Chapter 196

The Hero and the Princess
Takuto, having been suddenly kicked out of the castle, returned to the inn without hesitation.

Kazuhito and Mai were already back in the room and welcomed him in.

“How’d it go on your end?”

While Takuto was in the audience chamber, Kazuhito and Mai had been out gathering intel around the royal capital.

“I’m sure of it. Iris is in this country. And she’s not holding back.”

“Yeah… But it’s not going to be easy.”

It seemed the two had already gathered some information as well.

“I figured. I believe Iris is living in this country as Alicetia.”

At Takuto’s words, the two nodded in agreement.

“If she’s not just a royal attendant but the princess herself, meeting her will be extremely difficult.”

“In this country, the princess’s authority is absolute. If we investigate her carelessly, we might even get killed.”

“That matter should be fine for now thanks to the goddess’s aid.”

Takuto had sensed that the goddess had used a divine oracle. Though the current powerless goddess couldn’t issue an oracle across the entire continent, she had managed to send one randomly to a temple in Arland.

“That’s good to hear. Oh, and more good news. You’ve got a house in the noble district.”

“Huh?”

Takuto let out a dumb-sounding noise at Kazuhito’s words. Mai chuckled at the uncharacteristic reaction.

But it couldn’t be helped that Takuto was confused. After all, they were saying his house had been built in another world. Anyone would be shocked.

“Seriously? My house?”

“It had a nameplate in Japanese reading ‘Shishidou,’ so I’m pretty sure. Apparently, the owner is the princess. For now, it’s a house for her pet.”

Irritated by Sylvia’s warning that she was no longer allowed to take in any more pets, Alicetia had retaliated by having a mansion built. It wasn’t wasteful, since it would eventually serve as the residence of the vice-king. As for the nameplate, she just left it in Japanese since no one could read it anyway.

“She built a mansion for her pet...?”

“Seems she’s insanely rich. They say the current prosperity of this country is mostly thanks to her pouring out her own pocket money.”

“I have a hard time believing Iris would do something like that.”

“Same here. That girl’s not the type to do something for her country.”

Raising the economy of a whole country with one person’s pocket money was impressive, but in fact, Alicetia’s legitimate income was the highest on the continent—by far. The gap between her and second place was enormous. If you included illicit profits, her rank dropped a bit, but that’s another matter.

“Well, there’s always the chance her personality changed after reincarnation… Let’s just focus on trying to meet her first.”

“If that’s the case, I have an idea. The princess loves sweets, and whenever a new product comes out, she always visits the shop herself. Maybe if we work at a confectionery shop, she’ll take the bait?”

“I’ve heard that too, but it’s not that simple. There are tons of confectionery shops in the capital, and very few are good enough to attract the princess.”

Because Alicetia was such a gourmet when it came to sweets, an intense development war had broken out among the city’s bakeries just to earn her recommendation. It was practically a Warring States period of confectionery.

So just working at a random shop didn’t guarantee they’d meet her. But upon hearing this, Takuto had a flash of inspiration.

“No, this could work. If it’s her favorite, it hasn’t been sold in this world yet.”

“Was that girl into sweets?”

“All I can picture is her eating awful cornflakes with a blank expression…”

“She’s actually got a serious sweet tooth. She never complained even if she didn’t get sweets, but in front of you two, she pretended not to like them to preserve her image.”

Like Alicetia, Iris also had a sweet tooth—though not quite as extreme.

“All right, let’s build a Shishidou Confectionery Shop here. We’ll lure her in with pudding.”

“Shishidou Confectionery Shop… You mean *that* place with the limited edition pudding?! I’ve never managed to get one before—it’s always sold out!”

Mai asked with keen interest.

“Yeah. I wanted Iris to try it, so I secretly learned how to make it from my uncle.”

The Shishidou Confectionery Shop, run by one of Takuto’s relatives, was a small business but often featured in media coverage and had gained popularity in its local area. And their specialty pudding was one of Iris’s favorite treats.

Meanwhile, Alicetia transferred to the temple via teleportation and was in the middle of a meeting with the cardinal. Since she had contacted them in advance, there was no waiting time. In fact, many priests were already waiting at the temple entrance. Naturally, Cardinal York was among them.

He was a tanuki beastman.

“My apologies for making you come all this way.”

“It’s totally fine. I’m actually surprisingly free these days.”

Behind her, Alicia gasped in surprise. “Eh?!”

No, seriously, she was free today. Tomorrow might be a different story, though.

Anyway, standing around the entrance wasn’t ideal, so she was guided into a room in the back.

"It's a hassle, so I'll get straight to the point. I want the Orthodox Church to build a grand cathedral."

"If we had that kind of money, I’d use it to expand the orphanages."

A firm rejection. I deflated with disappointment.

"I mean, I’ll be the one donating the funds, so it's fine."

"I don't think it’s necessary right now."

