Re-Tale of a Hero - Chapter 15. The World 300 Years Later

As per Kaito’s instructions, only Tina and Kaito were left in the communication room, and there, he continued his conversation with Kuzuha.

“First things first. How are Aura and Yuri doing?”

[Yuri’s doing well. She’s currently acting as the principal of an academy founded by the Duke’s family.]

Kaito, unable to process what he had just heard, stood there, stunned. Tina, on the other hand, seemed to have thought that there were some issues with the communication device and started to tinker with its settings.

Kuzuha looked at them with a wry smile.

[I’m not kidding. In fact, she’s respected as the best educator in the Entesian Empire.]

Faced with this truth, Kaito and Tina turned to look each other in the eye. Then, they turned to face Kuzuha once more, confirming that she wasn’t joking around.

“I call bull! The empire’s best educator? That mischievous fairy? Was she behind Tenou Academy’s transfer?”

“W-wait! Maybe it’s a mischief school! We should confirm the facts first!”

No matter what, they couldn’t accept what they were hearing. 300 years had passed, so Kuzuha understood where they were coming from.

[No, it’s a proper academy that teaches magic. Oh, but they also have a knights department and a magic tools department, so it’s not limited to just magic. The Weissritter siblings were top graduates of the academy. But rest assured, Onii-sama. Yuri’s personality’s the same as before.]

“And how’s that supposed to help me feel relieved…”

Kaito decided he’ll confirm the facts himself and left the matter there.

Until the end, they refused to accept the reality.

“How about Aura? I’d like to hear her opinion about the transfer.”

[…Aura is currently missing.]

Kuzuha said so while rubbing her temples.

[After Onii-sama returned to Japan, we ruled the duchy together for around two centuries, but…]

Just remembering what happened gave her a headache as she held her head in her hands and sighed.

[One day, out of the blue, she left a note saying “–200 years have passed. I’ll officially begin my research on summoning magic. See ya.” And with that, she disappeared. Seriously…she didn’t tell me where she was going, nor did she send me letters afterward. Thanks to that, not only was the duchy in turmoil, there was chaos across the entire empire…]

She seemed to have quite a bit of pent-up frustration, and her complaints about Aura started pouring out endlessly. As much as Kaito and Tina wished to hear her out and allow her to vent her anger, there wasn’t much time, so they decided to cut her off in the middle.

“So for the time being, am I right to assume that Aura’s missing in action?”

[Yes. We have no idea where she is now. The empire formed a large-scale search party, but not even a clue was found.]

“Finding that airhead without any leads…that’s one hell of a shitty game. It would be faster to clear a mystery game from start to finish.”

They all sighed in unison.

“Now, we have something else we have to talk about.”

Kaito got down to business after confirming how his former companions were doing.

[Is this about how the students of the Tenou Academy will be treated?]

“No, I’m not going to interfere with that. Since it’s you, you’ll probably do the right thing.”

[Yes. Considering the history behind the duchy, we’ll provide as much support as possible.]

“Yeah, that will do.”

Kaito didn’t find any problem with that arrangement.

Kuzuha, not knowing what other topic there was to discuss, tilted her head.

[Then what is this about?]

“Well, you see, tomorrow, Lucius and the others will probably receive a proposal from Tenou Academy, and it’ll be about the teachers and students becoming adventurers.”

Kuzuha appeared surprised by what Kaito told her. Nonetheless, she gave her opinion on the matter.

[Isn’t that too risky? They’d need a few people just to defeat a lowly goblin.]

Both Kaito and Tina agreed to this evaluation.

“You’re right. As they are now, if the students become adventurers, two-thirds of them will drop out in a month. The rest will probably survive as adventurers for half a year. And by the end of their first year, only one or two of them will be alive. If they’re planning on being adventurers, they’ll need to receive a minimum amount of combat training.”

Kuzuha understood what Kaito was trying to get at.

[I see. So Onii-sama wishes to have Lucius’ unit serve as instructors for the students?]

“I’m glad you’re quick on the uptake. Tina and I will do as much as we can to help, but we won’t be enough. Also, if we were to serve as instructors, it’s akin to admitting that we’re from Enefia.”

[At this point, just reveal it to them.]

“Hey, now…”

Kuzuha gave a small chuckle before becoming serious again.

[I understand Onii-sama’s concern. If the students find out Onii-sama’s returned to Japan before, they’ll demand to be returned immediately.]

“The legend doesn’t tell the whole truth. We had to accumulate mana for a month, but…”

Kaito made a bitter smile as he said this.

[It took half a year just for us to experiment with the spell. Then, another half a year was spent verifying the theories behind it such as time retrogression. Last but not least, to prepare for the transfer, the duchy had to make use of all its connections.]

In the current era, people were only told of the one month it took them to accumulate the mana. In reality, however, it took them nearly a year to prepare the transfer for just the two of them.

It would take who knew how many years to bring all the students back. Moreover, there was a reason for why it took them only one month of accumulating their mana.

“We continued to experiment with inter-world transfer magic even after we returned to Earth, but we couldn’t figure out why it was so easy at the time.”

In other words, it was a coincidence that only a month’s worth of mana was required. Tina agreed to this.

