Let me get my story straight.

　I said.

　Princess Iris is Alice's reincarnated body.
That Rodelia Koofi of the Grail Trading Company is a descendant of the "Fira Village".
　And that the people in the village had been anticipating and preparing for my meeting with Alice.

　Because all at once, unexpected information came into my head.

'First of all, we know that Princess Iris is Alice's reincarnated body.

　Princess Iris nodded at my words.

　I stopped being respectful.
　After consulting with you, I've decided to speak from the standpoint of my previous life here.

'Maybe this is the right thing to do.
'Yes. And Yuki-sama is the reincarnation of 'My Lord', Dean-Nosferatu-sama, right?
Yes, but....

　I held my forehead.
　Lyle, Remilia and Alice are up to no good.
　There's no way they're going to reincarnate Alice a year after I'm dead.

'I hope Alice wasn't in pain.
...What?
''To reincarnate, you need to pierce your body with the holy sword, right? Didn't it hurt?
That's...right.

　Princess Iris put her hand on her chest as if she were searching for a memory.

'....It probably hurt.
Yeah.
But I don't think that pain was anything compared to the chest pain I felt when I found out that 'My Lord' was dead.

　Saying that, Princess Iris took my hand in hers again.
　Roderina is looking at us like this while she's kneeling.
　She looks so happy.

"I just remembered. The surname is Kufi, you are descended from the craftsman Gates-Kufi, right?
'That's my lord. How well you know your ancestors.
I won't forget my family. That's right, he was good at math. He was so good at math that he even set up this business.

　Awesome, Gates.
　You were strong and quick-witted.
　You were an easy child to deal with for me, but you ended up building a business like this.
　I would have loved to have seen the process. I would have loved to have praised you.

"Can I compliment you instead of Gates? Lauderia.
It's a pleasure.
Can I pat your head?
You're welcome.
Great. I'm surprised you didn't take care of the Gates' business.

　I nudged Rodelia's head.
　Gates was happy to do this.

　He was smart, but he was so weak. When Lyle took Remilia from me, he came crying to me, too.

"So ... does His Highness Iris remember what happened after I died?
'Ha, yes. It's the closest thing I have to a memory.
'Then tell me. Rodelia, tell me as much as you know about what happened after Alice used the holy sword.
Yes, sir.
Good.

　I take my jacket and use it as a cushion (zabuton) and sit down on the basement floor.
　With a wave of my hand, I motioned to Rodelia to sit down as well.
　Iris also took off her robe and just like that──.

'I don't think you should try to sit on my lap (knee), though!
Excuse me?

　Princess Iris stands up with a bright red face.

''........Oh, that?　It's funny. I didn't mean to do that.
Could it be that you're being dragged into Alice's memory?
Yes. It's my body.
Well I don't mind, but what do I do?
Today!

　With that, Princess Iris laid her robe on the floor and sat down next to (and next to) me.
　Thinking that she was Alice, I felt uncomfortable.
　Alice always sat on my lap........

''What Roderia-sama knows about is the lore from your ancestors, right?
Yes. So I'm just sketchy about it.

　Rhoderia looked at me.

But my parents have been telling me about My Lord since I was a kid.
Is that so?
'Yes. Once upon a time, there was a great man named My Lord," is a folk tale that has been told by the Kufi family. The last part of the story is 'The Kufi family was actually the vassals of My Lord.
"...don't talk about people in the past...
I want to hear it too. That story.

　Iris is laughing too, holding her mouth.

''But ... well ... yes. Now I'm going to tell you how I came to be reborn with the Holy Sword.

　Princess Iris sat back down with her knees together, holding her chest.

　Then she started talking about memories of her previous life...




　The story of Princess Iris.



　After My Lord died, I couldn't get up for a while.
　No.........it wasn't the aftereffects of the death mark disease.
　It's because I stopped eating since I heard that my father - Lyle killed My Lord.

　Don't be ridiculous........?
　.........yes. You're right.

　But at that time, I thought that My Lord was really dead.
　So, as it was, I was going to follow Mylord, too.

　I knew it wasn't my father's fault.
The only way to save the village from the Sanctuary Church was for my father to kill Mylord with his own hands.
　We also knew that this was the will of My Lord.
　But........my body didn't listen to me.

　When I woke up in the morning and realized that My Lord was gone, it was no good.
　It was as if I was already dead and I was quietly looking down at my body, those were the days.

