Good luck, everyone!
　Prince Leonard greets them politely.
'My pleasure, Prince Leonard,'
　Fujiyan replies with a smile.

　This is Fujiyan's airship, the St. Canon.
　This is the second time I've boarded the ship, so I'm used to it.
　However, the air is a little different this time around.

''Thank you for taking the trouble to come to a place like this...''
I'll watch your step.
　Chris and Nina, the fiancé of the ship's owner, are humbled.
　That person.

'You needn't bother me,'
　The owner of that beautiful voice is the first princess of this country and priestess of the water goddess, Lady Sophia.
　Why is she here--.

　Last night.

'Princess Sophia, we're heading to the Land of the Sun in Fujiyan's airship, would you like to come along for the ride?
　But I'm pretty sure the royals had a flying boat.
　I thought they were probably going separately.
　I invited them to come along, just in case.

"I'll go with you.
What?
I'm going to get ready. I won't forgive you if you leave me behind.
　After saying that, Princess Sophia went back to her room.
　Ah, that?　You're not gonna say no?

　Yes, it's my fault.
　I'm sorry, Chris and Nina.


　A large number of water knights are lined up on the deck of the normally spacious ship.
　It's the old man, the returning guardian knight, who is in command of them.
　Their duty, of course, is to escort Princess Sophia and Prince Leonard.
　Will they be upright and immobile the whole time?　It's tough.

　I leaned against the railing of the airship and looked out at the dwindling size of the royal city of Horne.
　Roses Castle is beautiful in the sunshine.
　When I first came here, I had planned to leave right away, but now that I'm here, I'm going to miss it.

'Makoto-san, these airships are fast. Much faster than the royal ones!''
　The one who spoke to me was Prince Leonard.
　Instead of his usual royal attire, he was dressed in a slightly rough traveling outfit.
　Even so, there's an elegance in the air that can't be hidden.
　It's very picturesque.

　I asked him something that had been on my mind.
Prince Leonard. Was it because I became a brave man that the two of you are going together this time?
'Yes. One of the purposes is to announce the birth of a new hero to the other countries. The other thing we need to do is to tell them about the threat of the Demon Race and the Serpent Order. I've already sent this information through transmission magic, but for the details, it's easier to negotiate something directly.
Oh, yeah.
　It's politics.
　Here Prince Leonard lowers his voice.

'However, my reading is that your sister is trying to dispel the rumors of the example.
The rumor?
Rumor has it that the brave Lord of Light and his sister are on an unusual bond.
Oh, that one?
　I'm pretty sure I heard that story from Fujiyan.
　What a ridiculous bastard to be pressed by the princesses of two countries!　I remembered that I was indignant.

'What's the real story?'
It's nothing to do with that. That was a rumor that my mother spread as an insinuation to the Land of the Sun. I heard that she was frustrated because she had been captured by the brave men of light.... It was a great inconvenience for your sister.
It's tough.
　The bruises between countries.
　Here Prince Leonard smiles.

''In the water country, Makoto-san has become a brave man, so your sister is safe.
'I'm a rookie hero. I'm not sure I'll ever live up to your expectations.
　I don't want to be asked to do the same thing as Sakurai-kun, who crushed the abomination dragon with a single blow.

''Leo. What are you talking about?
　Whoa, the rumored princess.
'No, whatever...' 'It's a nice breeze.
　We both cheated.

''....I see. By the way, brave Makoto. Do you remember what I told you yesterday about the Land of the Sun?
　Princess Sophia has been teaching me a lot about this world.
　Yesterday, she was explaining to me about the country of the sun that we are heading to.

''Well, as I recall, there are the 'Four Great Nobles' that you can't go against?'''
　Princess Sophia has taught me a memory. I'm sure.

　The Rowlands of the East.
　The Whitehorse family of the west.
　The Belizean House of the South
　The Ballantines of the North

　The four of them and the Highland Royal Family together are said to be called the Five Saints.
　The Land of the Sun revolves around the Five Holy Nobles.

''Not to mention the Highland Royal Family, but as for the remaining four nobles, they are nobles with more financial and military power than the Roses Royal Family.
...Really?
　Wow, the Land of the Sun.
　A simple calculation shows that it's five times more powerful than the Water State.

"....because the Water Country is in fact like a vassal state of the Sun Country.
　Prince Leonard nodded emphatically.
'Leo. What will you do with that kind of awareness? All you have to do is look them in the eye eventually.
　She remains resolute, Princess Sophia.