“We were fortunate enough to be ready at that moment. If we had missed the opportunity, who knows when we would’ve had our next chance.”

While observing the mana required to transfer between worlds, they discovered by chance that the mana requirement between the two worlds was decreasing.

Hence, they rushed back to Earth, which was one of the reasons why so few people saw him off.

However, after their return to Earth, the mana requirement suddenly increased after a short time. This phenomenon was only observed during the period when Kaito traveled back.

[Scholars that study space magic will no doubt covet data collected from another world.]

But that’s beside the point, Kuzuhua continued.

[If we tell the people at Tenou Academy that Onii-sama was able to return because the mana requirement suddenly decreased for unknown reasons…]

“They’ll either refuse to believe it, or they’ll despair thinking there’s no way to return home.”

The three then held their heads in silence. However, soon enough, they raised their heads back up again.

Kuzuha then proceeded to explain about the countries surrounding the Entesian Empire.

[First of all, the demons are still living in the north. Claudia-sama, who rose up to the throne after Onii-sama defeated the demon lord, is still alive and reigning today.]

Tina’s ears perked up when she heard this.

“So she’s still alive. It’s been five years, huh? When so much time passes, you start to miss people, even people like her.” she said nostalgically.

The current demon lord was someone that admired Tina very much. In fact, she was such an enthusiastic fan that some considered her a fanatic.

“In order to revive you, she went so far as to lead her subordinates in a bitter fight against the demon lord. We should visit her when we have time. You’re worried about her, right?”

In the past, they had fought due to a minor misunderstanding, but they were on friendly terms now. In the end, however, it was Kaito and his friends who broke the seal and freed Tina.

“Despite being a succubus, she’s a mutant that’s got some serious fighting power. With the previous demon lord dead, she would’ve been able to suppress the remnants, and since the empire supported them during their reconstruction, there’s nothing for me to worry about.”

Though she said this, Tina seemed slightly restless and happy. She was clearly looking forward to their reunion.

Kuzuha and Kaito grinned as they watched her, and noticing this, Tina urged them to continue with their conversation while looking rather embarrassed.

“…Kohon. Continue, please.”

[Right. Next up, in the east, there’s the country of Nakatsu. Nothing’s really changed there. It’s still ruled by the Elder Dragon Jinryu, though the ones that are actually involved in governance are Touka-sama and the others.]

Elder Dragons were the oldest dragons to roam Enefia.

Jinryu normally spent his time sleeping, so despite being the highest power in the country, Nakatsu was ruled by the topmost species of each race [1], referring to themselves as the Yozoku.

“So Jinryu is alive as well. Well, I doubt there’s anyone that can beat Touka and the others, so it makes sense nothing has changed in the 300 years we were gone.”

When it came to the topmost species of each race, their lifespans far exceeded that of humans. Furthermore, the longer demons and some other races lived, the more mana they could accumulate within their bodies, and an average Joe would have no chance beating them.

Those living in Nakatsu shared a lot of cultural similarities with Japan, such as eating rice, and Kaito was quite indebted to them.

“We’ll have to visit them when we can then…Speaking of which, what day is it today?”

Kaito suddenly remembered he hadn’t asked this yet.

[Ahh, right. Come to think of it, on Earth, one year consists of 12 months. Here, it’s currently July 26th of spring.]

In Enefia, one year consisted of 48 months, with each month having 30 days. Each year began on January 1st of spring and ended on December 30th of winter. At first glance, it would seem as if it was the same as Earth. However, there was a January to December associated with each season, which was why a certain month of the year would be described as “December of spring” or “January of winter”.

Animals grew slowly and aged once per calendar year, just like on Earth. Plants, on the other hand, grew at the same rate as Earth for some reason, so there wasn’t much problem with not having enough food.

According to one theory, plants grew quickly because they could absorb the mana essence in the air. However, the details remained unknown.

“I see. I wanted to visit them during autumn, but…how’s Nakatsu’s food reserve?”

Kaito wished to visit as soon as possible to acquire rice as well as some sake (secret), but naturally, he had to prioritize the people of Nakatsu.

[Fortunately, they were able to harvest a lot of winter crops last season. Also, the agricultural practices that Onii-sama taught about, such as double cropping and using greenhouses, have spread to many corners of Enefia over the past 300 years, so food isn’t an issue. You can rest assured, Onii-sama.]

Once upon a time, Kaito wanted to eat peaches even though it was winter. Enefia didn’t have greenhouses, so he spent several years building one, using a magic stone engraved with a spell of the fire element to control the temperature inside. On a certain occasion, he passed down the method of creating greenhouses to Nakatsu, and the method seemed to have spread.

[I remember hearing that they harvested a surplus of rice this year, so there shouldn’t be any issue.]

Kuzuha addressed Kaito’s biggest worry.

300 years ago, Kaito took various measures to ensure Nakatsu could provide a stable supply of rice for his own use, which considerably improved Nakatsu’s food situation.

“Unless something big happened, you never missed out on rice when you ate. Well, rice seems to be a staple food for Japanese, so I guess it makes sense.”