　Things changed after my father Lyle was appointed as a 'hero' by the 'Sanctuary Church'.
　My father was given the Holy Sword as a reward for defeating My Lord.
　Then my father Lyle and my mother Lemilia began to examine the holy sword together.
　They said, "Please help us to study it.

Help us to study the holy sword.
"Maybe ... if we have made the right assumption...
"You might be able to see My Lord again.

　...............

　
　Because My Lord doesn't lie to us. If he said "again", then he has the means to do so.
　To make sure of that, my parents decided to sneak into the 'Sanctuary Church'.

　After hearing that story, Alice jumped out of bed.
　It's cash, really.
　My body was weak, but that didn't matter.

　I started to eat. Of course, it was after my illness, so I did what Mylord told me to do, chewing slowly and swallowing little by little - and then I rushed to help my father and mother with their research.

　Thanks to Mylord, my blood was also close to the 'Myster Blood'.
　By using it, I was able to help my research more efficiently.

　That's how Lyle and Remilia found out.
　That the Holy Sword has the power to 'reincarnate righteous things'.
　That that power is left for one more time.
　That if I used it, I would be able to reincarnate in the same time as My Lord.

　My father and mother asked me.

''What would you do if you could see My Lord?''

　I replied, 'I'd do whatever it takes.

'We would do everything in our power to see him'.

　I had already made up my mind long ago.
　I will use the holy sword to reincarnate myself.

　My parents gave me permission to do it.
　I guess I didn't have a choice.
　They had seen me stop eating after the death of My Lord, and they had been watching me for a long time.
　That's why I think they wanted to give me a chance to reincarnate.

　After that, because of the outbreak of the second "Death Crest Disease", it was a bit late, but I - Alice Carmine - used the holy sword on myself safely.
　And now, here we are, Yuki-sama.......sitting next to My Lord.

　Oh yes, my sister was born safely, right?
　My Lord, I'm sure you've been worried about that.　The death crest disease is going around, and they're worried about whether or not my mother's baby will be born safely.

　It seemed to be a little bit infected, but we managed it using Alice's blood and the power of purification that my parents learned from My Lord.
　Her name is Mia. She was a cute little girl.

　When they sent me away, they said.
　When they sent me off, they said, "If you see My Lord in the future, you should visit the coat of arms of Bats and the Old Castle.
　I didn't understand at the time, but this is what they meant.

　The people of the village set up a business association and passed it on to the future.
　In this way, they would pass on the village's heritage to my lord.
　As a symbol of this, they needed to have a crest of "The Bat and the Old Castle".

　Then, I got a message from my parents to My Lord.

　From his father Lyle - well, sorry for the foul mouth........


"Don't play around with me, you son of a b*tc*! You've put the trauma of killing my family in my daughter's life. You should take responsibility for taking care of my daughter. She's not going to marry anywhere but you anyway!

　That's right.


　From your mother, Remilia.


.......... "Sanctuary Church". I won't allow that to happen to My Lord because of you guys. I'll never forgive you. I won't leave the Sanctuary Church until the time when My Lord and Alice are reincarnated. I will wipe it out without a shadow of a doubt while I'm still alive.

　I'm sorry, sir.

　I'm sorry. My mother loved My Lord too.


　That's about all I can remember now.

　Finally Yuki-sama.............my lord.
　I'm still a little confused about the fact that I am Iris ... and Alice.

　But the feeling is real.

　I've missed........so much.......I've missed you.
　My Lord Yuki-sama Dean-sama my, my Lord.

　...my lord my lord my lord, you idiot.

　How many tears did you think I cried when you died without me?

　Baka, my lord, baka but I missed you. I missed you so much...





　From Yuki's point of view...



　Princess Iris's story - the last one was in tears.
　Eventually, she just started crying, and the next thing I knew she was nuzzling her face into my lap.

　Just like Alice always did when she cried 200 years ago.

'Don't ... don't cry, Alice. No Iris. You're a princess now, aren't you?
"Ugh, shut up. I'm Alice now.
'Rhodelia's going to laugh at you, aren't you?
It's okay. Even Ms. Rodelia is in tears...

　It was.
　From a while ago, Rodelia is also wiping away tears with her handkerchief.
　For her, it's a story about her ancestors, about a legend she's been told all along.
　It's no wonder she's in tears.

'Here's the story I've been hearing for generations. Since it is a legend, please forgive me if it is vague in some respects.

　Rodelia took a deep breath and then began to speak.

