Chapter 5:
Kynemia, staring back at her vassals with a completely blank expression, turned bright red.
"This isn't it..."
It was perfect in my head!
Her vassals couldn't hide their pity, gaping at her openly.
Shame washed over her from head to toe.
"Ugh... Should I just, like, die and reincarnate as something else?"
Her eyes welled up with tears, and a few escaped because her knees were aching terribly.
Stuck there, unable to stand or even speak, one of those tears finally spilled over.
Then, the vassals began shaking their heads and waving their arms frantically.
"No, it's alright, Grand Duchess...!"
"Yes. We saw nothing, Grand Duchess!"
"Truly. We didn't see a thing!"
Unwilling to crush the spirit of the child trying to become a proper Grand Duchess, the vassals did everything they could to pretend it had never happened.
Kynemia quickly wiped away her tears with the back of her hand.
"...Really?"
"Yes, yes."
Should I start over?
It seemed like the coast was clear enough to try again. A small smile began to form on Kynemia's lips.
Damn, this power!
Just as Kynemia, feeling the rush of authority, was about to stand, Ayan crept up, scooped her up by her armpits, and lifted her clean off the ground.
"...?!"
Kynemia's eyes widened.
Ayan simply deposited Kynemia onto the chair, oblivious to the surprise of others. Then, acting as if he had no idea what had just transpired, he said,
"Didn't think you could make it up there by yourself."
"Ah...."
The vassals could be heard sighing again, feeling sorry for her.
Kynemia buried her face in her hands.
Witnessing Kynemia's distress, the vassals found their courage and began to berate Ayan.
"The Grand Duchess could have sat down on her own!"
"The Grand Duchess didn't fall! She merely sat down!"
"That's right! Her legs are just a bit short!"
"You jerk! You rude little punk! You son of a gun! The Grand Duchess might be as tiny as a mouse turd right now, but she'll drink her milk and grow up bigger and taller than you!"
"Mouse turd? Are you kidding me? The Grand Duchess is a fairy! She just hasn't finished transforming into a human yet; that's why she's a little shorter than average!"
"I don't care how cute and tiny the Grand Duchess is, what do you mean, fairy? Get real!"
"Only people with good hearts can see a fairy's wings! That's why you can't see them!"
"Whoa, are you calling me evil now?!"
"Duh! You can't see the fairy's wings!"
Of course, this only added to her embarrassment.
While the vassals were making such a commotion, Kynemia cried a little.
"...Next item on the agenda. Three unidentified flying objects, believed to be monsters, have been discovered near the coast."
It took a good 15 minutes for Kynemia and her vassals to calm down.
During that time, Kynemia was having thoughts like, *I want to die,* Maybe I should just jump out the window, and Am I really that short? She finally pulled herself together and, with a serious tone, instructed them to sit down again. Only after all the vassals were seated did the meeting truly begin.
"Is that so?"
"Yes. The flying objects were shot down immediately upon discovery by the archers on standby. Fortunately, there were no casualties and no damage to the village. We are currently investigating whether a new dungeon has appeared nearby."
Monsters... Kynemia's thoughts drifted.
Monsters were beings transformed from spirits or divine beasts, and they instinctively attacked villages and harmed people. However, they were also valuable prey for those with power, because monster byproducts could be used to make money, weapons, and armor.
Come to think of it, they don't use monsters as crafting materials yet, do they? In the original story, they start using them a few years later...
At that moment, Count Dennis, noticing Kynemia's distraction, shot a sharp glare at Baron Romeo. Baron Romeo nodded in acknowledgement.
"Flying objects are things that fly like this, Your Highness."
Baron Romeo spread his arms and flapped them like wings, maintaining a serious expression.
"...?"
"Flap, flap. You've seen birds, right? Like birds, but much bigger and nastier."
He flapped his wings more vigorously upon seeing Kynemia stiffen. When there was still no reaction from her, he enlisted the help of the other vassals. Then, everyone started flapping their wings.
They were all handsome, older men, but watching four middle-aged men flapping their arms like some bizarre performance art wasn't exactly pleasant.
Kynemia, utterly bewildered, wore a blank expression until Ayan, who had been observing the spectacle, whispered to her.
"They all look insane. Should I just kill them?"
"N-no, it's a misunderstanding."
The vassals weren't crazy; they were just trying very hard. Probably...
"So, what should we do with those... flappy things we caught?"
"Monster carcasses are sold to merchants."
"Romeo, you can stop flying now."
"Roger, coming down."
Baron Romeo lowered his arms.
"Come to think of it, isn't it time to replace the weaponry?"
At Count Dennis's question, Baron Romeo nodded.
"Yes, that's right. I will submit the budget proposal soon."
"The monster poison is consuming a significant portion of the budget."
"It can't be helped. It's a poison that melts even iron."
Count Brune shook his head.
The blood of monsters, which attacked villages at any time, was entirely poisonous. And that poison easily melted iron, necessitating frequent replacement of weapons and armor.
Hmm, Kynemia looked at the sighing vassals and rolled her eyes.
Her deceased father had saved up a considerable amount of money—but if the budget continued to drain like this, the territory would become impoverished. They wouldn't be able to procure new weaponry, and they wouldn't be able to respond effectively to monster attacks.
Her mind became clouded and dark.
Angry territory residents.
Lyon's villainess.
Resentment.
Guillotine.
Snip—
Crap! Kynemia clenched her fist.
I have to upgrade...!
They needed weaponry to catch monsters, but not ordinary weapons. According to her memories of the original story, those with the power and skill to process monster carcasses would appear later.
First of all, you need aura to process monsters.
Even if one managed to cultivate aura after painstaking effort, they usually chose the path of a knight, not a blacksmith. Moreover, considerable skill was required to craft high-quality products.
However.
If I have Behemoth...!
Behemoth referred to two weapon merchants who wandered the northern battlefields two years later. In the story, Behemoth were described as the best of the best, capable of handling any mineral. They were the ones who crafted swords for the protagonist's party.
The reason why Behemoth, who possessed such exceptional technical skills, became weapon merchants wandering the battlefields was due to a false accusation. They were barely making a living by taking commissions in a rural village when they were falsely accused of murder. They fled to the snowy fields on the northern border of the empire and settled there...
I should bring them in now.
If she could recruit Behemoth before they were falsely accused, the territory would be secure with superior weaponry, and the budget wouldn't be depleted.
The future of resentment and murder will be safe, too!
Kynemia, having made up her mind, smiled brightly and met the vassals' eyes.
"...Hmm."
Then she rolled her eyes again.
What should I say?
Should she say she was going to bring in two unidentified women to make weapons? If they asked how she knew them, saying, "Well, you see, they're women who appeared in a book I read in my past life," obviously wouldn't work.
"Hmm...."
As Kynemia hummed and hawed, unsure of what to say, the vassals clenched their fists, as if cheering her on.
"Crap!"
No! Stop it! You're making it worse!
But the vassals, completely oblivious to Kynemia's inner turmoil, even started pumping their fists in the air.
"Ugh, stop it! You're distracting me!”