No, no, it *is* necessary. It’s my first time coming to the Orthodox temple, and it’s falling apart. Clearly, they’re cutting back on temple maintenance to divert funds to the orphanages. An impressive display of noble poverty.

"But the kingdom is only going to grow more prosperous. I think the citizens will tolerate the Church having at least one grand cathedral."

"Even so, the budget is limited. There are still believers in this country suffering in poverty. Of course, thanks to you, Princess, that number has greatly decreased. But the Orthodox Church's doctrine is about helping the weak. What do you intend to do with a grand cathedral?"

"Well, the clergy have been rather distant lately, so I want to improve relations. And if the kingdom is prospering, but the temple looks like a ruin, it reflects poorly on the kingdom's dignity. That’s why I’ll provide the funds myself. The blueprints and location have already been decided."

I’ve already secured land roughly equivalent to two Tokyo Domes.

"I see. Indeed, some of the clergy have been rather distant. But Princess, it’s not like you've done anything wrong. In fact, I feel nothing but gratitude for how you’ve helped those in need. They probably just lack proper training. As for the cathedral… understood. After all you’ve done, refusing would be rude."

He never told me the exact reason, but it seems I haven’t personally done anything. According to the cardinal, there’s no issue—he even thanked me.

"Also, I want to gather all the orphanages scattered across the kingdom into the capital."

"That’s…"

"I want to provide education to the orphans. I've already gotten agreement from the executives of the Viceroy Merchant Union to employ them in the future. I want to bring them together in one place and give them advanced education. With the kingdom as it is now, we can’t send teachers to every little orphanage in the provinces."

They’re very much in favor of employing orphans. The executives of the Viceroy Merchant Union even came to beg me to hire them. The labor shortage is serious.

The cardinal stood up at those words.

"That is a wonderful idea. Surely the Goddess herself will praise your actions, Princess! I shall begin making arrangements at once!"

"Whoa."

I was startled by the sudden praise. It’s not like I’m doing this to please the Goddess. Whether they’re from the slums or orphans, there are always talented individuals among them. And even the ordinary ones are valuable if given a chance. I just want them to be discovered and nurtured.

At any rate, it seems my relationship with the Orthodox Church has improved. When I left the temple, a large number of clergy came to see me off with smiles.

"I wonder what the cause really was?"

"You did nothing wrong, Princess. It was just some fools making noise."

Even after we teleported back to the castle, Alicia still wouldn’t tell me.

Alright, time to mass-produce more Elixirs of Life. The stock keeps disappearing at an alarming rate even before the facilities are finished. I mean, noble ladies and daughters are using it too.

As I was thinking that and heading for the underground lab, I found my brother waiting at the entrance.

"Alice, do you have a moment?"

"What is it?"

"It’s about your previous life… Did you have a fiancé or anything like that?"

My siscon brother is finally prying into my past life? That’s way too far gone, seriously!

"You might want to tone down the siscon a bit."

At Alicia’s and my rebuke, my brother stepped back.

"N-no, that’s not it. I mean, yes, if you did, I’d want to kill him, but… I just thought maybe your memories had returned. You’ve been having nightmares a lot lately, haven’t you?"

"So you don’t deny it. By the way, my *memories* have returned."

My memories have returned, but not my personality.

"I see…"

"My previous life was Iris Field. But when I reincarnated, I broke down and reconstructed my own soul. That’s who I am now. A kind of artificially reincarnated being, I guess?"

"So you’re a different person from your past self?"

Ugh, another complicated question.

"I think I’m the same person. But I’ve lived far longer as Alicetia, so maybe I’m not completely the same anymore. And I didn’t inherit the personality of my past self."

That’s the most important part. For some reason, I didn’t inherit Iris’s personality. Well, I understand why.

If I had reincarnated as-is, I probably would’ve never accepted the people around me. That’s for sure. Even I wouldn’t have considered a new family to be *my* family. That’s just the kind of person we are.

"… Do you want to go back?"

My brother asked with a pained expression.

"I do want to go back… and I also think staying here is fine. The sudden return of memories has left me confused. But I have no intention of leaving. This is my home."

The only things I regret from Earth are the people I left behind. Maybe someday I’ll go visit them. Mai, Kazuhito… Takuto too.

I’m a bit worried about Kazuhito. I modified his brain a little, so he might be acting weird now. His intelligence was barely above a monkey’s, so I had to do something to make him teachable. It wasn’t a surgical modification, so there shouldn’t be any side effects.

And I probably worried Mai. She’s kind, so she might’ve cried for “me.” Also, my parents’ acquaintances too.

Thinking about it, I feel like I caused a lot of trouble for a lot of people in my past life.

"I see…"

My brother seemed to think for a moment and then nodded in understanding.

"By the way, there’s been a sudden surge in reports of perverts in the capital recently, so you probably shouldn’t leave the castle for a while. Apparently, it’s some outrageous pervert."

There’ve been a huge number of sightings, and yet they still haven’t been caught…

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