Once upon a time, there was a man and a woman who had overcome countless trials to become husband and wife.
The man and woman lived happily together, but they were not blessed with children.
Even so, they were content simply living in happiness, and they spent their days giving thanks to the goddess.
One day, the goddess who had been watching over them appeared in the man's dream and delivered a divine oracle, telling him to go to a place deep within the forest.
When the man went to the location the goddess had described, he found a baby there.
No one who appeared to be the child's parent was nearby, and since this forest was home to carnivorous Monsters and wild beasts, the man understood that the goddess's oracle in his dream was a command to rescue the abandoned baby, so he brought the child home with him.
The woman was surprised by the baby the man had brought home, but after hearing his story, she resolved to raise the child as their own.
In that moment, the man and woman became "Father" and "Mother."
The baby received all the love Father and Mother had to give and grew into a boy brimming with talent.
Among his gifts, his talent for magic was nothing short of genius — it was enough to leave even Father, Mother, and Grandfather, who was Mother's own master, utterly speechless.
One day, the boy, together with his Familiars — a Slime and a Fenrir — rescued the King, who had been attacked by Monsters.
The King expressed his gratitude and invited the boy to become a noble and live in the Royal Capital, but the boy, who dearly loved his Father, Mother, and Grandfather, declined, saying that living with his family in this village was his happiness.
Moved by these words, the King respected the boy's wishes and told him to come to the castle anytime he was in trouble, then departed the village.
The boy's happy days continued on.
He would go hunting in the forest with Father, enjoy cooking alongside Mother, and devote himself to studying magic with Grandfather — but one day, the day came when that happiness would come to an end. A colossal dragon appeared in the village.
What was more, the dragon had already become a Dragon Zombie, commanding tens of thousands of minions.
At the sight of this menace, the soldiers tasked with defending the village were the first to flee, and the boy, his family, and the villagers were all left behind.
The boy and the others decided to fight in order to survive. However, the Dragon Zombie was a formidable enemy.
That was hardly surprising — before it had become a zombie, this Dragon Zombie had been a legendary dragon that had rampaged across the land, threatening to destroy the entire kingdom.
The boys were gradually being pushed back. Even so, they believed they could win and continued fighting.
Whether it was their resolve that carried through, the spell cast by the boy pierced through the Dragon Zombie.
Seeing the Dragon Zombie fall and lie motionless, the family and villagers rushed outside to praise the boy.
But that was exactly what the Dragon Zombie had been aiming for.
When the father, mother, and grandfather rushed to the boy's side, the Dragon Zombie stopped playing dead, rose to its feet, and unleashed its full-power breath straight at the boy.
The father and mother, who noticed the Dragon Zombie's breath first, shoved the boy out of the blast's range to save him. The grandfather, who was skilled in magic, cast a barrier on the boy rather than himself, determined to shield him from the breath even if only a little.
Thanks to that, the boy was barely injured. However, the father, mother, and grandfather took the breath's full hit.
When the breath subsided, what the boy saw was ground gouged open by the blast, shattered defenses, and villagers collapsed and lying motionless.
Even the villagers who had been behind the positions of his father, mother, and grandfather had fallen. The survival of the boy's family was hopeless.
Along with deep despair, the boy felt an intense rage.
It was a rage unlike anything he had ever felt before. Its intensity was so great that even the Dragon Zombie was filled with fear.
And that rage reached even the goddess in the heavens, and the goddess ached for the boy's fury.
So the goddess cast a spell to transform the boy's rage into courage and power, so that he would not be consumed and destroyed by his own anger.
Whether it sensed the goddess's presence, or noticed that the boy had obtained a new power, the Dragon Zombie tried to flee — turning its back on the boy and bolting away.
Perhaps feeling safe after putting considerable distance between itself and the village, the Dragon Zombie stopped running and turned back toward the village.
It was a complete lapse in judgment born from the mistaken belief that it had escaped the boy.
What the Dragon Zombie saw when it turned around was the boy, floating in the air several dozen meters away.
The boy had gained the ability to fly through the air thanks to the goddess's magic, and had been chasing after the Dragon Zombie.
By the time the Dragon Zombie resolved that it had to fight, the boy's spell had already been activated.
