The Arrival of the Second Prince

Alexia spoke slowly, her voice soft as she began to recount her past.

"A long time ago, I suffered a terrible injury. The one who saved me back then... it was a Great Spirit."

When Alexia was still a young girl, she had been caught in an incident involving a group of Thieves. While she had narrowly escaped death, she had remained unconscious for a long time afterward.

"No matter who I told, everyone insisted that no such spirit existed," she said, a bitter, self-deprecating smile crossing her face. "But I still believe. I believe a Great Spirit healed me."

I couldn't say for sure whether such a being actually existed.

However, as someone who had been reincarnated into this world, the idea of a Great Spirit appearing in a dream to provide medical treatment didn't sound entirely far-fetched to me.

"That’s why I joined the Church; I wanted to meet that Great Spirit once more. But I didn't have the Holy Magic Aptitude to become a Priest... Still, this life is fulfilling in its own way."

"I see. So the reason you came to this territory was that you thought you might find that spirit here?"

We already had a spirit named Ram here, after all. It wasn't a stretch to think others might manifest. If there was a problem, however, it was the boy standing right in front of me.

These sheep in the field... if they’re the same as Ram, doesn't that make them spirits?

If he was planning to eat them, I expected Alexia to be furious, yet she simply stood by and watched.

"That's part of it," she said. "Because I believe you can coexist with spirits, Lord Yuri."

Her eyes, however, weren't laughing.

Yeah, there’s definitely something wrong with this Meat Field, isn't there?

"Uh, listen, Al... picking Meat from a field like it’s a vegetable isn’t exactly... right. You know?"

"Why not, big bro? I worked so hard to grow them this big!"

"He’s right," Alexia added, rebuking me. "You have to acknowledge Al’s hard work."

Wait, even Alexia? Has she not noticed?

No, that wasn't it. It simply meant that, to Alexia, this field didn't pose any problem at all.

"I—I suppose you’re right. Keep up the good work."

"Big bro finally praised me! Whoo-hoo!"

"Hehe, isn't that wonderful?"

"Yeah! It’s all thanks to the help I got from Boob Big Sister!"

Al began to bounce around, looking like he was about to burst into a victory dance. Alexia watched him with a pleased expression.

Whatever happened to common sense in this world?

Our original goal seemed to have been lost somewhere along the way, but since she appeared to be managing the children well enough, I decided to let it go for the time being.

◇ ◇ ◇

A few days after my visit to Al’s field.

Al suddenly burst into my room, looking completely panicked.

"Big bro, it’s bad! Goldie is here!"

"Goldie?"

As usual, Al’s reporting left much to be desired. However, since he usually described things exactly as they looked, I assumed something garishly gold had entered the territory.

Only someone with exceptionally tacky taste would travel in something like that.

It was likely someone of high status. It could be Miranda, having somehow returned after being blasted into the sky, or perhaps some nearby Parvenu Noble...

I had my hands full just managing my own lands and hadn't gathered much intelligence on the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Inraku. I hadn't even managed to properly greet the neighboring lords yet. It wouldn't be surprising if someone like Viscount Gessru had decided to show up.

Still, even if such a person arrived, they had to know from the start that my territory was broke. I’d just provide the usual hospitality and be done with it.

"Now that I think about it," Al added, "there was a drawing on it—like a weird bird and a sword."

"...A bird?"

To have a design like that... they must really love showing off. But wait, I’ve seen that somewhere before... like the Crest on the National Flag flying over the Royal Castle...

"Wait a minute! Doesn't that mean someone from the Royal Family is here?!"

"I don't know about all that! I only saw them from a distance!"

If our guest truly was royalty, I couldn't afford to keep them waiting. I threw on my best clothes, tidied my appearance, and rushed out of the room.

"Also, coming from the other way, there's a Suspicious Group with Strange Boxes and... hey, big bro! You're going too fast!"

Al was still trying to finish his report, but I didn't have time for that. I sprinted toward the location where the royal procession was reportedly arriving.