Tina had never understood Kaito’s obsession with rice until she had visited Japan. Now, she was also used to having rice.

[Then a considerable amount of rice would be required…]

Although Nakatsu had harvested a surplus, it remained to be seen whether they could supply enough rice for 500 people on a regular basis. Hence, Kuzuha came up with an idea.

[It would be best for Onii-sama to head there personally. The duchy cultivates rice as well, but it’s considered a luxury food here.]

When this was suggested to him, Kaito reluctantly nodded in agreement.

“I guess you’re right. Most of the people sitting at the top there are good-natured, but at the same time, there are troublesome ones as well.”

Though he let out a sigh, he sounded a little happy as he recalled the figures of Touka, one of Nakatsu’s leaders, and a top brass of the Oni tribe which was known to consist only of battle maniacs.

“I wonder if it’s going to be a ruckus again…Touka likes to cling to people when she’s drunk, whereas that Oni will demand that we fight after a few cups of drink. They’re really a troublesome bunch.”

[…Come to think of it, Onii-sama. It seems you have a rather unusual relationship with Touka-sama. If you find her so troublesome, why is there a grin on your face?]

Kaito dodged Kuzuha’s jab by ignoring her and tightening his expression.

She had apparently sniffed out something after 300 years. The world wasn’t kind to Kaito.

“Touka assaulted him when she was drunk, and he didn’t do anything to stop it.”

Tina, who was in the know, blew his cover.

[Considering Onii-sama’s strength, he should’ve been able to push her away, no?]

Both of them gave Kaito a cold glare. Scared, he tried to come up with an excuse.

“I was drunk too, which led to a night of mistake.”

[Touka-sama happily told me that Onii-sama visited her every time he went to Nakatsu.]

It seemed the other party had already confessed, rendering his lies meaningless.

“Touka and I have built a very amicable relationship.”

‘That female fox’, he cursed in his mind as he performed a dogeza.

Now that he was back to his original personality, he wasn’t as averse to the idea of performing a dogeza.

[Since Onii-sama is a hero, it’s natural that women will flock around him, but please tell me about it from now on.]

“They were all fine women…”

[I’ll forgive Onii-sama for now since he didn’t go around picking up random women. However, please be more mindful.]

Kuzuha said this with a smile on her face. However, her smile appeared strangely threatening.

If she finds out about the others…Kaito could already see a storm brewing.

He cried in his heart, but quickly brought himself back together.

“Speaking of fine women, how are things on the Floating Continent?”

[Does that mean Onii-sama and Mystia Onee-sama are a thing as well?]

Apparently, this was news to her.

He had shot himself in the foot.

Tina replied in his stead.

“He used to bring me with him because he wanted to taste us together.”

Mystia was also an Elder Dragon, and she was somewhat like a foster parent for Tina who was an orphan. However, Tina called her “Sister” because Mystia would scold her whenever she called her mother or aunt.

Since Tina was exposing his secrets left and right, he decided to just go all out.

“Yeah, you got a problem? Back to the question. How’s the Floating Continent?”

He admitted his relationship with Mystia so as to move forward with the topic. Looking at Kuzuha’s eyes, he knew an interrogation awaited him afterward.

[Nothing has changed with the Floating Continent. Seraphs have a long lifespan and aren’t prone to battle, so…anyway, Pendragon-sama’s the same as before as well.]

Since the Floating Continent was under an Elder Dragon’s rule, much like Nakatsu, change rarely occurred.

“I see, I’m thinking of obtaining the Seraphs’ help to train the students into becoming competent adventurers, so I’ll have to visit them as well.”

Although Seraphs weren’t suitable for combat, they were unmatched when it came to healing magic. Hence, if Kaito wished to execute his plan, their cooperation would be absolutely essential.

[But how will you get to the Floating Continent? The duchy has some airships, but with Onee-sama’s absence, their development has slowed down, and mass production has been delayed. Depending on where the continent is, it may take a few days to reach there, and we don’t have any airships that can last that long…]

“We’ll have to request Tia for help then using telepathy. With the reasons being what they are, we must go pay her a visit.”

Telepathy allowed two parties to connect their thoughts and communicate with one another, and as its name implied, the Floating Continent was in the skies, and the only way to reach there was via flight. Though airships and Lesser Sky Dragons could fly, they weren’t a match against Heavenly Dragons when it came down to a fight. As such, only ships authorized by Tia could enter the Floating Continent.

[That’s probably for the best. Once she learns of Onii-sama’s return, she’ll probably come flying over. Oh, I forgot to mention, but after Onii-sama left for Japan, Pendragon-sama has shown me a lot of kindness.]

“In that case, I’ll personally surprise her with my return. Hmm, and since she’s taken care of you…”

He decided to bring with him some sake as souvenir. After all, the Dragon tribe loved to drink.

“Sister favors you a lot. She probably helped Kuzuha to earn browny points.”

Tina rolled her eyes thinking of how infatuated her sister was, not realizing she wasn’t all that much different.

[Next, I’ll explain each country’s political situation.]

They had derailed for a while, but Kuzuha brought them back.

“Please do.”

And with that, the three continued their discussion.

[1] Probably as in high elves being of a superior race compared to regular elves.