Just as the Dragon Zombie was about to lunge at the boy, suddenly large trees came flying in from the side and smashed into the Dragon Zombie's body. And not just one — several of them…
At first, the Dragon Zombie dug its claws into the earth and held its ground, but gradually it could no longer endure, and its claws were finally torn away from the earth.
The Dragon Zombie desperately tried to grab the ground, but for some reason, its body drifted further and further away from the earth.
The Dragon Zombie's body was lifted into the air and began spinning around and around the boy.
This was the power that had awakened when the goddess cast her magic upon the boy. It was the power to generate a tornado with the boy at its center — and not an ordinary tornado, but a colossal vortex that could swallow even a Dragon Zombie.
The Dragon Zombie, consumed by the boy's tornado, was helplessly battered and torn apart, and at last it breathed its final breath.
The boy had defeated the legendary Dragon Zombie, yet there was no joy on his face.
Having lost his father, mother, and grandfather all before his eyes in a single moment, the boy was on the verge of losing both his will and his strength. If left as he was, he might have died.
The ones who saved the boy were his Familiars, who had survived the calamity.
Fenrir borrowed the power of the Slime to lift the boy onto its back, and then fled the scene at full speed. Even though the Dragon Zombie had been defeated, its subordinates still remained.
Thanks to the quick thinking of the Slime and Fenrir, the boy escaped danger, but even after they reached a safe place, he would not regain consciousness.
In the end, it was several days after the defeat of the Dragon Zombie before the boy finally came to.
After several more days of travel, the boy returned to his village, but no one was left there. Every last villager had abandoned the village, weighed down by too much grief.
Even so, the boy searched desperately for his father, mother, and grandfather. But after an entire day of searching, he could not find a single trace of the three. What's more, the boy's home — filled with so many memories — had been destroyed by the Dragon Zombies.
The boy was overcome with sorrow, and exhaustion had caught up with him as well, so that night he decided to sleep on the very spot where his house once stood.
The dream he had that night was of the time when his whole family had lived together in happiness.
In the dream, the boy learned how to hunt from his father, studying and cooking from his mother, and magic from his grandfather. These were things that, until about ten days ago, had been repeated as a matter of course — the hours when the boy felt truly happy.
That happy dream ended with the moment his family vanished in the Dragon Zombie's breath.
When he woke in the morning, the boy remembered what he had seen in the dream and wept. He cried the entire day through, and by the next morning, he had made a resolution.
He would travel across this country. And when that was done, he would travel across the whole world.
And so the boy set out on his journey — to see this world where his father, mother, and grandfather had lived…
"What the heck is this...?"
What Maria handed me when I came to consult with her was a book filled with content just like that.
"Of all the books that have been brought to me, that one's the most decent. Apparently, they want to add pictures and turn it into a children's book."
According to Maria, quite a few books had already been written, and sample copies had been delivered to her. Even though they were about an adventurer, it seems many authors had the good sense to realize they couldn't just go selling books about someone backed by the royal family without permission.
However, most of the books turned out to be romance stories, and Maria had immediately rejected their publication. Some authors even asked her what was wrong with them, but she...
...convinced every single one of them...
...and then shelved their manuscripts.
By the way, most of the authors who brought in romance stories seemed to have some noble influence behind them, and some of the stories apparently featured heroines who bore a striking resemblance to real noble young ladies.
The next most common category was stories based on the actual requests I had taken on, and Maria had apparently been excited about their content. But since my period of activity as an adventurer was short, there simply weren't enough stories worth turning into a book, so she reluctantly had to give up on that.
"For the time being, I've allowed authors who don't seem to have noble connections and who brought in decent content to publish again—though with conditions. But I've put authors who submitted outrageous material on a blacklist."
Authors deemed decent apparently get another chance. If their next work passes Maria's review, it gets sold as an officially sanctioned royal publication. Authors who get rejected have an uncertain path forward. Even if someone were to sell a book without Maria's permission, the royal family could publicly denounce it as full of lies, and if they pushed too far, it could be taken as a declaration of war against the royal family.
"So while books with some exaggeration or overly convenient plots might still circulate, completely fabricated nonsense should be much harder to get out there."
The work that passed Maria's review this time doesn't use any character names, but anyone who knows even a little about my history would be able to tell who the model is. That said, even if identified, I don't think the content would result in any real disadvantage to me. At worst, the book would probably just raise my public profile a bit and cause me some mild embarrassment.
