza’s head, which had been charred bald before.

  I thought her hair was brown before… Looking at her left side, I saw that the silver hair turned to white partway down. I assumed she had gone gray early due to stress.

  It must have just looked brown because of all the soot.

  The healing was already entering its final stages, too: The areas of exposed sinew on Tifaleeza’s face had healed over, revealing the pretty face of someone who would probably thrive as a cool-type idol.

  She wasn’t quite as stunningly beautiful as Lulu, of course, but she was lovely enough that she would still look good standing next to her.

  “It’s uneven now, so I’ll give her a trim.”

  I produced scissors from Storage, sterilized them, and put them away again, reproducing them in a Magic Hand inside the cultivation tank. Then I cut the left side of her hair to match the right.

  I didn’t want her hair to start floating around in the tank, so I put the white strands away in Storage.

  Then I looked to the other tank.

  “Neru seems normal.”

  The plain Neru’s red hair hadn’t grown like Tifaleeza’s; it was still a very ordinary short cut.

  It was probably because of the different medicines I’d given them.

  There were hair-growing serums in the elves’ recipes, too—there was probably no need to research the difference in great detail.

  Then, a few minutes later…

  “Oh! It’s finished!”

  Lelillil pointed enthusiastically at the cultivation tanks’ control unit, which displayed the word COMPLETE.

  “Wow, it’s pretty much perfect.”

  Once I’d confirmed that neither of them had a trace of burns left on their bodies, I took them out of the tanks and covered them with cloth.

  The brands were still on their backs, but there was nothing I could do about that.

  “They’ll probably be fatigued for a while, so let them sleep for two or three days, please.”

  “Of course, Lord Satou! Your wish is my command!”

  Leaving the rest to Lelillil, I went back to where my friends were waiting.

  Because one of the girls had the “Analyze” skill, I asked Lelillil to call me Kuro in front of them.

  For a while now, Nanashi the Hero had been appearing wherever Satou went, so I figured it would be best to use a different name once in a while.

  Still, I had to wonder whether the appearance of the burning oil slimes had been accidental or deliberate.

  The viceroy’s men would undoubtedly be investigating; I decided to ask the viceroy’s wife to tell me if they figured out the cause.

  In the back of my mind, I remembered seeing the green-clad noble heading downtown.

  …No, it can’t be.

  As a high-ranking noble, he wouldn’t stand to gain anything from setting the city on fire.

  I supposed some nobles hated poor people, but the green-clad noble was different.

  Shaking off my doubts, I used Return to teleport back to my mansion.

  The Tea Party

  Satou here. Since convenience-store sweets are so high quality these days, you can pretty much eat cake whenever you feel like it. When I was a kid, though, you only really had cake on your birthday. Although I guess I can technically make it myself now, too…

  “Is this the place?”

  Once I got back to the mansion, I avoided the attention of our guards—Mr. Kajiro and Miss Ayaume—and headed back to where I’d left my companions.

  According to my map, a nearby plaza in front of a water well was being used as a base to treat the wounded.

  The dots indicated my party members were in that area, too.

  “Master!”

  “Welcome back, sir!”

  Since they’d been rescuing people from a fire, Tama and Pochi were covered in sweat and soot when they ran up to meet me. I’d have to start a hot bath once we got back to the mansion.

  “Did you leave the injured back at the manor, master?” Arisa asked quietly.

  “Yeah, they still need to rest for a few days and heal.”

  Liza approached me with a grave expression.

  “I am terribly sorry, master. We’ve used up all the magic potions you left in my care.”

  “It’s fine,” I assured her lightly. “That’s what they were for.”

  “Master, the wartime provisions you provided have been exhausted as well, I report.”

  Behind the ever-expressionless Nana was a gaggle of children I’d never seen before.

  Their clothes were in tatters and looked like they’d been burned away in places.

  Most likely, these kids had been mortally wounded, and Nana had used her intermediate potions to save th
eir lives.

  “It’s okay. You used them to save these kids, right?”

  “Yes, master.”

  The children all sighed in relief.

  Some of them were girls, so I produced a series of spare T-shirts from Storage by way of the Garage Bag and handed them out.

