Who the hell is King Framboise I?

　Sylvia asked the obvious question.

　I thought for a while about what I should say in response, and then I gave her a quick answer.


...... the man who was supposed to be dead.


　The three men's expressions tighten.

　It's easy to say that this can't be true. But no one said anything. I guess they believed me.


　The name of the man who should have been dead - or, more accurately, the name of the man character (・・・・) who should have been cracked (・・・・・・).

　He was one of the 3,000 players who went through the same thing I did that day and that time.

　His world ranking is, I think, about 200th. He's a muscular, muscular, heavily armed knight with a masculine fighting style that uses power to push his way through. He has the impression of a quiet, mature man who looks good with a cigarette in his mouth, and is a dandy old man character who is not popular with women but is admired by men.

　He called me "sempai" in spite of his nature, and he missed me so much that he always followed me wherever I went. I remember thinking that he was younger than me inside.


　...... If Fran (...) followed the same path as me.
　Is that guy also reincarnated in this world now in the form of a sub-character ......?


Yukari, get Winfiled.
Yes, sir.

　When I gave the instruction, Yukari immediately performed 《Summoning Spirit》 and summoned Winfiled.

　At a time like this, there's no point in worrying about ah-hah. At any rate, the first thing to do now is to read the true meaning (...) of this letter.


'Yes, Second, sir. Hi, hi.
Oh, good to see you. I'm sorry to be so early, but I'm going to have to ask you to read this letter anyway. What do you think of this guy?
Hmm.

　A tall, two-breasted beauty with gray hair color looked over the contents in about thirty seconds, smoothly. Then, still looking at me with sleepy eyes, she slowly opened her mouth.

'Probably an alias to get past the censors. Fake, like wanting to celebrate the Triple Crown and all that. It's just, this nun Renko. This is the window, I guess.
A window?
Yeah, yeah. I think he really wants to see her, so he wants her to get in touch with him.

　It's amazing, our military strategist was able to see through our sender's purpose in an instant.
　There's only one thing that bothers me.

Do you really want to see him?　Come see me, not?
He must be really desperate. He wants to see me, or he wants me to help him.
Call for help?
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Sending a letter like this in a foreign country is a risky proposition. It would be a bit risky to set up a window, and it's a bit of a gamble.
I see.
I see.

　In other words, I know that the sender of the letter claiming to be King Framboise I is now at the heart of the Camel Church. A position that could be purged if the church found out he was writing to me, i.e., not a position of power like a pope or a cardinal, a deacon, his followers, or a priest, or maybe ......?

　...... Well, you'll find out when you meet him. You just have to act.

"Winfiled, thank God. I'm gonna try and contact this Renko guy first.
Hooray.

　When I expressed my gratitude, Winfiled fluttered his hand and left sleepily. It's a good idea to have a wink and a thrown kiss at me at the last second of being "repatriated", stealing the eyes of Yukari. Wow, that kind of thing is rather exciting. ......


Do you want to go out for a session?
Yeah. But it's almost nightfall, so maybe tomorrow morning.
'It's a big deal, isn't it?　Go ahead and don't worry about us.
Come on!

　They say this, but inwardly they don't want me to go. Their smiles are a little sad.
　This was just as I was thinking of teaching them the "Joseki" from tomorrow, after I had finished my promise to Muratti and the Mix sisters. The frustration of the title fight must still be fresh in their minds, and the girls must not be able to stand still. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get away with it.

　...... I'll come home as soon as I can, as soon as I can. I nodded my head, making up my mind.

'I'm sorry. I'll push my schedule forward and finish the investigation of the Kamel Divine Country first. Let the two of you train after that.
Mm. In the meantime, we're going to practice on our own. Can't hurt to lay the groundwork, right?
It's mostly a win-win.
'Then I will. The rest of the time, yeah, I'd like to take a break and go around the dungeon.
I'm coming with you.
'Oh, you're on board with Eco too. Then we'll go tomorrow.

　I withdraw my previous statement. These two guys are going to get stronger and stronger on their own, even if they are left alone. It's a mass of motivation. I think it's safe to say that they may not have to go home for a while.

I'll take care of it while we're gone.
Yeah, I'm counting on you.

　Yukari is also really reliable. I can leave the house without any worries. But while I'm away, or rather, I'm always leaving the house in charge, so you could say it's the same as always.

　...... Huh?　The first test, by any chance, is no problem without me: ......?


I'm going to go and fetch dinner.

　While I was feeling useless because of Yukari's uncommon excellence, the sun had gone down.

　We had fried oysters, pickled blue fish, yam salad, fried egg and miso soup with clams for dinner.

　I looked at Yukari to see if she was watching me with a feverish gaze, the tips of her ears turning slightly red. I see, I'm learning. Oysters, blue fish, yam, egg and clams are all very satisfying foods.