"I could also just refuse to allow the publication of every book about me, couldn't I...? But that has its own problems, right?"
"That's right. Using the royal family's authority, that would certainly be possible, but then we wouldn't know what kinds of books would end up being sold behind the scenes."
Rather than letting things reach that point, it was better for both me and the royal family to set up a path where only books approved by Maria were considered the real deal, and let buyers assume everything else was filled with lies.
"Um... well then, I'll continue to count on you for the future. But please, whatever you do, never approve any romance stories."
"I understand. If I were to approve one, it would have to be set after Tenma is married at the very least... I personally wish you'd get married right now and let me hold one of your children soon."
She didn't say *with whom*, but Maria probably already had someone in mind. Well, given the condition that it would have to be a woman we both knew, I could roughly guess who—but I shouldn't try to pin anyone down. If I did, it would probably just delay my departure.
"Well then, I'll be taking my leave now."
I hurried out of Maria's room, being careful not to stir up any trouble.
We were currently in the royal family's residential quarters, so I had planned to head straight home without any detours—but at a time like this, wouldn't you know it, just a few steps from the entrance, I ran into an unwanted person... the King, the King, and more King...
"Looks like you're done with your business for Maria. Well then, let's go."
The King was dressed in plain, inconspicuous clothes unlike his usual attire, which set off alarm bells in my head. But forcibly wrenching my arm free didn't feel right either, so I obediently followed along... but...
"I really should have just run away..."
Where I was taken, Ernest, Lyle, and Luna were already waiting. The only saving grace was that Tida was there too, wasn't it? If anything happened, Luna could leave the straight-man duties to Tida.
"I'm really sorry about all this..."
Tida noticed my gaze and bowed his head apologetically.
"No, Tida's a victim here too... But more importantly—I don't know what they're planning, but did Maria and Caesar-sama know about this gathering?"
At my question, Tida shook his head. In other words, this was a gathering where getting an earful from Maria was a foregone conclusion... When push came to shove, should I just abandon the royals and make a run for it...
"When we make a run for it, please take me with you. Luna too, while you're at it..."
I silently nodded at Tida's request. Tida had been dragged into this against his will, so it couldn't be helped—but Luna had actively joined this gathering of her own accord, so even if I saved her, she'd still have to face Caesar-sama's lecture.
"All right, preparations are complete, so we're heading out now... Also, Tenma, from here on out, we don't need
'-sama'
anymore.
Use '-san',
please."
"Understood,
King-san."
"
The King... as the King had requested, I gave my reply and climbed into the carriage he pointed at.
"Hey!"
"Come on, let's go, King-san."
"Bwah! You first, King-san."
"King-san, I'm getting on first, okay?"
"Umm... pardon the intrusion, King-san."
In order, Ernest-
san,
, Lyle-
san,
, Luna, and Tida.
"That's not what I mean!"
"King-san, if you keep making a scene, Maria-sama will find out."
"That's right, King-san."
"Hurry up and get in already, King-san."
"Damn it! Tenma, you...!"
The King climbed into the carriage while muttering complaints under his breath. I could understand what he was saying, but no matter how I thought about it—
from 'sama'
to
'san'
Simply changing it to that wouldn't be enough to disguise his identity. In a sense, since he was the most famous person in the country, using a fake name would be better than going by his real name... When I argued this point forcefully inside the carriage, everyone except King agreed. From that point on, "King" officially became his pseudonym.
"So, where are we heading now?"
"Oh, I didn't mention it? We're heading to a dining hall I visit from time to time."
I thought, "A member of the royal family and the Minister of Military Affairs, showing up at just any place?!" but when I thought about it more carefully, there was nothing unnatural about it. After all, it was Lyle, and he was King's son... The only thing I was curious about was whether Maria knew.
The carriage entered the city without incident, and it seemed to arrive near the destination about an hour after departing from the royal castle.
"Then, I'll leave the carriage in your care. I should be back at the usual time, so come back to this spot in about two hours."
Lyle said this to the soldier serving as the coachman (currently disguised as a commoner), handed him some money, and headed into a back alley.
