Today, I came to the library away from our school building.
The library is often built remotely because the school building is frequently blown away by fighting. By the way, there’s no library in the school building. It would be rough if the books inside were damaged.
「Speaking of which, does this world have printing technology?」
「Printing? What?」
「Well, methods of making books, I mean」
I followed Sophie-senpai who is a regular at the library, borrowing books, and so I asked her this and that.
Seems like printing tech already exists in this world. A lot of Kiryu prefers books, and the wealthy seem to enjoy reading so the popular works are printed and sold.
I don’t know the tech development in this world.
Military tech doesn’t develop because of the Kiryu’s existence. It’s a poor idea to spend a lot of money there when there are creatures that can fight for a living.
That’s also true in the medical field. As long as it’s not a life-threatening injury, the Kiryu and Zatsuryu can just sleep it off and they also don’t get sick. The wealthy can cure most illnesses and injuries too. Neither doctors nor medical skills develop because those who have money don’t invest in the field.
On the other hand, the field of entertainment is evolving rapidly, reminding me of the phrase, supply and demand.
From my knowledge of a world without magic, it feels like a distorted development. Maybe a hundred years from now, PCs and the Internet will come, or maybe life will be the same a thousand years from now.
We don’t know what the future holds, but I can learn about the past and the present. That’s why I came to the library.
「You should read this book when it comes to polite expressions」
「Thanks, Sophie-oneesama」
「It should be Thank you very much」
「Thank you very much」
「Good. You need more practice」
「Okay」
As you would expect, it would be a problem if I don’t know how to speak respectfully here so I borrowed a book for that. Sophie-oneesama reviewed this book so I’ll study it in the room with Lina-chan later.
When it comes to polite expressions, I can learn from the person teaching, or read and study from a book. If you’re not studying, the language of where you’re from will come out. That won’t do.
I’ve had a lot of opportunities to talk to the Kiryu in school so I need to learn polite speech and manners so I don’t look rude to them.
Although you can’t practice that in the library. But since I’m here, it would be a shame to borrow a book and leave right away. With that in mind, I looked around the shelves and picked up a few books I found interesting, And Sophie-oneesama taught me a lot of things.
She speaks in a quiet voice while pointing at the map of the kingdom and its surroundings.
Each of the four borders of the kingdom is a territory of a different power
His cool and gentle voice soaks into my ears.
「The West is the Demon Lord’s realm. The South has the Massive Forest. The East has the Sea People. And the North has the Large Mine」
That’s the four directions. Four forces surround the vast kingdom.
「The Kingdom isn’t surrounded. It’s just the result」
If we unravel the long history, we’ll find a different answer.
「The Kingdom just expanded. We took all the land we could get, defeated those who stood in the way, and made this kingdom our territory」
It started in two places, the royal capital and the Academy City. Starting from the two places. The surrounding territories were defeated, and the Kiryu defeated the monsters. The Kingdom’s territory grew and grew.
「As a result of the expansion, they found enemies they couldn’t defeat. And those are the four borders」
They beat all the enemies they could, and those they couldn’t have remained. That’s why it looks like we’re surrounded by four forces from all directions.
Inside the military border is the kingdom, and outside is the enemy. That’s the place where the Kiryu and Zatsuryu soldiers fight for their lives.
When Lina-chan and I graduate, perhaps we’ll join the war there. I should keep that in mind.
■■■
A Zatsuryu in the Free Knights guild regrets why he had not lived more seriously. “It wasn’t supposed to end like this” “It wasn’t supposed to be like this”
The man wasn’t particularly bright at the soldier’s school. He didn’t stand out, he didn’t drop out, and he didn’t screw up enough to become a target for the bullies.
Bullying at the soldier school is miserable. It’s better if you become a sandbag. Most of them were crushed in various ways, being forced to fight in a duel and get castrated if they lost, taking on the role of a woman.
If they had money, they could’ve gone for a prostitute, but these poor men were gathered from the rural areas and came here penniless, so they had no money to spend on entertainment. Therefore, they make the weak into a woman and share them around. That’s the world of the Zatsuryu’s soldier school.
After graduating from such a hellish school he was sent as a soldier to the West Frontlines.
The Kiryu is the main role of the battlefield, but of course, that doesn’t mean that there would be no Zatsuryu present. The Kiryu’s magic isn’t infinite, and if the battle time is prolonged they’ll fail due to exhaustion.
It’s necessary to conduct recon missions, and supply missions, preserving the Kiryu. If they’re close to defeat, you need to protect them using your body as a shield. It’s the Zatsuryu’s job to withdraw them.
Many times, they’ve wondered if they’ve been good enough, they wouldn’t have been placed on the frontlines.
They could’ve been deployed as a soldier in a safer domestic city, or if they were smart, they could’ve found a way to be employed as a bureaucrat.
In reality, the man was in a situation where he was used as a flesh wall of a discarded pawn and survived death so many times until the conscription period ended.
Later, when asked if wanted to continue to be a soldier, the man quit the front lines.
He wanted an easier, less life-threatening job. A free job where nobody forces him.
So the man knocked on the door of the Free Knights Guild, registered at Silver Rank, and began a job of collecting materials in the Monster Area.
The academy town was far from the frontlines. Even though it’s a student, the Kiryu he’s accompanying has no problem even if they step in deeper in the woods.
It was supposed to be a safe job with lots of rewards.
And yet.
「Why is there a monster who could beat a Kiryu in here?!」
He fled from the frontlines. He didn’t want to meet those monsters, that’s why he ran all the way here.
In front of the man is a bloody Kiryu boy who collapsed
A huge monster with purple magic.
A high-ranking monster with attribute magic, only a handful of those exist.
It was unfortunate that they encountered a strong enemy.