The eye patch with his initials on it was quite stylish, apparently made by Elinalize.
However, wearing it didn't so much give him a fashionable air as an aura of sheer intimidation.
When you considered that he didn't have much of a build or muscle to speak of, I imagined I was reminded of Gallenne's own eyepatch-wearing appearance.
"After Ariel, now the first prince's son… This is going to be troublesome again."
Cliff had been introduced to that same trio during homeroom.
He'd been sighing as he thought about what lay ahead.
"I think he's more of a hostage than anything, unlike Princess Ariel, so please be nice to him. He's so small — he shouldn't have to get caught up in his father's fights."
"You're right. Well… I'll at least keep an eye on those guys so they don't lay a hand on your sister."
"Thank you."
I chatted with Cliff as we entered his research lab.
Elinalize wasn't there.
She was in the middle of raising a child.
Having lived for several hundred years, Elinalize had children by many different men.
But the child she'd had with Cliff seemed to be especially precious, and little Clive was being raised with extraordinary care.
A veteran like her at child-rearing was sure to raise him into a fine person.
"Well then, shall we?"
Cliff went to the back of the lab and returned with three wooden boxes.
They were about thirty centimeters square.
I took two of them.
They were surprisingly heavy.
"Sorry about that."
"Not at all."
Carrying them, we left the research building and headed out of the school.
"How's little Clive doing?"
"He's growing up healthy. But he cries at night, and it's exhausting… Reminds me of my days at the orphanage."
"Cliff, you grew up in an orphanage, right?"
"Yeah. There were lots of abandoned kids there… But still, your own child is something special."
"Indeed."
Our destination was the outskirts.
We flagged down a carriage in front of the school and had ourselves driven to the town gate.
Sitting side by side in the two-person carriage, we continued our conversation.
"You're really something, Cliff. You're a proper father."
"I'm not doing anything impressive. Elinalize is there — that's why I look competent."
"But someone like me only pitches in for child-rearing about once a month."
"There are all sorts of ways to be involved in raising a child.
In your case, you have both a wife and a maid, and you're doing what you need to do in your own right.
No need to take it so heavily."
Cliff set the boxes on his knee and spoke as if he'd come to some kind of realization.
"As far as I'm concerned, not being able to see your child grow up every day… that's the real pity."
"I'd appreciate it if Father Cliff could say that to me."
"Sure, come by anytime you feel like confessing again… Just kidding."
Before I knew it, Cliff had passed the examination to become a priest of the Millis Faith.
It wasn't an official ordination, apparently, but he'd earned the status to work at a church.
He wasn't just doing research all the time.
So he must have been thinking about what to do after returning to his homeland.
Since I was currently a sixth-year, Cliff was a seventh-year.
The senior class — he'd be graduating next year.
"What are you going to do after you graduate, Cliff?"
"…I don't know. My grandfather back home hasn't sent any word. But I think I'll go back at some point. I want to report that I've gotten married and had a child."
"It'll be lonely."
My prediction was that by the time Cliff returned to Millis, it would be time for another showdown with the Human God.
But that was nothing more than a prediction.
"That's all in the future."
"True enough."
While we exchanged idle chatter, the carriage arrived at the south gate of Sharia.
We paid the driver and set out on foot from there.
Through the gate and to the southeast.
Before long, my company's office came into view.
A ridiculously large building sitting alone in the outskirts.
It was surrounded by a fence to keep people away.
"Now, I sort of suspected it at the time, but you really were lying, weren't you?"
"Yes. When it came to the curse, I just couldn't get anyone to believe me no matter what."
"I'm not blaming you. That curse is powerful. Even now… see? My legs are shaking."
Conversation like that as we made our way to the front of the office.
The door bore the words "Authorized Personnel Only."
I pulled a key from my pocket and unlocked it.
The reception desk I'd set up but never actually used.
We passed through it and into the back room.
"Ngh…"
The moment he opened the door, Cliff flinched.
There, seated at a high-quality wooden desk and writing something, was
As always, a terrifying expression on his face.
"Hm. Cliff Grimoire."
"Y-yeah. That's right. Cliff Grimoire…"
"You've got it rough too, don't you."
"What do you mean…?!"
What else could it mean but exactly what he said?
He meant it was rough being asked to meet Orsted's face on my behalf.
"Orsted. Let's make this quick — three today."
"Very well."
Cliff and I placed the wooden boxes on the desk.
Orsted opened one of them and took out what was inside.
Inside the box was a full-face helmet.