We followed after him, but the place Lyle frequented was tucked so deep into the labyrinth of alleys that anyone visiting for the first time without a guide would certainly get lost...
"Hmm, it looks like an ordinary izakaya."
Everyone except Lyle nodded at King's words. Perhaps none of them had completely given up on the possibility that it might be some kind of shady establishment. Well, with Luna around, the chances of that were...
practically
...zero, but still...
"Don't state the obvious... Anyway, in this shop, I go by 'Rai'—a soldier. So make sure none of you blow my cover. I mean it!"
After emphasizing this, Lyle—now Rai—began checking our disguises once more.
For our respective relationships, King and the others would naturally be introduced as Rai's family, while I would be the child of an acquaintance of King's, an apprentice soldier. In other words, I would be Rai's junior and subordinate.
As for each person's appearance, "King" was dressed as a somewhat wealthy official, with his hair slicked back and wearing glasses.
Ernest—now "Nesto"—was dressed like an elderly gentleman, with a silk top hat-style hat and glasses.
Luna—now "Luna"—wore her hair down, in a different academy uniform used for the disguise, with glasses.
Tida—now "Dino"—wore the same academy uniform as Luna, with glasses.
I was Tenma—now "Sora"—wearing clothes that a low-ranking soldier might typically have on, with a bandana tied around my head and glasses...
"Nothing but glasses everywhere..."
Originally, only Wang and Dino were supposed to wear glasses, but Lyle insisted that "no one's face is hidden enough!" and forced everyone to put them on, which led to this mess. As for Lyle's own disguise, though—
"He looks almost exactly the same as always, doesn't he?"
It was rather underwhelming. His clothes were a bit more casual than usual, but overall he didn't look all that different.
"Well, don't worry about it. Let's get inside already."
With that, Lyle walked into the restaurant like he'd been there a hundred times, surveyed the interior for a moment, then approached a female staff member and asked if any private rooms were open. When she confirmed there were vacancies, he headed to the room before she could even offer to escort him, slipping inside without hesitation. Of course, when they said "private room," it was really just a simple partition made of folding screens—voices carried right through, and depending on the angle, you could see everything going on inside.
"I'll skip the sake. I brought my family along today, and there are kids with us. Ah, but go ahead and bring some out for those two over there."
That was Lyle making excuses to the server who'd offered him a drink. From their conversation, you could tell he usually ate and drank at the counter, and Wang looked on with a hint of envy at that easygoing attitude of his.
"This is really good. Honestly, since you recommended it, Lyle, I was expecting something a lot more rough around the edges."
The dishes that came out were things like skewered and simmered offal—dishes that could work as both side dishes and bar snacks—but they'd been carefully prepared, with no gamey smell whatsoever.
"Right, right! Most places that serve organ meat are so stinky you can barely stomach it, but here, you'd be missing out if you didn't try the organs!"
"This skewered intestine might be even better than what I had before at Te—Sora's place."
"The liver is delicious too, with no off-putting smell at all."
Tida said that hesitantly, but Luna was cheerfully stuffing her cheeks with the organ dishes, declaring them superior to what she'd had at my place. Wang and Ernest were equally enjoying the food and drink, grumbling about why this restaurant had been kept secret from them for so long.
After savoring a variety of dishes for a while, we left the restaurant around the time Luna started looking drowsy.
After settling the bill, Lyle picked up the unsteady Luna onto his back and carried her to where the carriage was waiting.
The moment we climbed into the carriage, we dropped our fake names.
"Well then, I'll take my leave here."
On the way back, I refused their offer to ride the carriage all the way to the manor. At the fork between the royal castle and the manor, I stepped off, and even though I had the nagging feeling I'd forgotten something, I said my goodbyes and walked the rest of the way home.
A few days later, Tida—who had been thoroughly scolded (as collateral damage) by Maria, Caesar, and Isabella—was accused of having run off on her own.
I also got chewed out by gramps and Amour and the others for not bringing back any souvenirs. And then, a few nights later, I was led to one of Lyle's favorite spots, made to eat and drink to my heart's content, and then made to foot the entire bill.
Incidentally,
Furthermore, that
The next day, I received a scolding from Maria-sama as well. Apparently, the issue was that when I had taken gramps and the others to the izakaya, I hadn't thought to invite her along, too.