'After Alice-Carmine's departure, it is believed that the 'Feela Village' was split into two groups.
'Two groups?　Did you have a falling out?
'No, sir. We were very close in that village. We just had a different agenda.
"Purpose.
Yes. The 'Let's make assets for the reincarnated My Lord and Alice' group and the 'Let's infiltrate the Sanctuary Church and destroy it from the inside' group, right?
Really?
'Seriously. My parents called them the 'merchant group' and the 'infiltration group'.
'So, the 'Grail Trading Company' where Rodelia is the general manager wasn't created by Gale alone...'
'Yes, sir. This trade association was started by a group of people who were skilled in business in "Fira Village". So that whenever My Lord and Alice are reincarnated, they can take care of them.
　Lyle and Remilia and the other 'infiltrators' rose to high positions while pretending to follow the 'Sanctuary Church'. This 'Authentication Ancient Artifact' was also passed from them to their ancestors.
I have a question.

　I held up my hand and stopped Rhodelia from talking.

'I mean, it's impossible. I can still understand why Gale and the other 'merchant factions' would create a trade association. Commerce is a matter of time, and if you go with the current, it's possible to achieve results. But is an 'infiltration group' going to be able to join the 'Sanctuary Church' and rise through the ranks so easily?　The 'Sanctuary Church' would have been full of the best and brightest people in the world, regardless of their personalities and ideas, right?
.....
What did I say?
No. No, I'm glad. My Lord is just as they say he is.

　Lauderia laughed and looked at Iris.

'Right. 'Your Highness Iris,'
Yes, sir. Totally, I don't think My Lord knows how amazing he is.

　Iris said, wiping away her tears.
　I don't know when you decided to occupy my lap, though.

''My Lord saved 'Feela Village' from the 'Deathprint Disease', didn't he?
And that's not all. Not only that, but in the 150 years since My Lord came to Fira Village, not a single person in the village has died of starvation.

　Princess Iris's line was taken over by Rodelia.

''It's a legend, but My Lord used to help sick children with his 'cleansing' ability. Thanks to this, there were almost no child deaths in the village of Fira. My Lords and messengers kill the demons around them, so the villagers are not attacked. In other words, the villagers were able to live a quiet life and live a natural life.
'Maybe ... there aren't many villages like that, even today, are there?　Yuki-sama.

Is that so?

　Roderia and Iris nodded at my words, kokku kokku.

"To begin with, I heard that Mylord taught the villagers the results of his research into magic, farming and hunting techniques, and how to defeat demons.
'Yeah. Because if you can't be taught by someone else, you won't understand it.

The fact that the villagers can live a natural life means that this knowledge will certainly be passed on to the next generation, right?
　Moreover, while the literacy rate in the royal capital at that time was 30%, it was 100% in Fira Village. All of them had been educated by the immortal sorcerer, My Lord, for 150 years.
　The end result of that was a genius named Lyle and Remilia.

　Lauderia chuckled and

I mean, there are people in the "Fira Village" who are better than the priests and priestesses of the "Sanctuary Church", you know.
''What do you think would happen if my father and mother, who were exceptionally talented among them, obtained knowledge of 'Ancient Artifacts' and 'Ancient Magic'?

　Lyle with his hard work genius and Remilia with her natural genius.
　When they obtain the knowledge of Ancient Artifacts and Ancient Magic...

It's going to be pretty bad.
On top of that, My Lord's death gave them the opportunity to get into the bosom of the Sanctuary Church. My mother and father would not have wasted it.
'In the first place, Lyle and the others seem to have analyzed the secrets of the Holy Sword in less than a year...'

　I looked at Rhodelia.

'What happened to those guys after they infiltrated the 'Sanctuary Church' is not left in the 'lore'?
Unfortunately,

　Rodelia shook her head.

'After the war that followed, they lost contact with the 'infiltrators'.
But that was 200 years ago.

　Lyle and Remilia would have certainly caused the "Sanctuary Church" to collapse internally.
　Moreover, the Sanctuary Church is not wary of Lyle's group.

　To the church's priests, Lyle is the hero who killed the evil 'Immortal Magician'. That's why they also gave him the Holy Sword and welcomed him into the 'Sanctuary Church'.
　If Lyle and the others had tried to crush such an unsuspecting opponent.......

　This is no good. The Church of the Sanctuary doesn't stand a chance. No.

Could this be... could this be one of the reasons why the Sanctuary Church was so complacent...?