  There didn’t seem to be any more-serious injuries, and all the fires had been put out. I could withdraw for the time being.

  Waving at the kids as they celebrated their new shirts, I turned away.

  At that moment, a delinquent-looking man stepped in front of me.

  “You the young nobleman who’s been handing out high-quality magic potions like candy?”

  A few fierce-looking thugs stood behind the man.

  “Who are you?” Liza demanded, sensing a violent air about the men and stepping in front.

  “Don’t you worry, missy. I’m Skopi, a humble member of the Mud Scorpions who run this little neighborhood. I heard you lot took care of our guys and some of the other fellas around here, so I came to say thanks.”

  The man held up his palms to Liza to indicate that he meant no harm.

  She stepped aside, and the man bowed his head to me and said “thank you.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. I’m Satou Pendragon, hereditary knight. I’ll accept your gracious thanks.”

  “We ain’t got any money, but if you ever need manpower, just gimme a shout. And if you’re lookin’ to get anything what can’t be mentioned in public, I can hook you up.”

  I didn’t think the latter was going to be necessary, but maybe I would call on him next time I was gathering a workforce.

  Saying farewell to Skopi of the Mud Scorpions, I headed back to the soup kitchen area, where Miss Miteruna and the others were waiting.

  “It’s certainly a lot cleaner around here.”

  “Yes, those kids worked very hard.”

  In addition to cleaning and sweeping the whole area, they’d even helped clean up from the food distribution earlier.

  Now the group of children stared at me with expectant eyes.

  “Master.”

  Arisa’s light nudge jogged my memory.

  The snacks.

  I produced some hard-baked biscuits and bags of dried meat from the soup kitchen supplies.

  “Arisa, can you gather the kids so I can hand out snacks?”

  “Okey-dokey…”

  Arisa and the other girls started rounding the kids up into lines.

  “Thanks for the help.”

  I thanked each child as I handed out the snacks.

  “Ooh, meat!”

  “Wow! This jerky smells so good!”

  “You’re right! It’s not even super salty or sour!”

  “This hard bread stuff smells good, too.”

  Some of the comments made me a little concerned about what these kids were eating normally, but all of them were jumping up and down with glee.

  A few sneaky kids who hadn’t helped clean tried to line up for snacks anyway, but the hardworking children chased them off.

  Good. It doesn’t pay to be dishonest.

  But I felt bad for them as they slouched away, so I gave them a few pieces of leftover biscuits, telling them to be sure to help next time.

  Because they got far less than the kids who had actually helped, they would probably be motivated to volunteer next time.

  “Master…”

  “What is it?”

  Arisa prodded me, pointing at one of the young maids.

  She and the others were watching enviously as the kids enjoyed their snacks.

  Even Tama and Pochi had joined them. They must be hungry, too.

  “Do you mind, Miteruna?”

  I produced some more hard biscuits, indicating the young maids with my eyes.

  The head maid, Miss Miteruna, thought for a moment, then nodded.

  “You young ladies worked hard, too, so here’s your reward.”

  I handed out the biscuits to the girls.

  “Yaaay!”

  “Smells good.”

  “Hee-hee, they look yummy…”

  “Crunchyyy?”

  “Mr. Biscuit is hard and strong, sir.”

  The biscuits went over surprisingly well.

  The young maids’ jaws weren’t as strong as the beastfolk girls’, so they filled their cheeks with biscuits like squirrels.

  “Here you go, Arisa.”

  “Huh?”

  Arisa looked surprised that she got to have one, too.

  “…Thanks.”

  After hesitating for a moment, she accepted the biscuit and munched on it happily.

  As I watched the kids eat, and Arisa licked her biscuit like candy for some reason, she turned to ask me a question.

  “Hey, master, do you know how to make fish-oil drops?”

  “Fish-oil drops?”

  “You know, like in kindergartens and stuff, those soft gummy things they hand out during snack time.”

  This sounded vaguely familiar.

  They probably used some kind of oil derived from fish liver.

  Checking the ingredients I had on hand just for kicks, I was surprised to find a match: There was a simple recipe in the Japanese writings I’d acquired at a dark auction in the old capital.

  The notes in the margins said it was a supplement for vitamins A, D, and so on.

