17. Training Camp

"Well, what is that organization?"

As far as I can see from here, it seems that the road is going through the village and going to the back, but the road splits into three at the beginning, two going to other villages in the Orio territory, and the remaining one is my residence. It leads to a certain new "Black Forest". Arbitrary entry is prohibited, so the residents of Orio territory will not invade without permission, but no matter how you look at it, those people don't seem to be residents of the territory. Even if you're looking for a village instead of a forest, you can't read the purpose and it's a little creepy. ...I hope I'm not a strange person.

"Thank you for waiting--Oh, this is this. Isn't it Idea-sama?"

"Hi, Alf. How are you?"

His consciousness is pulled back by the appearance of a good-looking old man. For a while now, I've only traveled back and forth between the royal castle and my home, so the chances to see each other have decreased, but when I set up residence in this territory, I often consulted with him about various things, so I'm already careful. I don't think I'm on good terms with him. Both Lina, the landowner, and this Alf, who is her steward. That's why it's easy to make requests.

Alf smiled and narrowed his eyes behind his glasses.

"I'm full of energy as you can see. Since I started enjoying the herbs I received from Idea, I've been free from back pain."

"That had that kind of effect too...? Well, I'm happy if you like it."

"Yes, that's already. Idea-sama seems to be in good health, so it's great... so, what kind of business do you have today? If you don't mind, could you talk to Lina-sama directly?"

The fact that Alf doesn't try to find out and immediately asks my husband to meet me is a sign of his trust in me. Receiving that, I also nodded.

"Well, let me meet you. And since the preparations for the tea ceremony are good, it would be helpful if Alf would also be there."

"I'm sorry, so that's how it is... Oh? What about that young lady?"

When he opened the door wide to invite them in, Alf was puzzled when he found Mani, who had been hiding in the shadows until now. Come to think of it, this is the first time I've brought someone other than Celia, so it's probably going to be a reaction like this.

"She is my servant. I have a little talk about her today. Is it okay if I introduce her together with Lina?"

"Yes, of course. Please come in."

Alf left us in the reception room and disappeared, just as he said, and came back with Lina. "She's welcome," she makes a curtsy-like gesture—I don't understand her because I'm ignorant—and her complexion has improved significantly from when I first met her. Her hands and feet, which were as skinny as a dead tree, are starting to grow thin, and her cheeks are not sunken. Roughly ten years old, her appearance age had rejuvenated, and it was an impression that her original beauty had been regained.

"What is the story? I will do anything for Idea-sama."

"Well, from this change, she seems to be very indebted to me." Eating food from the fertile land that was blessed by the Primordial Witch, drinking herbal tea specially made by the witch, and being freed from years of anxiety and hunger, Lina was already invigorated. Her liveliness and her eyes are wide open. And from time to time she asks me to order anything.

I understand that she wants to repay her kindness even a little, but I feel a little embarrassed.

"Even though I said something like that, I came to visit you today to be thankful for it."

"I'm talking about this mani. I want him to become... I can't give him any guidance on that, so Mochi is a rice cake shop. I asked Alf, who is a perfect servant from my point of view, to entrust Mani's education. I'm here."

"Yes, that's fine. Right, Alf."

Even though he couldn't help but smile wryly at his master who responded in no time, Alf also agreed without hesitation.

"If you're going to leave it to me, I'll do what I can."

"Alf is a famous Stuart who has been protecting this house since her grandfather's generation, so I'm sure she will make a wonderful maid, Lady Idea."

"That's fine. I'm begging you, by all means, Alf. Come on, Mani, say hello."

"thank you"

"nice to meet you too"

Mani's Noh face is good for Alf, who smiles like a gentleman, but neither he nor Lina showed any signs of being offended. Despite being masters and servants in a remote area that was abandoned by the country, they are two very human people. I think it would be nice if Mani and I could be like this, but the truth is that it's a little hard to imagine such a future in the current situation.

I was left alone with Lina after seeing Alf leave with Mani to teach her about work.

"Will you let me work as a live-in for a few days? 　If it's okay, you can come and pick me up at night."

"No, if you want me to learn how to prepare for the morning, I think it would be better if you let me sleep here. Please rest assured that we have no problems."

"Is that so? Then I guess I'll have you do that... Oh, and one more thing."

Now that Mani's training camp (?) has been decided, I ask him what he saw earlier.

"A mysterious group that passed through the village? Ah, if that's the case, they must be tourists on a tour."

"Eh, what? What about the tour?"

"So it's a 'tourist'. It seems that Idea-sama's enthronement is becoming known all over the place."

Along with the story of avenging the villain who assassinated the former king, there are rumors that he saved the Orio territory right after that. ... Haha, well, it's Morrow's work, isn't it? "It's tactful or shrewd to turn my whims into propaganda."

At any rate, the anecdote of the Primordial Witch, which was newly told to make the new king's decency and the effect of her protection known, fully demonstrated its effectiveness, and surprisingly, even from such a distant land, the witch's dwelling was revealed. It is said that people started coming to see it at first sight.

"Since a little while ago, the number of people who have come to visit us to listen to stories has been increasing, and finally we have even started to apply for guided tours. It's the first one."

"The first, you mean...?"

"Yeah, we've already received the next offer. Visitors will continue to come to Orio territory for a while... with not a little money."

Lina's face looked very happy when she said that. From the time before her heart was frozen in the cold cold village, the current situation would certainly be like a dream. I'd like to celebrate with you here, but I wonder what it would be like if my house became a tourist attraction.

"The forest can only be viewed from a distance, and of course entering the forest is strictly prohibited. In addition, volunteers from the village have been recruited to watch over the forest, so don't worry. All of them are people who took the initiative and volunteered to be guardians, wanting to express their gratitude towards Idea-sama."

"I'm not worried about that, to begin with."

"First of all, if an intruder appears, I will be notified immediately."

Even though it's a tourist attraction, if you can only see the exterior of the forest and not see the state of your house, it's no real harm to me, who is always teleporting. So no concern can be said to be a concern... but I am a little confused about the situation where everyone knows where I am. It was a big difference from just a while ago. The feeling of being a small citizen in me is also complaining about discomfort. But what happened?

"It's confusing at first, but I know you'll soon get used to it, so I'll let it go." If you want to see the Black Forest, you should be able to see it to your heart's content. It would be even better if you could taste the crops and livestock harvested from the land moistened by my magic while dropping the amount of money to become Orio territory. Villagers are happy too.

"Speaking of which, Idea-sama. I heard from a tour guest that a ceremony will be held in the royal capital soon."

"Ah, so you didn't tell Lina.

"I'm sorry. It's too far for me to walk from here to the capital, and I can't leave this land for too long. So I'm sorry, but Alf and I are likely to listen to Lord Idea's words at the ceremony. It's not in

You don't have to come and ask. It's not interesting anyway. I think I'll get even more nervous if I have acquaintances."

"Well, Idea-sama, are you nervous? Fufu, hearing that makes me feel even more regretful that I won't be able to participate."

"Give it up. Isn't Lina unexpectedly mean?"

"Yes. Even with this, when I was little, I used to annoy her father with my tomboy."

I see. I was secretly worried that she might have changed her personality because of too much herbal tea, but this seems to be closer to her nature.

That's why Alf was still smiling so much even though she was being treated unreasonably.

When I was satisfied with that, the door to the reception room opened. Alf came in, followed by Mani with a tray behind him. There was tea and cake that seemed to be my and Lina's.

"She's the one she brewed. How about she with the souvenirs brought by the guests?"

"...he's an amazing person." Teaching Mani how to brew tea in one shot. Alf responded with an elegant smile to my heartfelt admiration.