Chapter 116

Granting a Title (1)
I run, run, and run. I was chasing something.

"Wait... don't go!"

Even so... even so, I couldn't reach it. No matter how much I ran, it kept moving further away. If I stopped, it disappeared entirely. So, I kept running.

But even as I continued running, “it” faded away, leaving my vision.

Alone in a pure white world, I turned to check the path I had walked... but there was nothing. The "me" who had been obsessed with running had nothing left behind.

I should have held many precious things, yet nothing remained. It was then that I woke up.

"… How long was I asleep?"

――About three hours. You were having quite the restless sleep――

"You're speaking normally now."

The Darkness Spirit circled around me.

――The language of humans is unnecessary for us, you see. Relearning it took some time. If I hadn't met you, I probably wouldn't have remembered it for another few hundred years――

"Is that so."

It's true; spirits have their own language—or rather, they can generally communicate through intent alone. Many spirits don't bother learning human languages. Moreover, since they're fundamentally free spirits, they often don't even have the motivation to learn. They're notoriously lazy.

――More importantly, you look unwell. Are you feeling sick? You should rest a bit longer――

"I'm already awake, so I won't sleep anymore. I'll take a shower and work until morning to pass the time."

――Don't overdo it. If you've "remembered," you should understand how unstable your existence truly is.

Your soul is unstable, Alice. Being trapped in the past means losing the future――

"I understand. Really, what a troublesome thing you've saddled me with. I should have had a normal 'reincarnation,' but there's still lingering attachment. That's why I'm being drawn in too."

Originally, there shouldn't have been a reason to leave Iris's personality intact. And yet, it's apparently still there. I can't perceive it no matter how much I try, but the spirit, who can directly see my soul, tells me it's there. Though it's apparently on the verge of disappearing.

A soul is supposed to be one. Iris and I cannot coexist. What happens is a tug-of-war between souls. The weaker one is absorbed, and the soul returns to its original state.

Well, it's proof the soul is functioning normally. The other mysterious soul used as material has almost completely disintegrated and can't even be absorbed anymore. It was so broken that it only muttered incoherent words. When it reaches that point, even the tug-of-war doesn't occur, they say.

It seems Iris delivered the final blow. That was an unnatural death of the soul. Sealed away, it couldn't go to the heavens or the underworld. It couldn't even vanish. Who knows what led to such a fate.

――Alicia seems to still be asleep. Wind is playing around――

"Alicia might catch a cold, so tell them to ease up."

Apparently, the Wind Spirit went to play in Alicia's room.

After freshening up in the shower, I started my work. Most of my work involves paperwork. The Air Force deals with policies, budgets, and development. I leave the actual operations to Captain Pash. It's not my specialty.

"Princess! ...So here you are. Please, get some rest!"

"I woke up already."

A few hours later, Alicia came rushing in. It seems she panicked when she found I wasn't there when she came to wake me.

I used a transfer spell to send the mountain of documents to the royal castle. Moments later, twice as many documents were sent back.

It was just past 6 AM. The one working at this hour must be the Prime Minister. No one knows when he sleeps. He's a workaholic who would age and lose his sharpness in just a few days without working.

"You're sending too much work!"

"Since we're still organizing the structure, there's bound to be a lot of paperwork. I'll process a good portion of it before I return to the castle."

Budgeting, personnel management, Air Force accommodations, and the Knights Order... Apparently, it’s been decided to merge them with the army into a single force in the future.

To maintain good relations, some funding has to be directed toward the army. Budget disputes are inevitable. Right now, we're smoothing things over with profits from the airships, but that can't continue forever.

Also, people from the Technical Development Bureau want to meet with me. They probably have many questions they want answered. Enthusiasm is good. However, I wish they'd take a bath before meeting me. The castle maids will likely handle that.

"Princess, today's schedule includes departing by noon with Chief Marza aboard. About ten people from the village will accompany us as guards."

At 8 AM, Captain Pash came to report the day's schedule.

"What about the progress of unloading supplies and preparing the guards? Surely it's not undone, right? Also, I'm buying all the magic stones stored in the village, so call Chief Marza here. Make sure the loading process happens in parallel."

"The supplies were unloaded yesterday. Extra weapons, food, medical supplies, and tents are all ready. As for the magic stones, I obtained Chief Marza’s permission last night, and the loading has begun. However, the quantity and the way they were just lying around in a barn mean it's taking some time to sort and pack them into empty boxes."

Captain Pash left the room to call Marza. The room itself felt cramped due to the sheer volume of paperwork. Captain Pash seemed slightly taken aback by the sight of it all, looking at the documents with a faintly pitiful gaze. It wasn't directed at me, but he likely sympathized with me. Still, paperwork isn't a problem. Dealing with unreasonable demands from parliament is far worse.