The other boxes held similar items.
Only the colors were different — black, brown, and gray.
"Please try putting it on."
"…"
Orsted did as he was told and jammed the helmet onto his head as though pushing his own head into it.
Wearing just a helmet with no armor gave him the look of a suspicious person.
To my eyes, it made him look even scarier, though…
"So, Cliff? What do you think?"
"…No good. Worse than before."
"Then, next."
And so Orsted tried on the three helmets in succession.
Each time, Cliff observed his reaction and checked whether the item had any effect.
After they'd all been tried, Cliff gave his opinion.
"As I thought, it's number three. Number one used a Phalanx method to convert the mana, but it backfired.
Which means there's a high probability that it's the mana itself that's cursed."
"The mana itself…?"
"Yeah. I think the curse triggers the instant Orsted's… mana enters your field of vision."
"Then what about covering his whole body in a material that blocks mana?"
"If you locked him in a completely airtight box, sure, the curse wouldn't activate — but that wouldn't solve anything."
"You're quite right."
What we were doing was researching Orsted's curse.
Over the past year, based on Elinalize's research into her own curse, we'd run several experiments.
The result was that the core of Orsted's curse appeared to be located in his head.
So we'd created these helmet-type magical tools and had Cliff assess their effectiveness based on his subjective experience.
There had been some progress, at least.
Currently, wearing the latest version of the helmet partially suppressed Orsted's curse.
However, the effect was faint.
Even wearing the helmet, children would cry when he walked through town, stray dogs would flee in terror, and carriages would overturn.
Still, it was enough to soften
Well, perhaps their view shifted from "the existence of our mortal enemy" to "a boss we can't stand" — but the result was that they'd come to intuit something about the curse.
They understood that the reason I stayed close to Orsted was because the curse didn't work on me.
Cliff had also figured out, midway through the research, that Orsted had a curse and the reason I'd been lying.
That was a big step.
For now, things seemed complicated in their hearts, but they were managing.
Of course, the road ahead was long.
The helmet was currently about twice the size of Orsted's head.
It had no air holes, so he couldn't breathe while wearing it. He couldn't see, couldn't hear voices, couldn't speak.
It wasn't something you could wear for any length of time.
The road ahead was truly long.
That said, Cliff had built the thing in a single year — he was without question a genius.
If the research continued like this, the day Orsted could walk freely through town should be approaching.
Cliff was also happy that studying someone else's curse might give him ideas for creating a magical tool to break Elinalize's curse.
It was a shame that once Elinalize's child-rearing settled down, he'd probably go back to that research.
But there was no need to worry.
All we had to do was make sure their second child came along quickly.
"So, same time next month?"
"Yeah. Sorry to keep imposing, Cliff Grimoire. I never imagined you had this kind of talent."
"Wha!? Ah… yeah, well. I am a genius, after all."
Even Orsted was surprised by the results of Cliff's research.
Apparently, he had tried to deal with the curse at some point during his long loop.
But after several hundred years of effort with nothing to show for it, he'd mostly given up.
Over the course of two hundred years, there may have been others besides Cliff who could have made progress on the curse research.
But none of them had been on Orsted's side.
Still, the results were in.
Starting next cycle, Orsted would probably scheme to ensure Cliff was set on the curse research.
Though whether I'd even be around in that cycle… apparently I wasn't the last time.
"
As I was lost in thought, Orsted spoke to me.
Cliff had already moved outside the office.
He wanted to get away from Orsted as fast as possible because the curse affected him.
Even though he understood intellectually that it was a curse, his body still recognized Orsted as an enemy.
It was like knowing a cockroach couldn't kill you, but freaking out when you found one anyway.
"…Thank you."
He thanked me, and I grinned like an idiot.
Geez, boss — you sure know how to flatter a guy.
Alright then, once the curse-suppressing helmet was done, maybe I'd enjoy some window shopping.
A stroll through town with Orsted.
I'd savor the feeling of being a fox borrowing a tiger's ferocity to the fullest.
"It's nothing. Even with my family objecting, I'm the one who feels bad about it. If you could move around freely, even the Human God would find it inconvenient — so it's really for my own sake."
"I suppose."
Once the boss's condition was cured, I'd turn Orsted Corporation into the greatest company in the world.
With thoughts like that swirling through my head, I left the office.
--- After parting ways with Orsted, I went around to the back and entered the armory.
From there, I retrieved the magic armor.
A compact magic armor.
It was a suit of pitch-black armor divided into arm pieces, leg pieces, and a torso piece.