  “Arisa, looks like I have a recipe.”

  “W-wait, really?”

  Despite being the one who had asked in the first place, Arisa seemed surprised.

  The recipe was a little time-consuming, though, and I suspected it would come out tasting and smelling very fishy if I followed it to the letter.

  “But I’ll have to revise it a bit first, so we won’t be able to start giving them out right away.”

  “That’s fine, of course. I simply wanted something for those kids, since some of them seem to have really dry skin or weak stomachs.”

  So that was why Arisa had requested the fish-oil drops.

  Deep down, Arisa was very caring and attentive. She’d probably make a great mother someday.

  “Young master, is it all right if we start breaking things down?”

  “Yes, please do.”

  Once the young maids finished eating their biscuits, Miss Miteruna directed them to break down the soup kitchen equipment and load it up in a cart.

  I’d had Miss Miteruna order the cart yesterday. Having her around to do things in my place was a big help.

  So on the way home, I posed a question.

  “Miteruna, should we hire some more maids for the mansion?”

  Raising the little maids, taking care of things around the house, and tackling odd jobs like this was probably pretty difficult.

  The suspension-less cart was painful to sit in. In the end, everyone but Lulu, the driver, was walking.

  “Young master, I couldn’t possibly increase your costs in such a—”

  “Master wouldn’t offer if he didn’t want to, so if you need the extra help, you should just say so.”

  Miss Miteruna tried to decline at first, but Arisa cut her off.

  Hired help was very cheap here, and I was making money faster than I could spend it, so I had no problem increasing our workforce.

  “Well, if at all possible, I could use someone a bit older than the other girls, perhaps someone who already knows how to cook…”

  “How about Rosie and Annie, then?”

  Lulu made a surprise suggestion from the coachman’s seat.

  “Who?”

  “The girls who always take charge and help with the soup kitchen preparations.”

  Searching the map, I looked at the pair in question with the Space Magic spell Clairvoyance as they walked down the street.

  They were around the same age as Lulu: One was very skinny, with dark skin and black hair, and the other was a brown-haired girl with a plain, honest face.

  The two of them did look familiar.

  “The girls who helped with the wa
shing and vegetable peeling the day we moved into the mansion?”

  “Yes, that’s them.”

  I certainly appreciated anyone who took the initiative to help out.

  “What do you think, Miteruna?”

  “If Young Mistress Lulu recommends them, then…”

  “But they’ll be working for you, so I’d like to prioritize your opinion.”

  Miss Miteruna looked somehow surprised at this, but she agreed to interview Rosie and Annie before making a decision.

  Once we got back to the manor, I prepared some maid outfits in the event that the two girls passed their interview.

  Instead of Miss Miteruna’s long skirt, these were knee-length maid outfits to match Lulu’s.

  The little girls who worked as the maid staff wore simple one-piece dresses and plain aprons until Miss Miteruna deemed them ready for a full maid outfit.

  “Don’t you have a tea party soon, master?”

  “Right, I should probably get going.”

  I checked the time in the AR display of my menu.

  “Sorry, Lulu, would you mind giving me a ride to the viceroy’s castle?”

  “Of course, sir. I just finished baking the pastries for your gift.”

  Lulu had been making various castellas and honey pastries to bring to the viceroy’s tea party in the galley, but she was quick to agree to my request.

  “Whenever Miss Miteruna’s free, we’ll go find Rosie and Annie to see about hiring them.”

  “Perfect, thank you.”

  I nodded to Arisa, and we set out to the viceroy’s palace-like mansion.

  “““Welcome, Master Pendragon.”””

  When I stepped out of the carriage at the viceroy’s castle’s main entrance, a big crowd of smiling staff greeted me in unison.

  Considering that on my first visit, I’d used the merchants’ parking lot and had been guided through a back entrance by a single curt servant, this was a considerable upgrade.

  “I’ll see you later, Lulu.”

  “Yes, master.”

  Lulu smiled and waved, and the servants bowed their heads and stepped into the entrance.

  “Allow me to guide you.”

  “Great, thanks.”

  An attendant with Western-style beauty guided me down a hallway with an expensive-looking rug toward the tea party, where the viceroy’s wife and company were waiting.