　I wonder.
　I feel a sadness like a diplomat of a weak country struggling to make ends meet....
　Is being a brave man of the Water Country quite hard if you are?

Really? You just figured that out?
　Mr. Noah. Did you know?
You're going to choose the higher difficulty level anyway, right?
　Well, yeah.
(And you get terribly upset when I spoil things.)
　.... they know.
　It's true that in games, I hate looking at strategy books and wikis first.
　So it's okay then.

"You're a brave man, aren't you?　What's going on?
No, anything...
Don't worry about it.
　Princess Sophia told me to tell herself.
　I want to hear the details, but it's hard to ask the princess.
　I'll have to ask someone else later.


　◇

　About half a day after we left the Horn...

Good job, old man.
　I handed him the drink I had brought from the ship's mess hall.
'Oh, brave lord. 'Thank you, sir, but I'm on duty.'
　The serious old man will say no.

'Yes, gentlemen. Good work!
It's cold.
　Lucy and Sa-san have helped me distribute drinks and snacks to the knights.
　They were brought in by Fujiyan, who said he would be on guard duty all the time.
　That's what's so thoughtful.

See, Princess Sofia said it was okay to relax a bit.
Well that's not good enough.
　The old man takes the drink.
"Isn't this the alcohol you're drinking?
Hey, Cheers!
Oh, hey!　I am on duty...
I don't need it.
　I leaned back against the wall and sipped on the thin fruit wine.

"Hey, by the way, I've got a question for you.
...What is it?
　The old man seems to have given up and is ready to join the drinking party.

'I heard Prince Leonard say at noon that the Water Country is like a vassal state of the Sun Country, is it true?
...it's
　The old man's expression darkens.

''The Water Kingdom's military power is weak. The other day, the Great Labyrinth's defeat of the Abominable Dragon, as well as the suppression of the rebellion that the Fiendish tribe had in the past, would not have been possible without the power of the Sun Nation....... Our country is relying on the Sun Nation for its military strength...
I see.
'Our army was 30,000 at best. Prince Leonard was the only brave man in the country. Now we have Lord Makoto in our midst. By comparison, the army of the Land of the Sun has five brave men in a force of over 300,000.
　The disparity is awful.
　It's just that it's like me and my classmates and... well, it's not even close over there.

Hey, what's the matter with you?
True, I've already distributed them.
　Saasan and Lucy also came.

Talk about an uphill battle in this world.
"?
　Sa-san and Lucy nodded their heads.
　Sakurai-kun and Princess Noel are the heads of those superpowers?
　That's not true.

　Then I went along with the old man's complaints for a while.
　I've heard that Princess Sophia was even more of an angel when she was a child.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about it.
　The old man looks stressed out, too.　

　I drank down my sweet cocktail.

　◇

　--Two days later.

"So that's Sinfonia, the capital of the Sun Nation...
Oh my God I've never been here before.
　Sa-san and Lucy are very excited.
　Of course, me too.

'You're near the ocean, aren't you?'
　The royal capital of the Land of the Sun was located near the mouth of a large river that flows to the shores of the continent.
　Is this what Manhattan in America looks like?

What's that, Fujiyan?
That's a stone statue of Abel, the savior of the world.
Wow, you're really big.
　A huge chalk-white stone statue can be seen.
　On a high pedestal, the figure holds up a sword in its right hand.
It's like the Statue of Liberty.
I felt the same way the first time I saw it.
　I feel like I'm on a school trip with Fujiyan and Sa-san next to me.
　I'm getting excited.

'What do you mean?　You are in the presence of Princess Sophia, Princess of the Water Country!
　The old man is struggling with the gatekeeper.
But ... it's currently difficult to get in and out of the kingdom because a vicious criminal has escaped. Even though he's a member of the royal family, we can't afford not to checkpoint him...
　I'm hearing something very disturbing.

''Fujiyan, do you think the escaped criminal is a demon race?
　It reminds me of what Princess Sophia told me about their next terrorist target being the royal capital of the Land of the Sun.
''Umm... let's see.''
　Fujiyan is staring at the gatekeepers.
It looks like she is using her "mind reading" skill.

No.........it seems that the one who escaped is the "Moon Priestess".
...What?
　A priestess is a criminal?