At first glance it looked light, but since it was made from my Earth magic, it was extremely heavy.
I put it on and channeled mana through it to make it manageable.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Cliff."
"Alright, let's head back."
Cliff and I returned to the university together.
Next was
It was a bit of a pain to make the trip twice, but Orsted entering the university would cause a huge scene, so there was no helping it.
"So, Cliff — what about lunch?"
"Right… I'll go back to my room, set this down, then head to the dining hall. Why don't you go fetch Zanoba and we'll all eat together?"
"Got it."
Cliff went back to his lab to put the helmet away.
I headed straight for Zanoba's research room as instructed.
I reached for the door, then stopped.
I remembered the time I'd casually opened this same door and walked in on Zanoba's sex scene.
An awkward situation for everyone involved.
I was a man who learned from his mistakes.
Always knock before entering a room.
I rapped on the door.
"Knock-knock, hellooo!"
"Oh, Master! How fortuitous! Come in, come in!"
The reply came immediately.
I confirmed it, then opened the door.
Inside, there was a man of about thirty who looked like an otaku, and…
A naked ten-year-old girl.
The girl was clutching her stomach, sniffling.
A trickle of blood was flowing from between her legs.
Ah, this — this was a crime scene.
"Zanoba… You… How could you lay a hand on
"This is no time for jokes! Master, please cast healing magic on Julie! The blood won't stop!"
Zanoba's voice was desperate.
Maybe it was an accident?
Julie looked up at me with tears streaming down her face too.
"Grandmaster… My stomach hurts. Please help…"
I'm not a doctor, but… I gave Julie a careful look.
There were no external wounds.
Internal organs, then?
Blood was flowing from between her legs.
It had a coppery smell.
This was probably… no, I was certain.
"It's probably her period. You should call Ginger."
"Hm? Oh, it's her period! Come to think of it, Julie is a young lady! I completely forgot about that possibility!"
"Master?"
Zanoba chuckled, and Julie looked up at him with a worried expression.
Julie was already nine — no, ten?
It seemed quite early for a first period, but maybe that was normal for the mining tribe.
Or maybe there had been some error in her age when she was purchased.
Well, whatever.
"But first, lunch. Julie, you can rest today. Can you stay in bed by yourself until Ginger gets back?"
"…I'm scared. Master, I want you to stay with me."
"My, my…"
Well, well — Zanoba, you ladies' man.
Lucky guy.
"Come on, it's fine. I'll go grab some food and we'll eat here."
Julie was practically an adult now.
I'd been planning to wait until she came of age, but her mana capacity had stopped increasing lately.
Maybe it was time to put the plan into action.
--- About an hour later, at Zanoba's research room.
After the incident, I'd linked up with Cliff, bought food, and returned.
The three of us were now sitting face to face over our meal.
Nearby, Ginger was taking care of Julie.
That woman was less a knight and more a maid at this point.
"Master, what did you think of the magic armor?"
"It wasn't bad. It could take a hit from a magical beast.
But performance-wise, it's still a bit lacking.
Against magical beasts it's fine, but I wouldn't want to face a swordsman with this thing."
"Sacrificing defense, recovery, and mobility for everything else…"
"But to match the prototype's performance, you'd need a bigger frame…"
Over the past year and a half, we'd gone through quite a few versions of the magic armor.
Initially, I'd wanted to simply miniaturize the first magic armor, the "Type One," while preserving its performance — but that proved surprisingly difficult.
After all, the original had been built from the pinnacle of the era's technology, incorporating mysterious techniques the Human God had taught me.
Even the detuned "Type One Improved" couldn't be made truly small. It ended up one size smaller with only reduced performance — a pointless result.
After much trial and error, I finally eliminated the magic circle from the torso section.
I concentrated the magic circles in both arms and both legs, changed the design to wrap around them from the root.
This achieved a major reduction in both size and mana consumption (though "major" was relative — it still consumed absurd amounts of mana, and currently I was the only one who could equip it).
The "Type Two," consisting of arm and leg pieces alone, was complete.
However, the Type Two had a power limitation.
Since no mana flowed through the torso, if I activated it at full power, my limbs would be ripped off at the base.
With this constraint, even with its impressive stats, it could only output the strength of a high-level swordsman at best.
So I added a support magic circle to a torso piece that would prevent my limbs from tearing off.
Thus was born the "Type Two Improved," currently offering saint-class swordsman performance.
Ideally, it would be even more powerful, but… ideals were always far away.