"Did you call for me, Princess?"

Marza arrived about ten minutes later.

"I called about the magic stones. First, understand that I can't appraise them, so payment will be made after we reach the capital. But I promise you will be paid."

"Huh... Is it worth that much?"

It seems Marza hadn't realized the value of that treasure trove.

"It'll likely fetch a fortune. The quality is outstanding, and the size isn't an issue. You've managed to accumulate quite the hoard."

I'll buy them myself. Magic furnace cores require a large number of magic stones, and the current stock is almost depleted. Since multiple stones are combined into one core, a large quantity is necessary.

To use ordinary stones for cores, we'd need magic stones of the Helios class. That's unrealistic, as ancient dragon-class monsters rarely appear near human settlements.

"And regarding the development of the new territory, I'll personally assist. Houses and fields will be prepared immediately, but we’ll likely also recruit immigrants beyond the current residents."

"Is it acceptable for someone like me to receive your help? I'll become a vassal of the kingdom, won't I? Helping a mere vassal could spread bad rumors."

"My title will handle that. As the head of the Technical Development Bureau, I’ll provide your new territory with the latest equipment. Agricultural machinery and various magic tools will be supplied. I want you to conduct field tests. If any problems arise, I'll take responsibility."

"I understand. As for the immigrants, will they cause friction with the villagers? And I don't know how to gather them; I have no connections."

Well, living secluded in this remote area for centuries would sever most connections.

"Primarily, we'd recruit from the slums. Citizens with established lives won't be inclined to move. If you're worried about conflicts, we can create a separate new village for the immigrants. Suddenly mixing them would only cause problems. The construction will be handled by people I know in the capital, so manpower won't be an issue."

I get along reasonably well with the guild foremen. They’d be perfect for this task since they drink all day without work.

For now, we’ll aim to build a village. From there, it’s up to Marza to develop it further. Since oil is available to us now, we can produce asphalt. It's time to replace the uneven roads with properly paved ones.

"In that case, I have no objections."

"Good. Then start loading the cargo, along with the people accompanying us."

"Um..."

As I turned my gaze back to the paperwork, Marza hesitated, fidgeting awkwardly. It's not cute when a man does that.

"What is it?"

"Well... may I bring my wife and child? They've never seen the outside world, and I'd like to show them."

"You’re married... My condolences. The nobles will start interfering, so brace yourself. They’ll try to pull you into their factions by marrying their daughters to you."

They’ll likely demand he make his current wife a concubine and take one of their daughters as his primary spouse.

"That's… I'm devoted to my wife. If I were unfaithful, she’d kill me."

Technically, it wouldn’t be cheating. Well, I suppose I should also take some steps on my end.

"Alright, I'll try to keep that under control on my side to some extent. If I ask Father, he should be able to handle the nobles. But be careful. They'll use various methods to create irreversible situations. Basically, stick close to your wife as much as possible. If you can't handle it yourself, I could step in and claim that I'm your patron. That should suffice, right?"

As I said this and looked at Alicetia, she nodded.

"Given the situation, it's highly likely Chief Marza will be seen as part of the Princess's faction, so it should be fine. However, they’ll probably start requesting meetings with Princess through him among other things.”

"Huh?"

True, I don't interact much with nobles. Officially, I'm still quite reclusive.

"Princess doesn't have her own faction. The royal family is simply backing her. Of course, she does have connections with the Five Dukes and some other nobles, but she’s not someone who mingles with many nobles. I'm in a similar situation you will find yourself in, but they are really persistent."

I absolutely detest nobles who harass people's maids. I refuse to meet them. I secretly report them to my Big brother.

"Diplomacy and relations with nobles are Father and Big brother's job. Not my jurisdiction."

"You're casually shirking your royal duties… Though, no one can openly complain about it anymore."

Ha, ha, ha. If you excel in other areas, no one will openly criticize you. I may not do royal duties, but if I become an indispensable asset, it's no problem. And I'm the only one on this continent who can create the core components for airships. They can't openly criticize me.

"So… as long as I manage things properly, there won’t be any issues?"

"Exactly."

The noble council is really persistent, aren't they? Those people are basically close to being NEETs.

They only take on just enough work to avoid being criticized by the public for being jobless nobles with no territories or positions.

If they proved their capabilities, they'd be entrusted with positions or territories, so why do they keep interfering with others?

I processed documents while half-listening to Alicetia as she advised Chief Marza.

That afternoon, the airship departed from Tarol Village.