　I don't know the details right now.
　But........Lyle, Remilia you guys are too reckless.
　Aside from the reincarnated Alice, what happened to her daughter Mia?
　I'm sure she's safe and sound, and she's still in the blood until this generation. I'm not going to accept anything if the blood is gone.

　Okay...
　A man died peacefully, and now he's dead. It's a bummer, isn't it?

And that's all I have to say.

　Saying that, Rodelia concluded her story.

''I would actually like to tell you about the origins of the Chamber of Commerce, but.......I can't keep His Highness Iris for too long, you know.
'I'll give Rhodelia my errand boy later,'
"The errand boy?　Are you a bat, by any chance?
Yeah. I use it in this life too. If you're the general manager of the Chamber of Commerce in The Bat and the Old Castle, you won't feel any different with a bat by your side. The messenger will be briefly informed of the situation. Use him as a liaison with me.
I'm sorry, sir.

　Rhodelia knelt down again, facing me.

''The Grail Company'' and Roderea-Kufi will provide you with full support for the life of My Lord in this life. If you need any money or have any inconveniences in your life, please feel free to contact us.
I'm counting on you. And Iris your highness.
Yes!
Is it safe for Your Highness to have my messenger?
Yes, I'm fine, sir!　I'll take care of it!　Absolutely!
All right. Well, I'll send it to you later as a liaison. Tell me the location of the house and the rooms.
Oh, um!　Yuki-sama!

　Suddenly, Princess Iris took my hand.

''What will happen to your promise to Alice?''
I promise you that...
Yes. That one.
You mean when he was curing 'shimoniasis'?
Are you purposely avoiding specific words?
When you grow up, you're gonna make Alice my wife, right?

　Boku.

　Princess Iris' face turned bright red.

''Ha, yes ... yes ...''
But you're not a grown-up yet, are you?
'It's been 200 years, so why not?'
Alice may be fine with that, but how does Princess Iris feel?
"Well Iris you were right Odette you have helped me twice. I think I'm in love with Yuki-sama at first sight...
Well, that's okay. I was going to protect Alice's descendants for the rest of their lives anyway, and even more so with the reincarnated Alice. If you're going to stay with them and protect them forever, you might as well make them your wife.
'Light!　It's very light, Yuki.　No....it's nice to hear that you're going to protect me for the rest of my life.
'No, because I changed Alice's grandparents' diapers once.　I don't want to be asked to feel that way about its offspring right away.
''That's something only an Immortal My Lord could have said...''

　Me and Princess Iris nodded our heads.
　Then we looked at each other and gushed.

　Well, there's no hurry, is there?
　I just reunited with Alice, and Princess Iris just got her memories of her previous life back.
　Yuki-Grossaria is 13 years old, and there's no guarantee that she won't feel "that way" from now on.
　We have time. Let's take our time.

''According to the royal family's tradition, His Highness Iris can only marry at the age of 15, right?

　Rodería, who had been watching our exchange, suddenly murmured: "And even if a member of a royal family is a daughter of a royal family, she must marry into another royal family or a noble family if she is in the country.

It's a good idea to make sure that you're not going to have to worry about your own personal safety. If that's the case, we at the Grail Trading Company will do our best to prepare for an elopement!
That's a last resort.

　I said.

We will be attending the 'magic guild' from now on anyway. If we find the ancient artifacts there, won't that raise our bargaining position?
...Yuki-sama...no, My Lord, you don't think...?
''If breaking the seal on the Holy Sword can be counted as an achievement, then the Grossaria Barons have already earned the right to the rank of Viscount. That's two more. It's not that complicated.

　Besides, the Ancient Artifacts is like a legacy of Lyle and Lemilia.
　If those guys crushed the Sanctuary Church and scattered it to the ground, though.

　I'll find out. Lyle, Remilia.
　I also wonder what happened to Alice's sister Mia.

That's just two. It's only two. If we're lucky, we'll find it.
Yes, my lord! My Lord!
So, I'm sorry you had to wait so long for Odette. I hope she's not mad at you.
No problem. Our chamber of commerce will do its best to entertain you.
''Well Odette has a sweet tooth, you know.
You're the man. "Grail Commerce.

　That's why I've been reunited with Alice and the descendants of the village.
　Now we just need to collect the Ancient Artifacts and follow in Lyle's footsteps.

　I need to find out what kind of recklessness Lyle the Crybaby has gone through.
　I'm Dean Nosferatu, the guardian deity of Fira Village.