Ideals were always distant, and the world never went the way you wanted.
"Well, we'll just have to keep improving it as we use it."
"Agreed."
Cliff nodded in agreement.
Someday, I wanted to make something even he could equip.
"Master, and what about the gatling gun?"
"The lethal output on that thing is just too high — its uses are limited…"
I'd been doing a lot of thinking about weapons too.
The gatling gun I'd had
Following Orsted's advice, I'd simplified it and switched to a system that fired ten rock bullets almost simultaneously.
Finger Four Bombs… It wasn't anything that cool — just a shotgun.
This was also a countermeasure against the Water God Style.
According to Orsted, the Water God Style deflected mana itself.
So a shotgun that fired rounds with a minuscule time gap — nearly simultaneously — was quite effective against it.
It was useless against Water King rank or above, but apart from being unwieldy due to its length, it was a practical weapon.
I'd been working hard on all sorts of things, but I couldn't leap ahead in strength all at once.
I was doing magic training and body conditioning.
But I needed to think harder.
Recently it had been nothing but small fry again, but there was no telling when a strong opponent might appear.
I needed something that could one-shot an enemy, even if it was a trick.
"Oh, Zanoba — how's the automaton project coming along?"
"Ah, that one's on hold. We've hit a dead end, and your life takes priority."
"Right… Sorry about that."
"Ha ha ha — the magic armor is fun too, you know. No need to apologize. If anything, I should be the one thanking you."
Zanoba said this while enthusiastically thumping the magic armor.
How reliable could you get.
"Oh, Zanoba — now that Julie's practically grown up, I was thinking of putting the picture books and figurines on the market for real. Think you can manage it?"
"Hmm…"
The picture books and figurines.
The first batch was already complete.
Without my knowing, Zanoba had been gathering dyes and painting finished products.
Well,
Anyone looking at them would immediately recognize the Superd race.
I'd put one on the shelf by my bedside, and Roxy had seen it first thing upon waking and screamed, and
The picture books were well-made too.
The illustrations had been drawn by Zanoba himself.
They had a soft touch suited to children — not masterful, but with real character.
They'd been made into woodblock prints, mass-produced, and hand-colored.
They had a handmade feel, but all books in this world were pretty much like that, so there was no sense of incongruity.
At the end, I'd include a character-learning chart, making them usable as textbooks too.
If they were textbooks, no one would throw them away carelessly.
With both the figurines and picture books ready, I'd been spreading the word every time I helped someone through my work.
I could keep doing that, but if we were going to go truly commercial…
"That would be difficult."
Zanoba looked troubled.
"…Money?"
"No, capital isn't a concern. We've received funding from Princess Ariel, and we have a workshop set up in the
"Ah…"
Come to think of it, I hadn't thought at all about who would do the selling.
Originally, I'd been considering opening my own shop.
But in my current situation, that was impossible too.
A salesclerk — or rather, a hired shop manager — was what we needed.
Someone with business sense…
No one among my acquaintances fit the bill.
I couldn't think of anyone.
"Maybe I should ask Ariel for a recommendation."
"Princess Ariel has been busy lately as well — the coronation ceremony is coming up. I don't think we should trouble her too much."
"I don't want to keep borrowing favors either."
For now, I'd put it on hold.
Well, there was no rush.
It wouldn't be too late even after Julie came of age.
Yeah, that was fine.
"Zanoba, do you think you could teach Julie the basics of business over the next five years?"
"I could… But Julie should be a creator at heart. For the sales side, it would be better to purchase a different slave."
A different slave, then.
Someone interested in commerce who could read, write, and do arithmetic.
Ideally someone with a wide network of contacts.
If they were popular, they'd be good at advertising too.
A slave like that… No, I couldn't think of one.
My own shop had been scammed before and ended up enslaved — I couldn't entrust it to someone like that.
Better to buy someone new.
"Hmm… I think we should draw up a more detailed plan before we act."
"Indeed."
Right.
I'd refine this plan further.
Haste makes waste.
I'd been taking things slow so far.
I'd take another ten years or so and keep working at it.
"So that's on hold for now. Shall we get back to improving the magic armor?"
"Yes, Master — as a matter of fact, I already have a concept for the next version!"
After that.
Even after we finished eating, we held a meeting about the research before breaking up.
The magic armor saw a slight performance improvement as well.
--- At dusk, I stopped by the faculty office to say hello to the vice-principal, Geenus.
I'd been hovering behind Roxy while she was working and got scolded, so I was made to stand out in the hallway.