　In the end, I couldn't sleep at all at night. It feels good to be needed, but it's hard work.






Goodbye, master.
Watch out for yourself, son. I could care less about you.
Ittelaar: ......

　The next morning.
　I leave the house with a glowing skinned Yukari, a freshly smiling Sylvia, and a half-sleeping Eco to see me off.


　When I walked out the front door, there was Cubero and Bicide waiting for me, sitting on the ground with both knees folded and legs open, both fists on the ground and their heads bowed.

'The matter of your daughter, I beg you to do me a favor.
'Please, sir!　I look forward to working with you!

　"Young lady." ...... It's probably "Ray", the daughter of the now deceased righteous R6 master Reemsma, who had apparently crossed over to the Kamel Godland during the bandit suppression.

　Her current life and death are unknown. So far the only clue we have is her name, but if she is alive, of course she must be living under a false name, so it's not very helpful.

'I can't promise to bring her home, but I will investigate as much as I can. Do you have anything in particular about her?

　There are too few clues, so I ask.

'Thank you, sir. His name is Ray, 17 years old, about 165 or so, with long black hair dyed brown, and he liked to wear bright red lipstick.
I used to rebel against the master, leave the house, and then give a young man who was after me a hard fist in a hurry to keep me quiet, and he was stronger in spirit than most men, and in fact, he was a tremendous rebound.
'Your daughter is a katagi. But perhaps because she grew up with us righteous bandits from an early age, she has a bit of that ...... temperament.
She's notoriously hard on men, or maybe she doesn't like men. That's what they used to yell at us and at Kashira.

　I'm starting to get the picture. Miss Rei, after all, must be a "skeleton" kind of girl. The first name must be "Atai".


All right, all right. I'll take care of it.

　I nodded firmly to the two people who bowed their heads and then summoned the anko.

　Let's go on a journey. That's right, ask her to "Dark Transition" and "Summon Darkness".

Anko. We'll be traveling together for a while.
'Well, well, well!　Lord, I can't help but be happy for the anko!
Can I get on with the transference?
"Yes, as you wish!　Where shall we go?

　Anko buzzed her tail and leaned in close to me, asking me where we were going.

　The place we are heading to now. That's the point closest to the Kamel Godland at the moment.

"Fly to the Shadow of the Steam Frontier Count.
Yes, sir.

　Anko can transfer to any shadow she remembers, even if it's a human shadow. Even if it's a shadow of a person.
　The shadow of the Steam Bitter Valley Frontier Count, who resides in a fortress near the border with the Kamel Godland, was thought to be the most appropriate place among the many shadows that Anko currently remembered.



'--Yo. Long time no see.


　So, it's a transition.

........................

　The Steam Frontier Count was in the fort's office.

　He looked at Anko and me when he suddenly appeared, his eyes darting and exclaiming. Then he sighed and opened his mouth to say, "Huh.

How would you take responsibility for me if I was in the middle of massing?
It's your fault you're in the Oval Office with another device.
"Thank you for your dumbfounded reasoning, Second Lord.

　He is a man who has risen to the level of a frontier count at the young age of 33. You only had to say a word or two to calm him down.

So, what the hell do you want from me?
No, it's nothing. I'm just making a quick stop on my way to the Kamel God State.
...... What are you really? You're still weird.
Not so much.
I didn't praise him. If I had to praise you, I'd say congratulations on your triple crown.
Thank you. And thanks for the wreath.
Yes. You should be very grateful.

　We have to repay the debt as soon as possible, said Steam, continuing his words.

　It would be the end of the world if the debt you owe me for driving away 14,000 Kamel Divine State troops was returned with a single congratulatory flower.


...... Just in case you have a billion, maybe, just maybe, I'll ask you for a favor. I'll just say.
'That's the worst thing about me. I have to worry about it all the time in my daily life. I have to worry about it all the time in my day-to-day life, while I'm working, while I'm eating, while I'm in the middle of my nappies. It's just so unsettling.
I'm sorry. Just be prepared to be reckless for me, just once, okay?

　If I end up influencing the entire Kamel Church with this trip, if I'm not good at it, there will be an all-out war between the Kingdom and the God State. If that happens, the first person who will be in charge will be the frontier count. In order to prevent such a situation from happening, I want him to be able to make a quick decision and move an army of ten thousand troops quickly and recklessly.

　That's why I played my cards. That's why I cut my card and thrust that "debt" at him. Steam, however uncomfortable it may be, would have to nod his head.

　But he snickered and said with a relaxed expression on his face, "I'm not prepared for that.


I've been prepared for that since that night.


　I knew this guy was funny: ......, and I think again.

　I didn't say thank you out loud. With a word of "See you later," Anko and I leave his office.


　And finally, we stepped into the room.
　We're going to a crazy religious state that is close to a prison.