When I returned to the estate, it seemed Lilia-san was asking for me, so I headed straight to her office.
When I opened the door and stepped inside, Lilia-san turned toward me with a grave expression.
"Welcome back, Kaito-san."
"Yes, I'm back."
"……So, who was it this time?"
"……Huh?"
Lilia-san watched me with a look of pure anxiety, her hands trembling slightly as she asked. I didn't catch her meaning right away and merely tilted my head in confusion.
"……Just who exactly did you get to know today? Was it the World King-sama? Was it the God of Fate? If something happened, please tell me now!"
"……"
How should I put this? I really had pushed Lilia-san to her limit, hadn't I?
She was already on the verge of tears... No, I was truly, deeply sorry.
Feeling a heavy sense of guilt for meeting one incredible person after another and causing her so much stress, I told her about Alice, whom I had met earlier.
After listening intently to my story about Alice for a while, Lilia-san let out a long breath and slumped her shoulders in profound relief.
"……Thank goodness. It’s someone I don't know."
"I-I’m sorry about that."
"N-No, I should be the one apologizing for being so hypersensitive."
Yeah. From now on, I should make sure to report things more clearly, even the small details.
While thinking that, my gaze drifted to Lilia-san's desk, where a mountain of documents was laid out. They didn't look like letters; even from a distance, I could see rows of numbers. They were likely accounting records.
"Kaito-san? Is something wrong?"
"Ah, no, it's just the first time I've seen you actually working, Lilia-san..."
"Ah, I see... Though I’m still young and inexperienced, I am responsible for the livelihoods of many. Besides, it’s just my nature. I feel uncomfortable leaving everything to others, so I try to handle whatever work I can myself."
To be honest, until I met Lilia-san, my image of nobles involved them acting high and mighty, but since coming to this world, I’d realized that was nothing more than a baseless prejudice.
Lilia-san in particular wasn't very "noble-like" in the best possible way. Even though she was only a year older than me, she was a respectable person whom I could admire from the bottom of my heart.
She told me there were no classified documents on her desk and that it was fine if I looked, so I observed her work from a slight distance. Seeing all those numbers confirmed they were financial—likely calculating expenses and income.
Was it because the currency was different? The device in her hand looked different from what I knew, but its purpose seemed identical. It looked like she was using this world's version of an abacus.
As I watched her for a while, a question popped into my head. I wondered if there were no calculators or anything similar in this world.
I didn't mean to suggest that a calculator was superior to an abacus in every way. I’m sure a master of the abacus could calculate at a terrifying speed. However, that was a skill limited to a very small number of people. In reality, Lilia-san was repeatedly checking her documents and slowly moving the beads on the abacus one by one.
At that rate, it was going to take a staggering amount of time to finish everything.
Lilia-san was already suffering from constant anxiety because of me. If possible, I wanted to be of some help, but I had only touched an abacus a few times during elementary school lessons. I wasn't particularly good at math, either. If I tried to force my help, I’d probably just get in the way.
However, if there were a calculator here, even I could help her. And even if I didn't, Lilia-san’s own efficiency would skyrocket.
Unfortunately, I didn't have a calculator on hand. To be precise, I’d had a pocket-sized calculator in my bag when I first arrived, but since it was a mechanical product, the Goddess of Law was currently keeping it for me.
Normally, the thought would have ended there, but an idea began to take root.
In this world, Magic Tools supported every aspect of daily life. Some of them even outperformed the technology of my original world. There was a Magic Tool that worked like a lighter, and another that functioned like an air conditioner. If that was the case, there might be a Magic Tool that could perform calculations like a calculator. Even if it didn't exist, maybe it could be made.
But I was still a complete amateur in this world. I didn't know if such a tool existed or if what I was imagining could actually be built.
Hmm. As I thought, it would be best to ask Kuro. She was the Creator of Magic Tools and the most reliable person I knew when it came to anything related to magic.
Having made up my mind, I left the room to avoid disturbing Lilia-san further. As I walked down the hallway toward my room, I began organizing the points I wanted to ask Kuro the next time she visited.
Dear Mother, Father—I want to make things even a little easier for Lilia-san, since I've caused her so much trouble. So—I think I'll try moving proactively.
Inside a room within Isis's ice-covered castle, the World King, Lilliwood Yggdrasil, wore a look of profound exhaustion.
In contrast to Lilliwood, who looked mentally drained to her core, the mistress of the castle, Isis, was in high spirits as she stared at a bundle of wrapped books.
"……Lilliwood…… Thank you…… Because of you…… I decided…… which books to give…… Kaito."
『……I’m glad. Truly. I’m just relieved we managed to avoid crashing the world's economic balance……』
If left to her own devices, Isis would have tried to gift books of unfathomable value, such as Grimoires containing Ancient Magic or Forbidden Books detailing the creation of Elixirs. Lilliwood had spent a long, grueling time desperately persuading her to choose something safe from her collection of ten million volumes. By the time they were done, Lilliwood was completely spent.
"I’m coming in, Isis!"
"……Kuromueina…… Welcome."
"I made some new Baby Castella, so I brought some to share... Oh? Was Lilliwood here too?"
『……Kuromueina. If only you had arrived a little sooner.』
"Eh?"
As if she had perfectly timed her entrance for the conclusion of the book selection, Kuromueina appeared. Lilliwood slumped her shoulders and let out a weary sigh.
Kuromueina tilted her head at Lilliwood's state before turning to Isis... and tilting her head again.