While I was moping there, Norn came to return the student council room key, and the three of us headed home together for the first time in a while.
"Norn, was there anything in today's lessons you didn't understand?"
"No, I'm fine, Roxy sister. The lecture was clear as always."
Right beside me, Roxy and Norn chatted happily.
Without my noticing, the two of them had become quite close.
That awkward dynamic from the old days was gone.
"I'm trying to be careful, but if there's anything you don't understand, just tell me anytime."
"When that happens, I'll have you give me another private lesson."
"Heh heh — my private lessons are expensive, you know."
The conversation bounced along happily. Listening to the two of them, I walked home in a pleasant mood.
"I'm home!"
"Welcome back, everyone."
"…"
Through the entryway, I called out to Zenis and
Zenis showed no signs of change.
In a good way and a bad way, she was stable.
So memories really weren't coming back?
I hadn't found a single lead, and I was so busy I could hardly keep up with everything.
Recently, Lilia and Sylphie seemed to be doing something, but nothing had come of it.
"Welcome back."
"Welcome home, Rudy, Roxy… and Norn."
Stepping inside, Sylphie appeared from deeper in the house.
Trailing behind my honey in her apron, Lucy came toddling along.
Then she broke into a run and tackled Norn.
"Norn! Welcome home!"
"Norn! Welcome back!"
Norn, apparently used to it, caught Lucy in her arms and patted her head.
Lucy beamed from ear to ear — she clearly adored Norn.
However, the moment she caught my eye, she ducked behind Norn's face to hide.
She didn't need to be so wary of me…
"Norn, are you staying over tonight?"
"No, but I heard Linear had come to your house, so I thought I'd stop by."
"Ah… Yeah. Well, things happened. Rudy was being his usual helpful self."
Sylphie let out a sigh as she said that.
What was that sigh for?
"She's going to be another addition, isn't she?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure. Linear — she's a bit much, but she seems to really like Rudy. And she's sexy…"
It sounded like I was the one making a move on Linear.
I'd admit the cat girl was sexy.
If someone asked me whether I wanted to play wrestling in bed with her at night, the answer was yes.
But that was that, and this was this.
I had this thing called self-control.
"What did Eris say? She didn't object?"
"She said, 'This one is mine — I'm not giving her to Rudy.'"
"Oh, so that's how…"
Come to think of it, Eris wasn't here.
"Sylphie, where's Eris?"
"Out walking Leo. I keep telling her not to — she's heavily pregnant — but she won't listen. She's been doing practice swings during the day too. Even if she's in a stable period now, what if something happened…"
Eris was the same as ever.
But really, I wished she'd take it easy with the jumping and running.
Eris was strong, but the baby inside her wasn't.
I felt a sigh coming on too.
Was Eris's baby really going to be born safely?
I was worried…
"Oh, welcome back!"
That voice came from above.
Looking up, I saw
"Hey, everyone, look, look!"
Aisha waved us over excitedly, beckoning toward the back of the second floor.
Out from there stepped a woman wearing a maid outfit identical in design to Aisha's.
She walked down to the landing, spun around once.
The hem of her skirt floated up gently, revealing healthy calves.
Then she placed a hand on her hip and struck a pose like a gravure idol.
"Nyahaha!"
A cat-ear maid.
"I took Mom's old one apart and remade it as an outfit for Linear. Cute, right?"
It was certainly cute.
Even the other women let out murmurs of admiration.
Made by Aisha herself.
She called it old, but it looked brand new.
Though the fabric itself was old, apparently.
"Starting today — no, starting now — you'll be working hard for me!"
"Yes, Aisha senior! Leave it to me, nya!"
"Then we'll start with cooking!"
With tiny Aisha in the lead and the tall Linear in tow.
The two strode past us and marched off to the kitchen.
It was rare to see Aisha this fired up.
"You know, Linear really does seem full of energy… I figured she'd be more down after becoming a slave."
Norn murmured.
Well, Linear was simple like that — she probably forgot the pain as soon as it passed.
--- After that, we all had a family dinner together for the first time in a long while, Eris and I bathed together and checked on the size of her belly, I put Lucy to bed with Sylphie before it got too late, taught magic to Aisha and Norn after my bath, and spent a little while talking with Lilia about Zenis's future.
Before bed, I watched Roxy feed Lara breast milk.
Finally, I made love with Sylphie and fell asleep.
It was a deeply satisfying day.
Starting tomorrow, it'd be training every day for a while.
I'd give it my all.