'Didn't I tell you before?　The priestesses of Raphiloig, the Land of Perdition, are cursed priestesses. She is said to be the reincarnation of the witch of misfortune who betrayed mankind a thousand years ago. I heard that the Moon Priestess was defeated before the resurrection of the Great Demon Lord. It seems that she has escaped.
Just because your ancestors did something bad, they're going to be defeated?
''For what it's worth, I heard that the current Moon Priestess also led the criminals and demon tribe of Rafiroig to do evil things. It seems that the Order of the Sun has cracked down on them.
Well that's disturbing.
　Is he like a mafia boss or something?
　Not my problem.
　What with the checkpoint over and done with, we went through the big front gate.

You're awesome! It's like Shibuya.
　Sa-san, only me and Fujiyan know what that line means.
　We walked out onto the main street, which was overflowing with people.

　Behind us were two huge structures that didn't look like they were from another world.

''The one on the right is the largest building on the continent, the 'Highland Castle'.
　Princess Sophia explains.
　Ordinary houses are at most two stories high.
　The big ones are about three stories high, while the Highland Castle is up to how many stories?
　I wondered how many stories it could rival the buildings of the world we were in.

　Its appearance is majestic.
　It should be so far away, but it looks like a swan on the wing, overwhelming all who see it.
　Roses Castle was beautiful, but Highland Castle is full of majesty.

'That's the Cathedral of Our Lady of Anna on the left, isn't it?
　Chris continues.
　There is a building with a majestic presence that is different from the Highland Castle.
　It reminded me of the Sagrada Familia I saw on TV in the past.
　There was a huge church-like building with a series of sky-piercing towers standing in a row.

The Highlander king in his castle. The Highlander King in his castle and the Pope in his cathedral. These two men reign as the head of the royal city.
　Fujiyan summarized.
　Huh?　There are two heads?

I'll tell you the details later. First, let's go to the inn we're staying at today.
　Fujiyan takes the lead and leads everyone in.

''Ladies and gentlemen ... we are...''
　Princess Sophia called out to me.
'Oh, I'm sorry. Lady Sophia, Lady Leonard is in the First Ward.
Yes. You're all in the Third Ward.
　Princess Sophia and Prince Leonard headed in the other direction with their guards in tow.　

　Apparently, they're not staying at the same place.
　Since we came together, why don't we stay at the same place?

''Tacky-dono. In Sinfonia, the royal capital, the city where you can stay is determined by your status.

　District 1 ... the royal family.
　District 2 ... the clergy.
　District 3 ... the nobility.
　Wards 4-6 ... commoners of the human race.
　The Seventh and Eighth Wards ... beastmen, elves, dwarves and other subhumans.
　The Ninth District ... the lowest of the low (ex-criminals, mafia, etc.)

　This is how they are divided.

''So Fujiyan is the third district because he became an aristocrat.
Well that's the way it is, isn't it?
　The city is big, but it's stuffy.
　I'd rather be in water country.

Hey, look, look, look. - Wow, a lot of shops.
　Lucy and Mr. Saasan were shopping in the window, wandering around.

'Fujiyan, what ward is this right outside the main gate?
That's the sixth district. The closer we get to the castle, the higher the status of the inhabitants.
Hmm.
　So, you mean that the area below the Seventh Ward is further away from the King's City?
　Where would it be?

　From the main gate, the main street stretches out to the royal castle.
　Its construction is similar to Roses.
　However, it doesn't lead straight to the castle, but there is a huge gate on the way.
　Maybe that's what separates each ward?

　Walk down Main Street with everyone.
　Go look at McAllen, Horn, Sinfonia.

Excuse me.
　This is the first time in a different world that I've seen crowds of people that seem to bump into each other.
　How many people are there in the population?
　It's just that I feel a little bit different...

Not enough elves and beastmen.
　Sa-san murmurs.
　That's right, unlike McAllen and Horne, the only people passing by are the human race and we can hardly see any other races.
'It's because this is the Sixth Ward, a commoner's town.
　Lucy says boringly.

'Is the Land of the Sun a country with a strict status system, La.......'
　Nina says with a little shrug, too.
'Nina, you don't have to worry about it. Keep your chest up.
　Chris patted Nina on the back.

'Mister Tuckey, let's go to the inn first,'
　Look at Fujiyan's indescribable face.
''Yeah, it's been a long journey. Let's rest at the inn.
　It's a country that seems to have a lot going on.
　With that in mind.

　We passed through the first city gate and proceeded to the next ward.