"Oh? Isis, you’re in a great mood. What happened?"
"……I made…… a friend…… a human."
"Eh? Really!?"
『Yes, I was half-doubting it myself, but Isis actually went to visit him the other day, and she’s been in high spirits ever since.』
Hearing Isis’s happy announcement, Kuromueina looked genuinely shocked. Lilliwood, who had gone through a similar reaction herself recently, provided the explanation.
"Heh, so there really are such incredible people out there. Isis, what kind of person is he?"
"……He said…… he knew Kuromueina, too…… His name is…… Kaito."
"Eh? Kaito... You mean Miyama Kaito-kun?"
『You know him?』
"Yeah, I see him almost every day. He’s my absolute favorite right now."
Hearing Kaito’s name, Kuromueina’s expression shifted to one of heartfelt surprise.
"I see…… Kaito-kun became friends with Isis……"
『Kuromueina. Just who is this Kaito-san? According to Isis, he possesses a special power, but is it truly possible for a human to resist her Magic Power of Death?』
"Hmm. It’s true that Kaito-kun has a unique power called Sympathy Magic, and he can adapt to magic power that has no hostile intent... but that shouldn't work for just anyone."
『What do you mean by that?』
"Kaito-kun's magic power does adapt to others... but as a major premise, it won't work unless Kaito-kun himself truly wants to be friendly with the person. It doesn't happen instantly, either."
Just as Kuromueina said, Kaito's Sympathy Magic did not respond immediately to all magic. It was strictly predicated on Kaito unconsciously wanting to adapt to it—which meant Kaito himself could harbor no hostility toward the other person.
"In short, Kaito-kun felt Isis's Magic Power of Death and still chose to reach out to her. He must have desperately tried to adapt while being exposed to that aura for a long time. That’s why he was able to endure it."
"……"
『T-That is an extraordinary individual. I am still struggling to believe it.』
Kuromueina spoke the words quietly.
Kaito himself had claimed it was all thanks to his Sympathy Magic, but the phenomenon would never have occurred if he hadn't decided to reach out his hand to Isis in the first place. He had endured pain and fear simply because he wanted to be her friend.
The weight of that discovery hit Isis hard. She was so overcome with joy that her cheeks flushed deep red, and she stared blankly into space as if in a daze.
In contrast to Isis’s blissful reaction, Lilliwood looked absolutely staggered.
"Hmm. I think it would have been impossible for the Kaito-kun who first arrived in this world. But lately, Kaito-kun has become surprisingly brave... and he’s such a kind boy who works his hardest for the sake of others. Well, that’s why I’m so fond of him, too."
"……Yes…… Kaito is…… kind and…… cool."
『……I see. Now that you mention it, Kuromueina, you said you see him almost every day…… So that’s why you’ve been visiting the Kingdom of Sinfonia so often lately.』
"Ahaha, well, that’s exactly why."
Hearing from both Kuromueina and Isis, Lilliwood’s interest in Kaito grew even stronger. She nodded, looking forward to her own visit soon. She felt a gentle smile spread across her face, finally understanding why Kuromueina had been so focused on Sinfonia lately.
『In that case, regarding the arrangements for this year's Hero Festival, it seems it would be best to leave the Kingdom of Sinfonia to you, Kuromueina.』
"No."
『……Eh?』
In the years when the Hero Festival was held, Kuromueina and Lilliwood—the two with the deepest ties to the Human Realm—would divide the nations between them to coordinate the Hero-role's Pilgrimage and festival events. Lilliwood had assumed that since Kuromueina was already visiting Sinfonia daily, she would gladly accept the task. But the response was a flat, blunt refusal.
"I hate the King there because he 'excluded Kaito-kun'."
"……Kaito was…… excluded?"
Hearing those words, Lilliwood clutched her head.
She actually knew about the King of Sinfonia failing to send Kaito an invitation—she’d had her subordinates investigate it—but she had kept it from Isis. She hadn't even wanted to imagine how Isis might react if she found out. Isis had previously heard from Kaito that he simply had other business, and she’d only just breathed a sigh of relief a few days ago... but a bomb had been dropped from the most unexpected of sources.
Upon hearing Kuromueina's words, Isis whispered something under her breath and stood up.
『Wait a moment, Isis! Where are you going?』
"……Kingdom of Sinfonia."
『W-Wait! You can't……!』
"Isis! Stop!!"
"……Kuromueina?"
Just as Lilliwood was desperately trying to restrain Isis—who was clearly prepared to march into Sinfonia and assassinate the King—Kuromueina threw out a voice of restraint. Lilliwood felt a surge of relief, thinking she had an ally, but she turned pale at the very next sentence.
『That's right, Kuromueina! You tell her too—』
"I'll help you!"
『Wait, what?!』
"……Thank you, Kuromueina…… Let's go together…… and kill the fool…… who bullied Kaito."
"Killing is no good; that would just trouble Kaito-kun. Instead, let's threaten him until his spirit snaps so he never does anything stupid again."
"……I understand…… I will turn him into an invalid."
『What terrifying things are you saying?! Isis, don't you dare agree to that!』
Looking closely, the smile had vanished from Kuromueina's face as well. She was clearly incensed, casually discussing horrific fates for the King.
『Wait! Please! I will do something about it! I will make the King of Sinfonia apologize properly! So I beg of you, neither of you move!』
On that day, the scream of the World King—the most diligent of the Six Kings—echoed across the silent Land of Death.